AP ENVIRONMENTAL: LAYERS OF THE EARTH, UNIT 1

A term for living

Biotic

A term for non

living

Environment defintion

Anything that surrounds an organism

Ecology defintion

Studies how organisms interact with eachother and non

Sustainable living defintion

The ability to maintain or support earth continously over time

What are the two natural resources

Matter and energy

Natural Services

They cycle matter and energy flows

What are the three views on environmental problems?

Planetary management (nature meets our needs), stewardship (we are here to manage earth), and environmental wisdom (we depend on earth and must respect it)

What does Ecological Footprint consider?

The impact of human activities by the amount of land and water needed to produce the goods consumed & waste generated.

What is the root cause of environmental issues?

Overpopulation

What does overpopulation lead to?

Resource depletion, climate change, loss of biodiversity, waste, and pollution

What is the world's current population?

8+ billion

What are the three types resources?

Perpetual, non

What is a perpetual resource and what is an example of it?

A perpetual resource is one that cannot run out and continously flows. An example of a perpetual resource is the sun.

What is a nonrenewable resource?

A nonrenewable resource is in limited quantity that can reform over a very long period of time.

What are some examples of nonrenewable resources?

Oil, coal, nuclear energy, and natural gasses

Coal, oil, and natural gasses are all examples of

Fossil fuels

Why do some renewable resources become potentially renewable

Misuse of renewable resources causes a resource to become potentially reusable. (Ex: A species becoming extinct is no longer a "renewable resource")

What are four examples of renewable resources?

Soil, flowing water, wind, and organisms

Which country is the biggest abuser of resources and how many earths would we need to supply if everyone lived like that country?

USA

Who discovered tragedy of the commons?

Garret Hardin

What is tragedy of the commons?

When land that is avaliable to the public is abused and depleted of resources.

What are solutions to tragedy of the commons?

Giving ownership to public land, use at/below sustainable yield, and have laws to regulate/restrict what you can do on public land

How is waste formed?

Waste is formed by using/expending materials carelessly or extravagantly

Harmful chemicals in the environment leads to

Degradation of the environment

What is biodiversity and what does it include?

Biodiversity is the variety and number of species. It includes animals AND plants.

Climate change occurs because of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. How are the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide increased?

Burning fossil fuels

What is the solution to climate change?

Preventing it. Preventing climate change is better than curing it because we still need to use certain items to live and enjoy life. First reduce, then reuse, then recycle!

What four layers of the earth are in the biosphere?

Geosphere (the ground), hydrosphere (water), biosphere (life), and the atmosphere (air)

What percent of earth is water?

70%

What percent of water is salt water?

97%

What of the 3% of water, how much is easily attainable?

Less than 1%

What percent of water is in glaciers?

60

What percent of water is underground?

30%

What percent of the atmosphere is N2 gas?

78%

What percent of the atmopshere is oxygen gas?

21%

From inner to outer, what are the layers of the atmosphere?

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, iono/exosphere

What happens in the troposphere?

Airplane travel and weather occur. The troposphere is also the most dense (packed with chemicals/gasses)

From inner to outer, what are the layers of the geosphere?

Core, mantle, and crust

In the core, the inner core is (blank) and the outer core is (blank)

solid, liquid rock

The mantle is

The middle layer of the geosphere composed of magma and (mostly) rock.

What layer is inbetween the mantle and crust and what is it?

The athenosphere, which is a zone of hot melted rock & flowing magma

What are the two parts of the crust?

Oceanic and contiental

How do tectonic plates shift?

Magma from the mantle rises toward the crust. It spreads and flows across the athenosphere, hardens, then applies pressure on the plates. This causes the shift.

What are the three plate boundaries/vault lines?

Transform, convergent, and divergent

Transformative vault lines are

The least damaging vault lines that can cause earthquakes but not volcanic activity

Transformative vault lines look like

Two plates/arrows sliding in two opposite directions from each other.

Convergent vault lines are

Vault lines that can cause subduction zones, volcanoes, and trenches

Convergent vault lines look like

Two plates/arrows pushing toward each other

Divergent vault lines are

Vault lines that can cause volcanoes, oceanic ridges, and peaks.

Divergent vault lines look like

Two plates/arrows pushing away from each other

What happens when tectonic plates shift?

Formation/change in land, volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis.

What was the name of the super continent when earth formed?

Pangea

A volcano is composed of

Lava and magma

Which compound is the most damaging to the air?

Chlorafloride compounds

What is the difference between lava and magma?

Lava is liquid rock on the surface while magma is liquid rock underground.

How is an earthquake measured?

By the richter scale

From 6 to 7 on the richter scale, the earthquake's scale is amplified by

x10

What is a tsunami?

A seismic/tidal wave that occurs when the sea floor suddenly rises/drops.

Which elements make up the geosphere?

Mg, Si, Fe and O2

How do elements from the mantle get to the stratosphere?

They don't react with gasses (like ozone) and pass them.

What two methods produce CO2 the most?

Volcanoes and burning of fossil fuels

What is the lithosphere?

It's another name for the crust.