Unit 1 EnviSci Test

Acid Precipitation

Precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids, often because of the pollution of the atmosphere

Agriculture

The raising of crops and livestock for food or for other products that are useful to humans

Air pollution

the contamination of the atmosphere by the introduction of pollutants from human and natural resources

Natural resource

Any natural material that is used by humans

Non-point source pollution

Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single specific cite

Ozone

A gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms

Particulates

Fine particles that are suspended in the atmosphere and that are associated with air pollution

Aquaculture

The raising of aquatic plants and animals for human use or consumption

Biomagnification

The accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain

Deforestation

The process of clearing forests

Depletion

A reduction in the number or quantity of something

Desalination

A process from removing salt from ocean water

Equation

A statement that the values of two mathematical expressions are equal

Eutrophication

Excessive richness of nutrients in a like or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen

Forestry

The science or practice of planting, managing, and caring for forests

Impaired Water

those water bodies or water body segments that are not fully supporting or are partially supporting of the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water Act

Leachate

A liquid that has passed through solid waste and has extracted dissolved or suspended materials from that waste, such as pesticides in the soil.

Mining

The extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually from an orebody, lode, vein, reef or placer deposits.

Point-Source Pollution

Pollution that comes from a specific site

Pollution

An undesirable change in the natural environment that is caused by the introduction of substances that are harmful to living organisms or by excessive wastes, heat, noise, or radiation

Rural

Describes an area of open land that is often used for farming

Scrubber

A machine that moves gases through a spray of water that dissolves many pollutants

Smog

Urban air pollution composed of a mixture of smoke and fog produced from industrial pollutants and burning fuels

Temperature Inversion

The atmospheric condition in which warm air traps cooler air near Earth’s surface

Thermal Pollution

A temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life

Urban

Describes an area that contains a city

Urbanization

An increase in the ratio or density of people living in urban areas rather than in rural areas

Wastewater

Water that contains wastes from homes or industry

Water Pollution

Contamination of water by waste matter or other material that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to the water