APHG Unit 8 Terms
Terms
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- Conservation
- The sustainable use and management of a natural resource, through consuming at a less rapid rate than it can be replaced.
- Geothermal energy
- Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks.
- Pollution
- Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate.
- Radioactive waste
- Particles from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people and must therefore be safely stored for thousands of years.
- Greenhouse effect
- Anticipated increase in Earth's temperature, caused by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface.
- Nonferrous
- metals utilized to make products other than iron and steel.
- Preservation
- Maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible.
- Potential reserve
- The amount of energy in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist.
- Chorofluorocarbon (CFC)
- A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers.
- Resource
- A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use
- Biomass fuel
- fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste
- Renewable energy
- A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans.
- Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD)
- Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution.
- Nonrenewable energy
- A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted.
- Fossil fuel
- Energry source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago.
- Fission
- The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy.
- Acid precipitation
- Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog.
- Fusion
- Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium.
- Inanimate power
- Power supplied by machines.
- Breeder reactor
- A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium.
- Biodiversity
- The number of species within a specific habitat.
- Animate power
- Power supplied by people or animals.
- Ozone
- gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found in the stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9 to 30 miles) above Earth's surface.
- Acid deposition
- Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth's surface
- Air pollution
- Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average aIr.
- Photovoltaic cell
- Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity.
- Passive solar energy systems
- Solar energy system that collects energy without the use of mechanical devices.
- Photochemical smog
- An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions.
- Ferrous
- Metals, including iron ore, that are utilized in the production of iron and steel.
- Sustainable development
- The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources to the extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development.
- Hydroelectric power
- Power generated from moving water.
- Sanitary landfill
- A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin.
- Proven reserve
- The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits.
- Active solar energy systems
- Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovoltaic cells or flat-plate collectors.