Global Science Final Exam Vocabulary

Vocabulary words and definitions to help students prepare for an exam.

Acid deposition

The deposition of acidic compounds from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding the Earth.

Biodegrade

Capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.

Biofuel

Fuel derived from renewable biological sources.

Biomass

Organic matter from living or recently living organisms used as an energy source.

Carbon footprint

The total amount of greenhouse gases generated by our actions.

Carbon sequestration

The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons)

Organic compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and fluorine, formerly used as a refrigerant and aerosol propellant.

Clean Air Act

U.S. law designed to control air pollution on a national level.

Composting

The natural process of decomposing organic waste.

E-waste

Discarded electronic devices and components.

Fossil fuel

A fuel formed in the Earth from plant or animal remains (coal, oil, natural gas).

Geothermal

Heat derived from the Earth's interior.

Global warming

A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse Effect

The trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

Hazardous waste

Waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.

Hydropower

Electricity generated from the energy of moving water.

Incineration

The destruction of something by burning.

Landfill

A place where waste material is buried.

Leachate

Rainwater that has been contaminated as it trickles through wastes.

Meltdown

The accidental melting of the uranium fuel rods inside the core of a nuclear reactor.

Montreal Protocol

An international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

Mountaintop removal

A form of surface mining that involves the removal of the top of a mountain to expose coal seams.

MSW

Municipal Solid Waste; commonly known as trash or garbage.

Open pit mining

A type of surface mining in which a large pit is dug to extract ore.

Ozone hole

Area of the stratosphere with seasonal thinning in ozone concentration.

Ozone layer

A layer in the stratosphere (at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Paris Accord (Paris Agreement)

An international agreement on climate change, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance.

Perceived obsolescence

The practice of designing products with a limited lifespan so they become unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period.

Photovoltaic cell

An electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

Placer mining

Mining of stream bed deposits for minerals.

Planned obsolescence

Designing products to have a limited life span so they become obsolete after a certain period of time.

Primary pollutant

A pollutant that is emitted directly from a source.

Proxy indicator

Indirect evidence of past climate conditions dervied from natural sources.

Radioactive waste

Waste containing radioactive material.

Recycling

Convert waste into reusable material.

Sanitary landfill

A landfill that uses a layer of compacted clay and/or a synthetic liner to isolate trash from the environment.

Scrubber

A device using a liquid spray to remove pollutants from a gas stream.

Secondary pollutant

A pollutant formed in the atmosphere by chemical reaction.

Smog

Air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog.

Stratosphere

The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

Subsurface mining

A form of underground mining technique used to extract coal, ore or other minerals from the earth.

Strip mining

A type of surface mining in which soil and rock are removed to extract a seam of mineral.

Tailings

Unwanted materials left over from mining separate the ore from the gangue.

Temperature inversion

A reversal of the normal decrease of air temperature with altitude.

Thermohaline circulation

A part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes.

Troposphere

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere