Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
APES Exam Cards
Flash cards for Reviewing the Final
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Lonizing Radiation | enough energy to knock electrons from atoms forming ions, capable of causing cancer (ex gamma-x-rays-UV) |
| First Law of Thermodynamics | energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another |
| Second Law of thermodynamics | when energy is changed from one from to another, some useful energy is always degraded into lower quality energy |
| Humus | organic, dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms |
| Leaching | removal of dissolved materials from soil by water moving downwards |
| illuviation | deposit of leached material in lower soil layers |
| loam | perfect agricultural soil with equal portions of sand, silt, clay |
| Solutions to SOil Problems | conservation tillage, crop rotation, contour plowing, organic fertilizers |
| Parts of the hydrologic cycle | evaporation, transpiration, runoff, condensation, precipitation, infiltration |
| Aquifer | any water bearing layer in the ground |
| Salt water intrusion | near the coast, overpumping of groundwater causes saltwater to move into the aquifer |
| During an El Nino year | trade winds weaken & warm water sloshed back to SA During a Non El Nino year: Easterly trade winds and ocean currents pool warm water in the western Pacific, allowing upwelling of nutrient rich water off the West coast of South America |
| Effects of El Nino | upwelling decreases disrupting food chains, N US has mild winters, SW US has increased rainfall, less Atlantic Hurricanes |
| Nitrogen fixing | because atmospheric N cannot be used directly by plants it must first be converted into ammonia by bacteria |
| Ammonification | decomposers covert organic waste into ammonia |
| Nitrification | ammonia is converted to nitrate ions |
| Denitrification | bacteria convert ammonia back into nitrogen |
| Phosphorus | Does not circulate as easily as Nitrogen because it does not exist as a gas, but is released by weathering of phosphate rocks |
| Very Little Phosphorus | it is a major limiting factor for plant growth |
| Excess Phosphorus | added to aquatic ecosystems by runoff of animal wastes fertilizer discharge of sewage |
| Aerobic respiration | oxygen consuming producers, consumers, and decomposers |
| largest reservoirs of Carbon | Carbonate rocks, Oceans |
| Biotic/Aboitic | living and non living components of an ecosystem |
| Producer/Autotroph | photosynthetic life |
| Major Trophic Levels | -producer -primary consumer -secondary consumer -tertiary consumer |
| Energy Flow in Food Webs | only 10% of the usable energy is transferred |
| Primary Succession | development of communities in a lifeless area not previously inhabited by life |
| Secondary Succession | life progresses where soil remains (clear cut forest) |
| Mutualism | symbiotic relationship where both partners benefit |
| Commensalism | symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits & the other is unaffected |
| Parasitism | relationship in which one partner obtains nutrients at the expense of the host |
| Biome | large distinct terrestrial region having similar climate, soil, plants, and animals |
| Carrying Capacity | the number individuals that can be sustained in an area |
| R strategist | reproduce early, many small unprotected offspring |
| K Strategist | reproduce late, few, cared for offspring |
| Natural selection | organisms that possess favorable adaptations pass them onto the next generation |
| Replacement level fertility | the number of children a couple must have to replace themselves (2.1 developed, 2.7 developing) |
| Preindustrial stage | birth & death rates high, population grows slowly, infant mortality high |
| Transitional stage | death rate lower, better health care, population grows fast |
| industrial stage | decline in birth rate, population growth slows |
| postindustrial stage | low birth and death rates |
| 1st and 2nd most populated countries | china and india |
| Ways to Dcrease Birth Rate | family planning, contraception, economic rewards, and penalties |
| salinazation of soil | in arid regions, water evaporates leaving salts behind |
| Natural radioactive decay | unstable radioisotopes decay releasing gamma rays, alpha & beta particles |
| Half-Life | the time it takes for the mass of a radioisotope to decay. Each element has a specific half-life, could be from seconds to thousands of years. Know how to calculate: If you start with 100 Ci , 50Ci will be left in one half-life. |
| Nuclear Fission | nuclei of isotopes split apart when struck by neutrons |
