Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption
Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution
Unit 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution
Unit 9: Global Change
Required Legislation
100
Electricity is considered this type of energy source because it must be generated from a primary energy source rather than extracted directly from nature.
What is a secondary energy source (or energy carrier)?
100
Chronic exposure to excessive environmental noise can increase stress, disrupt sleep, interfere with communication in wildlife, and reduce reproductive success in some animal populations. This type of pollution is known as this.
What is noise pollution?
100
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as DDT are especially dangerous to top predators because their concentrations increase at each successive trophic level through this process.
What is biomagnification?
100
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) released into the atmosphere can break apart in the stratosphere, releasing chlorine atoms that catalytically destroy ozone molecules. This process is known as this.
What is stratospheric ozone depletion?
100
This U.S. law regulates emissions of major air pollutants from stationary and mobile sources to protect human health and the environment.
What is the Clean Air Act?
200
Hydraulic fracturing increases access to natural gas reserves, but one major environmental concern is the contamination of this resource from injected chemicals or methane migration.
What is groundwater?
200
This type of air pollution forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in the presence of sunlight.
What is photochemical smog?
200
Following a major marine oil spill, floating barriers are deployed to prevent the oil from spreading so it can later be skimmed or vacuumed from the water surface. These barriers are called this.
What are containment booms?
200
This natural atmospheric process occurs when greenhouse gases absorb outgoing infrared radiation emitted by Earth’s surface and re-radiate some of that energy back toward the planet, warming it enough to support life.
What is the greenhouse effect?
200
This international agreement phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances to protect the stratospheric ozone layer.
What is the Montréal Protocol?
300
This component of a nuclear reactor absorbs neutrons to regulate the rate of the fission reaction.
What are control rods?
300
Particles smaller than this size category are considered especially dangerous because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and worsen both respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
What is PM2.5?
300
Rising ocean temperatures can cause corals to expel their symbiotic zooxanthellae, causing the coral to lose color, become physiologically stressed, and become more vulnerable to disease. This phenomenon is called this.
What is coral bleaching?
300
As Arctic sea ice melts, Earth’s surface becomes darker and absorbs more incoming solar radiation instead of reflecting it, leading to additional warming and even more melting. This is what type of feedback loop?
What is a positive feedback loop?
300
This U.S. law holds responsible parties financially liable for cleaning up hazardous waste sites, including abandoned contaminated land.
What is CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)/ Superfund Act?
400
A 1,500-watt space heater runs for 4 hours each day for 5 days. Calculate the total amount of electricity used.
What is 30 kWh?
(1,500 W = 1.5 kW → 1.5 × 4 × 5 = 30 kWh)
400
This material combines with SO2 to produce calcium sulfate, reducing the amount of SO2 being emitted from coal burning powerplants.
What is crushed limestone?
400
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff enter a lake, causing rapid algal growth. When the algae die, decomposition by bacteria reduces dissolved oxygen levels, often creating hypoxic conditions. This process is called this.
What is eutrophication?
400
As global temperatures rise, permanently frozen soil in Arctic regions begins to thaw, allowing anaerobic decomposition of organic matter and releasing this potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
What is methane (CH₄)?
400
This international treaty regulates trade in threatened and endangered plants and animals to reduce overexploitation.
What is CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)?
500
Two power plants each generate the same amount of electricity. One burns coal to boil water, creating steam that spins a turbine. The other uses wind to spin a turbine directly. The wind system is generally more efficient because it involves fewer of these.
What are energy transformations (or energy conversions)?
500
Catalytic converters installed in vehicle exhaust systems help reduce the formation of photochemical smog by converting harmful precursor pollutants into less harmful substances. These converters primarily reduce emissions of this major smog precursor pollutant.
What are nitrogen oxides (NOx)?
500
Although primary and secondary sewage treatment remove many solids and organic wastes, trace hormones and pharmaceutical compounds may remain in treated wastewater and interfere with hormone signaling in aquatic organisms. These pollutants are known as this.
What are endocrine disruptors?
500
As atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase, more CO₂ dissolves into seawater, forming carbonic acid and lowering ocean pH. This process is known as this.
What is ocean acidification?
500
This international agreement required developed nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though the United States signed but never ratified it.
What is the Kyoto Protocol?