APES Unit 4 Test

Japan 2011 Earthquake

Tohoku Earthquake → Tsunami → Flooding of nuclear power plant → Meltdown

Components of Earth’s Crust

1. Oxygen

2. Silicon

3. Aluminum

Components of Air

1. Nitrogen 78%

2. Oxygen 21%

3. Other 1%

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons

Radioisotopes

Radioactive isotopes - their chemical identity changes as they shed subatomic particles and emit high-energy radiation

Half-Life

The amount of time it takes for one-half of something’s atoms to decay

Radioactive

The quality by which some isotopes decay, changing their chemical identity as they shed atomic particles and emit high-energy radiation

Water Properties: Cohesion

How water droplets stick together

Water Properties: High Heat Capacity

Requires a large amount of energy to change its temperature

Water Properties: Adhesion

How water sticks to other things

Water Properties: Universal Solvent

Can dissolve most substances

Water Properties: Density

Solid form is LESS dense than liquid form

Bond within H₂O molecules

Covalent Bond

Bond between H₂O molecules

Hydrogen Bond

Hydrocarbons

Chains of C & H molecules ONLY
- Crude Oil
- Petroleum Products
- Natural Gas
- Coal

Benefits of Carbon

-Carbon has created wealth and modern lifestyle
- Heating living things or fossil fuels breaks Carbon
- Broken Carbon connects with 2 Oxygens and creates CO₂

What happens to CO₂ when it enters the atmosphere?

Some CO₂ gets dissolved in ocean (and makes carbonic acid), some is taken in by trees to make tree tissue (called sequestration), but most stays in atmosphere and traps heat = warmer planet

pH Scale

Each # = 10x H⁺ ion concentration (from 5-7, 100x increase in H⁺ concentration

1st Law of Thermodynamics

Energy can change from one form to another but it cannot be created nor destroyed

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

The nature of energy will change from a more-ordered state to a less-ordered state as long as no force counteracts this tendency (systems tend to move toward increasing disorder or entropy)

Entropy (z)

The degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system

Energy Conservation

The decision and practice of using less energy (Efficiency - l)

Kinetic Energy

Energy of motion

Potential Energy

Energy of position or composition

Cellular Respiration Equation

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + energy

Photosynthesis Equation

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + sunlight → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Energy other than from the Sun

-Gravitational pull of the moon (tidal energy)
- Radiation inside of Earth, which powers plate tectonics, volcanos, geothermal, hydrothermal vents

Chemosynthesis Equation

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + 3H₂S → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 3H₂SO₄

Layers of the Earth

Inner Core → Outer Core → Mantle (Asthenosphere) → Crust (Lithosphere)

Convection

Cool magma falls (its more dense) → Warmer magma rises (its less dense)

Breaks lithosphere into plates and moves them
Occurs in the upper mantle in a slow, creeping motion

What drives convection?

The core of the Earth is radioactive and hot

What are the Earth’s 3 primary layers?

Core, Mantle, Crust
Each have layers within them:
Inner Core → Outer Core → Lower Mantle → Upper Mantle → Crust 

San Andres Fault

Fault line in Southern California, Pacific Plate and North American Plate slide past one another and cause lots of earthquakes (transform)

Divergent Plate Boundary

Crusts pull apart and magma rises up, hardens when cooled by water, and creates underwater mountain ranges
Ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Sea Floor Spreading
*on land: Rift Valley in Iceland and African Rift Valley

Transform Plate Boundary

Two plates slide past each other in opposite directions
- Strike → ship fault
Ex: San Andres Fault between Pacific and North American Plates

Convergent Plate Boundary (Oceanic + Continental)

Oceanic (basalt) crust is denser than continental (granite) crust and subducts below
- Creates deep ocean trenches and cracks in the continental plate → magma seeps up and creates volcanoes
*Plates can get stuck and suddenly release energy → earthquakes and tsunamis
Ex: trenches and volcanic arcs

Convergent Plate Boundary (Continental + Continental)

Both granite, have same density, so they push up and form mountains
- small amount of subduction
Ex: Himalaya Mountains between India and Nepal

Convergent Plate Boundary (Oceanic + Oceanic)