| Nuclear Fusion | 2 isotopes of light elements (H) forced together at high temperatures till they fuse to form a heavier nucleus. Expensive, not cost effective yet as an answer to the nuclear waste problem |
| Ore | a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it proitable to mine |
| Surface mining | cheaper & can remove more mineral, less hazardous to workers |
| Point VS non point sources | (Point, from specific location such as pipe)(Non-point, from over an area such as runoff, good example: storm drains) |
| BOD | biological oxygen demand, amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down organic materials |
| Eutrophication | rapid algal growth caused by an excess of N (nitrogen) & P (phosphorous) |
| Hypoxia | when aquatic plants die, the BOD rises as aerobic decomposers break down the plants, the DO drops & the water cannot support life |
| Primary air pollutants | produced by humans & nature (CO, CO2, SO2, NO, hydrocarbons, particulates) |
| Secondary pollutants | formed by reaction of primary pollutants |
| Particulate matter(source, effect, reduction) | (source, effect, reduction): (burning fossil fuels & car exhaust) (reduces visibility & respiratory irritation) (filtering, electrostatic precipitators, alternative energy) |
| Nitrogen Oxides(source, effect, reduction) | (Source: auto exhaust) (Effects: acidification of lakes, respiratory irritation, leads to smog & ozone) ( Equation for acid formation: NO + O2 = NO2 + H2O = HNO3) (Reduction: catalytic converter) |
| Sulfur oxides(source, effect, reduction) | (Source: coal burning) (Effects: acid deposition, respiratory irritation, damages plants) (Equation for acid formation: SO2 + O2 = SO3 + H2O = H2SO4) (Reduction: scrubbers, burn low sulfur fuel) |
| Carbon oxides(source, effect, reduction) | (Source: auto exhaust, incomplete combustion) (Effects: CO binds to hemoglobin reducing bloods ability to carry O, CO2 contributes to global warming) (Reduction: catalytic converter, emission testing, oxygenated fuel, mass transit) |
| Ozone | (Formation: secondary pollutant, NO2+UV=NO+O O+O2=O3, with VOC’s) (Effects: respiratory irritant, plant damage) (Reduction: reduce NO emissions & VOCs) |
| Industrial smog | found in cities that burn large amounts of coal |
| Photochemical Smog | formed by Chemical reactions involving sunlight |
| Greenhouse Gases | (Examples: H2O, CO2, O3, methane (CH4), CFC’s) (EFFECT: they trap outgoing infrared (heat) energy causing earth to warm |
| Effects of global warming | rising sea level (thermal expansion), extreme weather, droughts (famine), extinctions |
| Ozone depletion caused by | CFC’s, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, halon, methyl bromide all of which attack stratospheric ozone |
| Effects of ozone depletion | increased UV, skin cancer, cataracts, decreased plant growth |
| Incineration advantages | volume of waste reduced by 90% and waste heat can be used |
| Incineration disadvantages | toxic emission, scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators needed, ash disposal |
| Keystone species | species whose role in an ecosystem are most important than others |
| Indicator Species | species that serve as early warnings that an ecosystem is being damaged |
| Pesticide pros | saves lives from insect transmitted disease, increases food supply, increases profits for farmers |
| Pesticide cons | genetic resistance, ecosystem imbalance, pesticide treadmill, persistence, bioaccumulation, biological magnification |
| Natural pest control | better agricultural practices, genetically resistant plants, natural enemies, biopesticides, sex attractants |
| LD50 | the amount of a chemical that kills 50% of the animals in a test population |
| Volcanoes and Earthquakes occur at | plate boundaries (divergent, spreading, mid-ocean ridges) (convergent, trenches) (transform, sliding, San Andreas) |
| Electricity is generated by | using steam (from water boiled by fossils fuels or nuclear). falling water or wind to turn a generator, or photovoltaic cells |
| Petroleum forms from | microscopic aquatic organisms in sediments converted by heat & pressure into a mixture of hydrocarbons |
| Pros of petroleum | cheap, easily transported, high quality energy |
| Cons of petroleum | reserves depleted soon, pollution during drilling, transport and refining, burning makes CO2 |
| Kyoto Protocol (agreement) | International meeting to control global warming by setting greenhouse gas emission standards. Will be expensive. |
| Montreal Protocol | International meeting to phase out ozone depleting substances |
Created by:
ace1294
Popular Earth Science sets