AP Environmental Science Review

Pregunta	Respuesta
High quality energy	organized and concentrated, able to perform useful work (ex: oil and nuclear)
Low quality energy	disorganized dispersed (ex: heat)
Units of energy	joules, calories, kilocalories, BTU’s, kilowatt-hours
Estimate of how long a radioisotope must be stored until it has decayed to a safe level	10 half lives
Parts of hydrologic (water) cycle	evaporation (transpiration), condensation, precipitation
Carbon-silicate cycle	very slow, geological cycle, C in oceans used by marine organisms, end up in ocean sediments and are subducted into Earth’s crust, eventually returned through volcanic venting
Nitrification	ammonia is converted to nitrite (NO2) to nitrate (NO3)
Assimilation	plants incorporate ammonia and nitrate ions into organic molecules (nucleic acids, amino acids)
Ammonification	decomposer bacteria break down organic compounds into ammonia
Denitrification	specialized bacteria convert nitrogen compounds into N2 and N2O which is released into the atmosphere
Phosphorous	component of nucleic acids
P cycles more slowly	no gaseous phase, mostly found in rocks as PO4, released by weathering
P	major limiting factor for plant growth
Too much P in aquatic ecosystems	from animal wastes, fertilizers, sewage can cause eutrophication
Major macronutrients Micronutrients and trace elements	CHNOPS needed in small amounts
Plate tectonics	Earth’s crust is broken into plates which move relative to each other, movement caused by convection currents dissipating Earth’s internal heat
Volcanoes and earthquakes occur at...	plate boundaries
Divergent plate boundaries	sea floor spreading, new crust generated, mid ocean ridges
Convergent plate boundaries	oceanic plate subducts under ocean or continental plates, causes volcanoes and trenches. Continental plates produce mountains
Transform boundaries	plates slide past each other, causes earthquakes
Rock cycle	relationship of rocks and rock formation processes
Rock types according to origin	igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
Minerals	are not renewable
Ore	concentration of mineral is high enough so that it is profitable to mine
Mineral reserve	identified deposits, profitable to mine
Surface mining	strip mining, cheaper, less dangerous to miners. Problems: toxic runoff, acid drainage
Soil texture	size of soil particles; sand, silt, clay
Humus	organic material in soil
Leaching	removal of dissolved materials by water moving through
Permeability	ability to transmit water
Porosity	ability to hold water
Solution to soil problems	contour plowing, crop rotation, conservation tillage, organic fertilizers
Troposphere	0-17 km above Earth’s surface, site of weather, organisms, most water vapor
Stratosphere	17-48 km above surface, contains ozone layer
Composition of Earth’s atmosphere	78% N2, 21% O2, 0.9% argon, 0.0035% CO2
Weather	daily atmospheric conditions (temp and precip), Climate long term atmospheric conditions
Global circulation patterns	caused by uneven heating of Earth’s surface and Earth’s rotation
ENSO	El Niño Southern Oscillation; see-sawing of air pressure over Southern Pacific
Greenhouse gases	(GHG) water vapor, CO2, methane, CH4, CFC’s; trap outgoing infrared radiation (heat), causing Earth to warm
Effects of global warming	rising sea level, droughts, disruptions of ecosystems, shifts in vegetation
Ozone depletion	caused by: CFC’s, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), halons, methyl bromide all break down stratospheric ozone
Effects of ozone depletion	increased UV radiation reaches Earth’s surface; causes increased skin cancer, cataracts, decreased plant growth and marine productivity
Stratospheric ozone layer	approximately 20-30 km above the Earth’s surface (12-18miles)
Biotic/abiotic	living and nonliving
Producer/autotroph	organisms that CAN make their own food
Consumer/heterotroph	organisms that CANNOT make their own food
Major trophic levels	producers-primary consumers-secondary consumers-tertiary consumers-etc.
Energy flow in food webs	solar energy converted to chemical energy, eventually returned as hear
Energy flow in food webs	only 10% transferred to next trophic level
Mutualism	interaction between 2 species in which both species benefit
Parasitism	relationship in which one partner obtains nutrients at the expense of the host
Commensalism	one partner benefits, the other is neither harmed nor benefited

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