Monitoring the Environment: Global Warming and Climate Change

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary related to environmental science, focusing on global warming, climate change, and related processes.

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat, preventing it from escaping into space.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The increase in Earth's temperature due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.

Greenhouse Gases

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

A measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide.

Ocean Acidification

The process by which excess carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater lowers the pH of oceans, affecting marine life.

Photosynthesis

The chemical process by which plants use carbon dioxide and water, along with sunlight, to produce glucose and oxygen.

Aerobic Respiration

The process in which organisms convert glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

Fossil Fuels

Natural fuels formed from the remains of living organisms over millions of years, including coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

Biofuels

Renewable fuels derived from biological materials, such as plants and animal waste.

Combustion

A chemical reaction that involves the burning of fuel in the presence of oxygen, producing heat and light.

Incomplete Combustion

A combustion process that occurs with insufficient oxygen, leading to the formation of carbon monoxide and soot.

Thermochemical Equation

An equation that includes the chemical reaction along with the associated energy change, typically shown as enthalpy changes.

Calorimetry

The science of measuring the heat transfer associated with chemical reactions or physical changes.

Specific Heat Capacity (c)

The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Devices that convert chemical energy from hydrogen into electricity through the reaction with oxygen, producing only water as a byproduct.

Photochemical Smog

A type of air pollution formed by the reaction of sunlight with pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.