envi science

Radioisotopes __________.

emit radiation as they decay into more stable atoms

NEPA + EA

National Environmental Protection Act 1970 + Environmental Assessment

Montreal Protocol

landmark international treaty adopted on September 16, 1987, designed to protect the Earth's ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances

Kyoto Protocol

Lower overall carbon emissions of six key greenhouse gases by an average of 5% below 1990 levels

IPCC 4th assessment report

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (comprehensive 2007 evaluation by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change detailing the science, impacts, and mitigation of global climate change)

3 ways atmosphere affects environment

1. controls amt of radiation earth recieves

2. selectively filters amt and type of raditation earth recieves

3. helps redistribute both energy and matter in earth system

An atom has 2 electrons, 3 protons, and 3 neutrons. What is the atom's mass number?

6

During photosynthesis within plants, ________.

water and carbon dioxide are consumed

Which of the following statements best describes the role of autotrophic, or self-feeding, organisms in ecosystems?

They produce their own organic molecules, which can be broken down for energy.

Many organisms that undergo chemosynthesis use ________ instead of ________ to fuel the processes that convert carbon dioxide into sugars.

hydrogen sulfide (H2S) + sunlight

Which of the following tectonic plate boundary types is responsible for the formation of some of the world's highest mountains?

convergent plate boundaries

________ rock has undergone heat or pressure, causing it to change form.

Metamorphic

The "ring of fire" is ________.

a belt of earthquakes and volcanoes that occur around the Pacific Ocean

Which of the following describes mass wasting?

downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity

Which of the following areas would experience the most devastation after an earthquake?

a city built on a marshlike environment that was filled with landfill

Negative feedback processes tend to function within ecosystems to ________.

stabilize the ecosystem

In a(n) __________ feedback loop, output that results from a system acts as an input that moves the system in the other direction.

Negative (Negative feedback loops help to stabilize systems by tightly controlling them.)

Which of the following would destabilize an ecosystem?

positive feedback loops (During positive feedback, increased output in a system leads to increased input. This can be incredibly destabilizing for a system. Luckily this is found rarely in nature, but it is happening more often in systems affected by human activities.)

Nitrogen and phosphorus are referred to as macronutrients because ________.

they are required in large amounts for organisms to survive

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used by scientists to ________.

study changes in an ecosystem using satellite imagery

Most energy in the majority of ecosystems arrives as __________ and exits in the form of __________.

solar energy; heat

Matter contained in living organisms

biomass

Solid earth beneath our feet

lithosphere

The process by which water moves from Earth's surface (such as in lakes or rivers) to the atmosphere

Evaporation

Release of water vapor by plants through their leaves

Transpiration

Upper limit of groundwater in soil or rocks

Water table

Upper limit of groundwater in soil or rocks

Precipitation

Some of the most ancient water on Earth can be found in __________.

Aquifers (Aquifers hold groundwater for a long time, and since this water is not exposed to the air, evaporation cannot occur.)

One-fifth of Earth's total freshwater supply is in ________.

groundwater

Oxbow lakes are always found ________.

Alongside a river

When a water-bearing porous layer of rock, sand, or gravel is trapped between upper and lower layers of less permeable substances, it is __________.

an artesian aquifer (This is also called a confined aquifer. The pressure from the layers of rock, clay or other substrate above forces the water out of wells drilled down into this layer. (In an unconfined aquifer, the water must be actively pumped out.)

All of the following are true of ocean currents EXCEPT ________.

they are always rapid and powerful

__________ is the measurement of ocean depths, and __________ is the physical geography and shape of landforms.

Bathymetry; topography (These two techniques are used to map underwater geographic features.)

Convective cells near the equator

Hadley cells

The layer of Earth's atmosphere in which we live

troposphere

The highest level of our atmosphere, with relatively few molecules per unit area

thermosphere

A system containing cool air that spreads outward as it descends

high-pressure system

Reversal of normal vertical temperature distribution in the lower region of the atmosphere

thermal inversion

Biome that generally occurs around 30 degrees north and south of the equator

desert

The layer of Earth's atmosphere containing the "ozone layer"

stratosphere

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem?

a colony of leafcutter ants, the leaves they harvest, the fungi that they cultivate and tend to, and the soil nutrients and moisture needed for their garden

Genetic change over time is ________.

evolution

Which of the following is not a way that two populations of the same species can be geographically isolated?

populations have different mating seasons. (not a form of t isolation)

A single, small population that only exists in one place on the planet is considered __________ to that area.

endemic

A coyote can alter its diet to match seasonal abundance of plants, fruits, or small animals and would therefore be considered ________.

a generalist

Which of the following is the broadest (most all-encompassing) level of ecological organization?

biosphere (The biosphere represents the entire Earth and all of its ecosystems with all living and nonliving things interacting together.)

