Soil Basics
What is the top layer of soil that contains many nutrients and organic matter called?
Topsoil / A horizon
What do pollinators help many plants do?
Reproduce / make seeds or fruit
What is a mineral deposit that can be mined profitably called?
Ore
Most of Earth’s freshwater is stored in what place?
Glaciers and ice caps
What is the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere?
Nitrogen
Energy is the ability to do what?
Do work or cause change
What is the dark, nutrient-rich organic matter in soil called?
Humus
What is it called when one crop is grown over a large area?
Monoculture
What mining method removes soil and rock above a shallow mineral deposit?
Strip mining / surface mining
What is land called where water drains to a common outlet?
Watershed
In which layer of the atmosphere does weather occur?
Troposphere
What type of energy is stored energy, such as in a stretched rubber band?
Potential energy
Soil texture is based on the amounts of what three particle types?
Sand, silt, and clay
What farming practice alternates crops in a field to help restore nutrients and reduce pest cycles?
Crop rotation
What is the process of restoring land after mining called?
Reclamation
What underground layer stores and transmits groundwater?
Aquifer
In which layer of the atmosphere is the protective ozone layer mostly found?
Stratosphere
Electricity is considered what type of energy source because it must be produced from another source?
Secondary energy source
What type of soil has a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay and is usually good for farming?
Loam
What is the name for raising aquatic organisms, such as fish, for food?
Aquaculture
What environmental problem can happen when sulfide ores react with water and oxygen?
Acid mine drainage
What type of pollution comes from one identifiable source, such as a pipe?
Point source pollution
What does the Keeling Curve measure?
Atmospheric carbon dioxide / CO2
Fossil fuels formed from the remains of organisms that lived how long ago?
Millions of years ago
What process moves dissolved minerals downward through soil layers?
Leaching
What pest-control strategy combines multiple methods such as monitoring, biological control, and limited pesticide use?
Integrated Pest Management / IPM
What practice reduces demand for new mineral extraction by reusing materials?
Recycling
What water problem happens when excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause algae growth and oxygen loss?
Eutrophication
What is the term for long-term patterns of temperature, precipitation, and weather conditions?
Climate
What gas makes up most of natural gas?
Methane