Environmental Science Chapter 3

What bond holds 2 or more water molecules together?

Hydrogen bonds

What chemical bond holds H and O atoms together in a water molecule?

Covalent bonds

What does it mean if water molecules are polar?

Water molecules attract each other because of opposite charges, creating hydrogen bonds

Why is water resistant to temperature change?

Hydrogen bonds must be broken or formed to heat up/cool down

Why is water the universal solvent?

It dissolves more substances than any other liquid

What does cohesion mean?

Atraction between molecules of the same type.

Why is ice less dense than liquid water?

The hydrogen bonds between the water molecules force the molecules to form a lattice structure when water freezes and fewer water molecules can fit into the same space, making ice less dense

Organic compounds

Contain carbon; examples include lipids, proteins, and carbs

Inorganic compounds

Compounds that do not contain carbon

Positive feedback loop

Causes a system to change further in the same direction

Negative feedback loop

Causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving

What are the 5 spheres of the Earth?

Atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere

Atmosphere

A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

Lithosphere/Geosphere

A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust

Cryosphere

A term referring to all water that is temporarily frozen in polar ice caps, snow, permafrost, and glaciers

What is the water cycle?

Evaporation, condensation, precipitation

What is the carbon cycle?

The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.

What is the nitrogen cycle?

Nitrogen moves from the air to the soil, into living things, and back into the air

What is the phosphorus cycle?

A biogeochemical cycle involving all exchanges of phosphorus on earth

Biosphere

The part of Earth where life exists

Hydrosphere

All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans

How does the water cycle affect all the other cycles?

Through erosion, because carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are carried from soil in the ocean