Topic 5
This mixture of minerals, organic matter, water, and air forms the basis of plant growth.
What is soil?
This natural process warms Earth by trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.
What is the greenhouse effect?
This term refers to the typically nonphysical or abiotic things provided by ecosystems.
What are ecosystem services?
This measure describes the average number of children a woman is expected to have.
What is total fertility rate?
This global issue persists due to unequal access, distribution, and affordability, not because of insufficient food production.
What is food insecurity?
This gas, produced mainly by burning fossil fuels, is the largest contributor to human‑driven global warming.
What is carbon dioxide?
This energy source includes coal, oil, and natural gas.
What are fossil fuels?
This model shows how birth and death rates change as a country develops.
What is the demographic transition model (DTM)?
This soil property describes the proportions of sand, silt, and clay.
What is soil texture?
This term describes the long-term average weather patterns in a region.
What is climate?
This type of waste includes discarded electronics such as phones and computers.
What is e‑waste?
This movement of people from rural areas to cities increases demand for housing, transport, and services.
What is urbanization?
This farming approach focuses on rebuilding soil health and increasing biodiversity.
What is regenerative agriculture?
This feedback loop occurs when melting ice reduces albedo, causing further warming.
What is the positive ice–albedo feedback?
This term describes the yield obtained from natural capital, such as timber or fish.
What is natural income?
This planning model aims to reduce waste and keep materials in use for as long as possible.
What is the circular economy?
This soil conservation technique involves alternating crops in a planned sequence to maintain soil structure and nutrient balance.
What is crop rotation?
This atmospheric layer absorbs harmful UV radiation and protects life on Earth.
What is the stratospheric ozone layer?
This environmental problem occurs when waste is transported from wealthier nations to less developed ones.
What is international waste dumping (or waste colonialism)?
This type of smog forms when sunlight reacts with pollutants like nitrogen oxides and VOCs.
What is photochemical smog?