APES Unit 8 Terrestrial and Aquatic Pollution

Absolutely! Here’s the updated Unit 8 review with definitions for all the key terms at the end. These will help solidify your understanding and make a great reference for studying.

📘 AP Environmental Science – Unit 8 Review: Aquatic & Terrestrial Pollution

🌊 Overview

Unit 8 explores how human activities contribute to pollution in both water and land environments, and how these pollutants affect ecosystems and human health. Topics include eutrophication, thermal pollution, solid waste, wastewater treatment, and infectious diseases. The unit emphasizes sources, impacts, and solutions.

📌 8.1 – Sources of Pollution

• Point source pollution: Pollution from a single, identifiable source (e.g., a factory pipe).

• Nonpoint source pollution: Pollution from dispersed sources that cannot be traced to a single origin (e.g., agricultural runoff).

📌 8.2 – Human Impacts on Water Quality

• Wastewater may introduce:

  • Pathogens (e.g., cholera bacteria)

  • Nutrients (e.g., nitrates → eutrophication)

  • Organic waste → increased BOD → oxygen depletion

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): The amount of oxygen needed by aerobic microorganisms to break down organic material in water. High BOD = more pollution.

📌 8.3 – Eutrophication

• Eutrophication: Over-enrichment of water with nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus), leading to algal blooms and hypoxia.

• Hypoxia: Low oxygen levels in water, which can lead to fish kills and biodiversity loss.

📌 8.4 – Thermal Pollution

• Thermal pollution: Rise in water temperature due to industrial discharge, reducing oxygen levels and stressing aquatic life.

• Thermal shock: Sudden temperature changes that kill or harm aquatic organisms.

📌 8.5 – Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

• POPs: Toxic, long-lasting organic chemicals that accumulate in organisms and ecosystems.

• Biomagnification: Increase in concentration of a substance (like POPs) as it moves up the food chain.

📌 8.6 – Solid Waste Disposal

• Sanitary landfill: Engineered location for waste disposal that reduces environmental contamination.

• Leachate: Contaminated water that drains from landfills.

• Methane gas: A flammable greenhouse gas produced by decomposition of organic waste in landfills.

• Incineration: Burning waste to reduce volume, though it can release air pollutants.

• Hazardous waste: Waste that poses substantial threats to public health or the environment (e.g., chemicals, batteries).

📌 8.7 – Sewage Treatment

1. Primary treatment – Removal of large solids and sediments.

2. Secondary treatment – Biological breakdown of organic matter by bacteria.

3. Tertiary treatment – Advanced treatment (e.g., chlorination, UV light) to remove remaining pollutants and pathogens.

📌 8.8 – Manmade Pollution & Oceans

• Oil spill: Release of liquid petroleum into marine environments, harming wildlife and ecosystems.

• Plastic pollution: Accumulation of plastic debris in marine and freshwater systems.

• Microplastics: Small plastic particles that are harmful when ingested by marine organisms.

• Ocean gyres: Large systems of circular ocean currents that collect and trap marine debris (e.g., Great Pacific Garbage Patch).

📌 8.9 – Pollution and Human Health

• Respiratory diseases: Health issues affecting lungs, often caused by air pollutants (e.g., asthma, bronchitis).

• Neurological effects: Damage to brain/nervous system caused by exposure to toxins (e.g., lead poisoning).

• Carcinogen: Substance capable of causing cancer.

📌 8.10 – Pathogens & Infectious Diseases

• Cholera: Bacterial infection from contaminated water causing severe diarrhea.

• Malaria: Disease spread by mosquitoes, caused by a parasite.

• Hepatitis A: Viral liver infection spread through contaminated food or water.

• Giardia: Parasitic microorganism causing intestinal infection via contaminated water.

📌 8.11 – Pollution and Ecosystem Health

• Indicator species: Species whose health reflects the condition of their environment (e.g., frogs, mussels).

• Bioindicators: Organisms used to assess the health of an ecosystem.

• Clean Water Act: U.S. law aiming to reduce water pollution.

• Safe Drinking Water Act: U.S. law that sets standards for safe public drinking water.

✅ Key Terms & Definitions