ENVS Final Exam
Know the three potential destinations of precipitation once it falls onto the earth’s surface.
Bodies of water
Land
Underground
Know what BOD means in water and what things would cause it to increase vs decrease
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): measure of how much oxygen is needed to break down organic matter in water
The amount of organic matter causes it to increase/decrease
Know what the greenhouse effect means/is referring to
Part of global warming/climate change – describing the warming of the planet – the carbon dioxide acting as a greenhouse for the earth
A liter of ocean water has how much more H as a liter of ammonia? How many times higher?
Hydrogen concertation is –10 to power
1000 times higher
Understand the name of the process in which living things rely on to convert stable nitrogen to Nr to be able to use it
Nitrogen fixation
Know the gas that can cause respiratory harm if breathed but be a helpful barrier when it remains in the stratosphere
Ozone / o3
Understand the relationship between birth rate and death rate of a population and what circumstances would allow the population to grow vs decline
Birth rate > death rate
High life expectancy
Positive net migration
Know what soil erosion and soil degradation mean/what would cause them
Soil Erosion: gradual wearing away of top layer of soil
Soil Degradation: decline is soil quality
Both caused by natural forces (water, air, animals, etc) or human activities (farming)
Know the basic principles of toxicology and be able to identify examples
Dose Makes the Poison
No Agent Has a Single Effect
Toxic Response is Dependent Upon the Exposed Individuals + Species
Smoking Gun Clause!
Know what a food web is/represents
Food web: interconnection of food chains to form complex webs of feeding relationships
Know that carp
produce a lot of waste and bacteria will deplete oxygen in the water
Know the difference in the uses of 235 and 238 U
Radioisotopes – different isotopes of uranium
235 is better for the use of nuclear power plants + weapons
238 is better for the use of breeder reactors
Know the source and risk of 222Rn
Source: ground - natural decay of uranium-238 in soil and rocks
Increases health risks (lung cancer)
Know the name of the guideline used in workplaces to protect workers from toxicants (acronym)
OEL (occupational exposure limits)
Know the acronym/guideline for AEGL and what it is used for
Acute expose guideline levels (Public Exposure Guideline) – designed to reduce the adverse health risk to the general pop
Know what PM 2.5 is and what guideline it is listed in
Pollutant in NAAQS in air quality
Know the primary reason for good health and low incidence of bacterial infection in developed countries (think clean water)
Unsafe drinking water
Know what can cause anaerobic conditions in a natural water system (know what DO and BOD are and how they relate in this situation
Anaerobic conditions occur when the level of dissolved oxygen (DO) become depleted due to a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Too much organic matter decomposing, which consume available oxygen
Know why we shouldn’t be concerned about carcinogens in drinking water (the concentration)
Low concentration is regulated
Know that agricultural runoff (like chicken and hog farms) are the most likely causes of
Harmful algal blooms
What determines the level of risk in environmental health (the equation)
I = P x A x T
I: environmental impact
P: population
A: affluence + consumption
T: technology of the society
Risk = hazard x vulnerability/exposure
Who monitors the human-to-human transmission of bird flu (the organization)
World health Organization (WHO)
Know what global life expectancy has looked like over the past 50 years (increased or decreased and why)
Increased due to modern medicine
Know the greatest killer in the world according to the WHO
Poverty?
What do the hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere do in the troposphere?
Primary cleansing agent
What is the atmospheric brown cloud over much of the south and central Asia and how often does it occur?
Layer of air pollution that appears annually
What happens to atmospheric nitrogen when fossil fuels are burned at high combustion temperatures?
Atmospheric nitrogen reacts with oxygen in the air to form nitrogen oxides, which contributes to smog and acid rain
Know what part of the body COPD affects (specifically what sections of the resp system)
Lower respiratory system, specifically the airways and the lungs
A truck driver is the most likely to be exposed to
benzene aside from people who smoke tobacco
Know the effects of acidification on lakes and what results happen
Decline in fish population -> affects entire aquatic food chain
Know what size particulate matter has the greatest impact on human health
PM2.5
What two toxic gases do catalytic converters remove in cars
Hydrocarbon
Carbon monoxide
Nitrogen oxide
A farmer in Texas is the most likely to develop
cataracts
How do CFC’s contribute to the destruction of the ozone
Break down in the stratosphere – releasing chlorine atoms that destroy ozone molecules, effectively depleting the ozone layer
one chlorine atom can destroy thousands of ozone molecules
Know the pH of “pure” rain
7
Inductive vs deductive reasoning
Deductive -> top down idea: that because we know this then we know this – large factual information
Inductive -> bottom up idea: taking small piece of information to generalize something – i observed this so it must apply to a broader population
What does the safe drinking water act protect the public from (contamination of what?)
Unsafe drinking water
Repeat indoor air pollutants question
Know the definition of denitrification and what happens in that step of the nitrogen cycle
Denitrification: a microbial process in soils and sediments depleted of oxygen Nitrogen is reduced to nitrogen gas (N2)
Know which ‘spheres’ are in the Phosphate Cycle and be able to identify one that is not
Involved: lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere
NOT involved: atmosphere
Most carcinogens
Tobacoo
If someone smokes in your house, everyone has an increased chance of...
Cancer