Ecology
Energy
Pollution
Global Change
Toss Up
100
Classification of organisms that eats both plants and animals.
What is "omnivorous"?
100
This fossil fuel type is considered the "dirtiest" to burn, but is the most abundant fossil fuel available in the world and has the highest net energy yield.
What is "coal"?
100
This law, originally passed in 1963 and amended multiple times since, set enforceable regulations to limit air pollution emissions from stationary and mobile sources in order to reduce impacts of air pollutants, most specifically ones such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, lead, particulate matter, etc.
What is the "Clean Air Act"?
100
This layer of the atmosphere contains the beneficial ozone layer that protects the earth by filtering incoming solar UV radiation.
What is the "stratosphere"?
100
The three types of rock in the rock cycle.
What are "Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic"?
200
Name each term in the HIPPCO acronym that describes the human activities that disturb biodiversity.
What are:
"Habitat degradation
Invasive species
Pollution
Population growth
Climate Change
Overexploitation"?
200
This is a physical process that generate the sun's energy.
What is "nuclear fusion"?
200
This is the size of particles that are defined as "fine particular matter" by the EPA.
What is "PM 2.5 (particles 2.5 microns or less in diameter)"?
200
This term refers to the reflectivity of Earth's surface to light.
What is "albedo"?
200
A microclimate condition in which one side of a coastal mountain chain is wetter with lots of vegetation and the other is dryer with limited vegetation.
What is the "Rain Shadow Effect"?
300
This is a community interaction that involves two species that live closely together and at least one of the species benefits from the interaction with the other. Name an example.
What is "symbiosis (mutualism, parasitism, commensalism)"?
300
This hardware is used capture the sun's energy and directly convert it to electricity. These can be relatively easily mounted on the roof of homes and businesses for micro power generation.
What are "photovoltaics panels"?
300
In the treatment of sewage, this is the term that is defined as using aeration and living organisms (bacteria) to break down large biological wastes (suspended solids) into smaller, less harmful byproducts.
What is "secondary sewage treatment"?
300
This global agreement, passed in 1987, resulted in the reduction of ODCs and paused the progression of the thinning of the ozone layer.
What is the "Montreal Protocol"?
300
This ecological process happens when a new patch of land is created or exposed for the first time (when lava cools and creates new rocks, when a glacier retreats and exposes rocks without any soil), then slowly colonized by new organisms. Early pioneer producers include mosses and lichens.
What is "primary succession"?
400
This term refers to the division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition in an ecological niche.
What is "resource partitioning"?
400
A method of extracting natural gas and oil from underground rock shale formations that can result in groundwater contamination and potentially increase risk of earthquakes.
What is "hydraulic fracking"?
400
This term refers to the formation and movement of highly acidic water, rich in leached heavy metals, as a result of mining operations.
What is "acid mine drainage"?
400
Milankovitch Cycles are the regular patterns of glacial and interglacial periods determine by changes in what three things in Earth's movement?
What are:
"Eccentricity (of Earth's orbit)
Obliquity (of Earth's tilt)
Precession (of Earth's axis)"?
400
This term describes an atmospheric condition in which a mass of warm air acts as a lid on top of a cooler stagnant air mass, preventing it from rising and locking it into place.
What is a "thermal inversion"?
500
The term used to describe the process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia.
What is "nitrogen fixation"?
500
A unit of energy that describes the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of liquid water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
What is a "BTU (British Thermal Unit)"?
500
Also called the "Superfund Act" this legislation, passed in 1980 was established to tackle industrial contamination, imposing taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries and providing funding to clean hazardous waste sites when no responsible party could be identified.
What is the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Reliability Act (CERCLA)"?
500
During ocean acidification, CO2 dissolves into ocean waters, creating carbonic acid. This carbonic acid then dissociates into what two molecules?
What are "bicarbonate (HCO3-) and hydrogen ions (H+)"?
500
This term describes a lake with few nutrients, cold clear waters, and low productivity.
What is "oligotrophic"?