Older crust is denser → subducts and creates trench
(both are basalt but the older one is more dense because it has more sediments)
- Cracks occur in this plate → magma seeps up; volcanic island arcs
Ex: Japan, Aleutian (Alaska), Tsunamis and Earthquakes

What happens at convergent boundaries when it is one continental crust and one oceanic crust

Oceanic crust is denser and will go below (subduct) continental crust and oceanic 
- Make a trench

What happens at convergent boundaries when it is two continental crusts

Two continental crusts have the same density and therefore push each other up 
- Make mountains

Volcanic Arcs

One oceanic plate subducts beneath another → pushes magma up and makes islands 
- Water is displaced and causes tsunami
Ex: Japan and Aleutians in Alaska

Hot Spot Volcanoes

Occur in the middle of plates where the curst has cracks and magma seeps up
Ex: Yellowstone- North American Plate (Flat volcano)

Igneas Rock

Rock that forms when magma or lava cools

Ex: granate, basalt

Metamorphic Rock

When any type of rock is subjected to great heat or pressure, it may alter to become metamorphic rock

Ex: magma and slate

Sedimentary Rock

Formed as sediments are physically pressed together and as dissolved minerals seep through sediments and act as a kind of glue, bonding the sediment particles together
Ex: Shale, Limestone, Coal

Lithification

the process in which sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock

Ring of Fire

A string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean

Hotspot Volcanos

An area of the Earth's mantle from which hot plumes rise upward, forming volcanoes on the overlying crust

Landslide

Occurs when large amounts of rock or soil collapse and flow downhill
- Sudden manifestation of the phenomenon Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting

The downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity

Physical Weathering

Occurs with wind, rain, thermal expansion and contraction, and water freezing

Chemical Weathering

Changes the mineral makeup of the rock
Ex: Acid Precipitation dissolves some minerals in rocks

Biological Weathering

Occurs when roots of plants break apart rocks or when lichen secrete chemicals that dissolve parts of rocks

What do plants benefit from healthy soil?

Crop plants such as wheat depend on healthy soil for nutrients, organic matter, water retention, and proper root growth

Leaching

The process whereby soil particles suspended or dissolved in liquid are transported to another location

Soil Profile

The cross section as a whole, from the surface to the bedrock, of soil

Order of Soil Horizons

Only Apes Eat Bread Crumbs

O Horizon

Organic layer
- the top layer, which consists of organic matter like decomposing leaves, twigs, animals, etc

A Horizon

Topsoil
- consists of some organic matter mixed with mineral components. It is the zone where most agriculture takes place

E Horizon

Eluvation or Leaching Layer
- Minerals leach into the B horizon

B Horizon

Subsoil where minerals accumulate

C Horizon

Weathered Parent Material

R Horizon

Rock → Pure parent material

Carbon Exchange Capacity

Indicator of soil fertility- shows plant’s ability to supply important nutrients
- Ca²⁺ , Mg²⁺ , K¹⁺

Cations are held by negatively charged particles of clay and humus (colloids)
- Thin, flat plates with large surface areas
     → acts as storage for nutrients for plant roots 

Best for this is Humus, then clay, then silt, then sand is the worst

Humus

Mature compost- very important for healthy soil
- Buffer for pH
- Promotes microorganisms that maintain healthy soil
- Prevents nutrients from leaching out of the soil through water runoff

Physical Soil Tests

Soil Sieves: Separate soil into particle size (clay, silt, sand) and then use soil triangle to identify soil type

Soil Particle Sizes

Clay: grainest
Silt: middle
Sand: largest

Loam 

Mix of all three soil particle sizes, the BEST soil

Swidden Agriculture

he traditional form of agriculture in tropical forested areas is swidden agriculture, in which the farmer cultivates a plot for one to a few years and then moves on to clear another plot, leaving the first to grow back to forest.

