Environmental Science Review Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes.

Regular Rain pH

Approximately 5.6

Acid Rain pH

Less than 5

Acid Fog pH

Approximately 3.4

The Three R's of Conservation

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Ore

A rock that contains minerals with useful elements.

Heap Leaching

A method for extracting ore by adding chemicals to remove it from the minerals.

Flotation

A method for extracting ore by adding a compound that attaches to minerals and floats.

Smelting

A method for extracting ore by roasting the rock and causing it to separate into layers.

Reclamation

The process of returning a mined region back to its original state.

Hazardous Waste Conditions

Toxic, Chemically Active, Corrosive, Flammable

Energy Loss in Trophic Levels

Approximately 90% of energy is lost as heat or used for metabolic processes; only about 10% makes it to the next level.

Nonrenewable Resource

A natural resource that is consumed faster than it can be made by nature; includes fossil fuels.

Renewable Resource

A natural resource that exists in limitless amounts or can be remade/recycled quickly; living things are considered renewable.

Energy Transformation

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed; some is always lost as heat.

Largest Cause of Extinction Today

Habitat loss

Primary Gas Responsible for Climate Change

Carbon dioxide

Energy Transfer in Trophic Levels

Only 10% of energy is passed from one trophic level to the next; 90% is lost as heat, decreasing available energy at higher levels.