Many interacting species that live in the same area

community

Community and the abiotic material with which its members interact

ecosystem

Specific environment in which an organism lives

habitat

The process by which unrelated species acquire similar traits

convergent evolution

A group of individuals of a species that live in a particular area

population

Groups of organisms with low biotic potential, such as gray whales, ________.

are k-selected

In order to determine the population growth rate, ________ must be included in addition to birth and death rates.

immigration and emigration

Which of the following is a typical K-selected species adaptation?

parental care of the young (K-selected species have a low biotic potential but high survivorship in part because of extended care for their young.)

How do feral pigs relate to the malaria problem in Hawaii?

Pigs dig holes in the rainforest floor, creating water holes where mosquitoes can breed.

Which of the following would protect Earth's biodiversity?

Preserve habitats in many countries.

Prevent the introduction of a non-native species into an area.

Encourage ecotourism.

Zooplankton populations in Lake Erie and the Hudson River have declined by up to 70% or more since the arrival of zebra mussels because ________.

zebra mussels prey on zooplankton

Which organism pollinates 3/4 of our crops?

bees

Competitive exclusion occurs as a result of ________.

interspecific competition

Which of the following are pioneer species?

lichens

________ capture solar energy and use photosynthesis to produce sugars.

producers

Secondary succession ________.

occurs after fire or flood

Communities undergo change ________.

more unpredictably and variably than historically thought

What is enhanced by decomposers and detritivores as they recycle nutrients?

soil (Decomposers and detritivores recycle the nutrients from organic materials back into the soil to be used by living members of the community.)

Through ecological restoration people try to __________.

return ecosystems to a more "natural" state, often what they were like before industrial civilization altered them

Describes biome in the eastern United States, north central Europe, and eastern China; characterized by stable precipitation and seasonal temperature variation

temperate deciduous forest

Describes the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, characterized by limited precipitation, thick organic soils, and extreme temperature variation between winter and summer

temperate grassland

Describes the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Nagasaki, Japan; characterized by heavy rainfall and moderate temperature variation between winter and summer

temperate rainforest

Describes the terrestrial biome bordering the Mediterranean Sea; characterized by wet winters and warm dry summers

chaparral

Describes an equatorial zone with moderate precipitation that fluctuates seasonally; characterized by warm temperatures year round

tropical dry forest

Describes Cairo, Egypt, and northwest Mexico; characterized by sparse rainfall and much variation in temperature

desert

Generally the coldest of the biomes listed

boreal forest

Which of the following biomes is experiencing the greatest temperature increases resulting from global climate change?

arctic tundra

Which list includes biomes in the correct order from those that have the lowest annual rainfall to those that have the highest?

desert, grassland, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest

The type of biome that has been converted most frequently by humans for agricultural use is the __________.

temperate grassland (temperate grasslands do not contain forests that need to be cut down and their climates have the necessary rainfall and temperature for crop production.

Aquifers

porous formations of rock, sand, or gravel that hold water

Wien’s Law

relates wavelength of light with sun’s intensity A(wavelength) = K(constant) over T(temp in degrees kelvin)

meridional transport of energy

the large-scale movement of heat and energy from Earth's warm equatorial regions toward the colder polar regions

Sublimation

A phase transition where a solid turns into a gas, skipping the liquid phase entirely.

Igneous rocks

formed by direct cooling of magma/lava

Sedimentary rock

result from the reconsolidating of previously eroded and then deposited materials

metamorphic

new rock + new materials created from old material by the application of heat and/or pressure

Hydrologic cycle

the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the Earth's surface, driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity

Gray water can ________.

often be used for irrigation and watering lawns

Dams create a __________ from which we can get water for human use.

Reservoir

What caused the Aral Sea, the fourth largest lake on Earth, to lose four-fifths of its volume in 40 years?

overconsumption by cotton farmers (cotton is a crop with high water demands)

A porous, spongelike layer of rock, sand, or gravel that is capable of holding water

minus

Aquifer

The world's largest known aquifer

Ogallala aquifer

Any obstruction placed in a river or stream to block flow

minus

dam

A long, raised mound of earth used to control flooding along a river

levee

A measure of the density of suspended particles (lack of clarity) in a water sample

turbidity

Aerobic bacteria break down organic materials during this stage of wastewater treatment

secondary treatment

Water leaving a wastewater treatment plant

effluent

The world's largest body of fresh water

Caspian Sea

A recent study has revealed that chlorinated solvents, gasoline, and radioactive compounds have become significant pollutants in ________ from ________.

groundwater; leaking storage tanks

What type of irrigation method wastes as little as 10% of the water applied to the plants?

drip irrigation

What is the direct cause of death for aquatic animals during eutrophication?

a loss of dissolved oxygen (DO) in water

The pollution that occurs when human activities raise water temperatures is called __________.

thermal pollution

________ is a device designed to remove airborne pollutants from smokestack emissions.

A scrubber

Photochemical smog differs from industrial smog in that it ________.

is formed only in the presence of sunlight