Porosity

Amount of water a soil can hold in its pore space between particles. Also determines how much room roots will have as they fill the pore space

Highest to lowest soil porosity

Highest: Loam
Clay
Silt
Lowest: Sand
*Opposite of particle size

Permeability or Drainage Rate

How fast soil drains
- Too high: roots don’t get enough water
- Too low: soil becomes waterlogged → root rot
*Adding sand increases drainage rates in soil

Highest to lowest soil drainage rate

Highest: Sand
Silt
Lowest: Clay

Chemical Properties of Soil: Nitrogen

Green leafy growth in plants
-Major component of chlorophyll which is used in photosynthesis

Chemical Properties of Soil: Phosphorus

-Plant Genetics
- Seed Development and Yield
- Fruit development

Chemical Properties of Soil: Potassium

-Strong Stems
- Aids in early growth
- Fights disease in bugs

Plant pH comfort zone

6.5-7 (slightly acidic)
- good for bacterial decomposition
- Works best with nutrient uptake

Effects of excessive acidity in plants

Causes Calcium, Phosphorus, and Magnesium to be changed into forms that plants can’t use, causing plants to suffer a deficiency.
Slowdown of beneficial bacteria and increased toxicity from trace elements like Aluminum also occur

Effects of excessive alkalinity in plants

Disolves and disperses Humus

Plow Pan

A hard layer in soil that resists water

Seed Bank

Institutions that preserve seed types as a kind of living museum of genetic diversity. Keeps seed samples in cold, dry conditions to keep them viable, and they are planted and harvested periodically to renew the stocks

Causes of soil and land degredation

Erosion and Deposition

Erosion

The removal of material from one place and its transport to another by the action of wind or water

Deposition

When eroded material is deposited at a new location

Causes of Erosion

-Over Cultivating fields through poor planning or excessive plowing
- Overgrazing rangeland with more livestock than he land can support
- Clearing forests on steep slopes or with clear cuts

Ways to minimize erosion

Erect physical barriers that capture soil → growth of vegetation is what prevents soil loss
- Vegetation slows wind and water flow, while plant roots hold soil in place and take up water

Desertification

-Loss of 10% of the soil’s productivity
- Erosion
- Dust Storms
- Salinization

Dust Bowl

1800s: Thornestead Act gave 160 acres to farmers → 1900s-1920s: Farmers used all acres to grow wheat (cash crop that needs rain) → 1930s: rain stopped = drought → winds came and blew away tilled/loose topsoil

Soil Conservation Service

Works closely with farmers to develop conservation plans for individual farms, using science to assess the land’s resources and condition

Crop Rotation

Farmers alternate the type of crop grown in a given field from one season or year to the next
- many alternate with legumes to restore nutrients to the soil
- also helps to break disease cycles

Contour Farming

Plowing furrows sideways across a hillside, perpendicular to its slope and following the natural contours of the land
- The side of each furrow acts as a small dam that slows runoff and captures eroding soil

Terracing

Transforms slopes into a series of steps like a staircase, enabling farmers to cultivate hilly land without losing large amounts of soil to water erosion

Intercropping

Planting different crops in alternating bands or other spatially mixed arrangements
- helps slow erosion by providing more ground cover than does a single crop
- reduces vulnerability to insects and disease and can replenish the soil of nutrients

Shelterbelts

Rows of trees or tall shrubs planted along the edges of fields to slow the wind
- BEST AT PREVENTING WIND EROSION

No-Till Farming

Eliminates tilling altogether. Rather than plowing after each harvest, farmers leave crop residues atop their fields or plant cover crops, keeping the soil covered with plant material at all times to protect against erosion

Strip Cropping

A practice of growing field crops in narrow strips either at right angles to the direction of the prevailing wind, or following the natural contours of the terrain to prevent wind and water erosion of the soil

Benefits of No-Till Farming

Less labor, saves time, reduces wear on machines, lower fossil fuel use, higher soil productivity in the long term, enhances surface water quality, lower soil erosion, higher water filtration into soil

Rotational Farming

Regular rotation of livestock between different pastures in order to avoid overgrazing in a particular area

Ecological Consequences of Overgrazing

When grazing by livestock exceeds the carrying capacity of rangelands and their soil, this can set in motion a series of consequences and positive feedback loops that degrade soils and grassland ecosystems.

Swamplands Act

1850- Granted federal swamp and overflowed lands to states to reclaime and develop for agriculture