Section 3
What is decayed plant or animal matter called?
Humus
What are the most diverse habitats on Earth?
Tropical rain forests
What is the name of a flightless bird that was discovered in 1507?
Dodos
What is petroleum called when first removed from the ground?
Crude Oil
What are some examples of renewable resources?
Water, Soil, Trees, Plants, and Animals
What year were dodo birds first seen?
1507
What soils are rich in minerals and humus and is essential for life like air and water?
Fertile Soil
What is a place that plants and animals live in?
Habitat
What is the production of energy from waterpower but is also the main alternative for fossil fuels?
Hydroelectric Power
What are resources Earth replaces naturally?
Renewable Resources
Fertile soils are rich in minerals and humus. These help support what?
Nutrients for the Soil and New Plant Growth
___________can be any size and occur when air, water, or soil support life.
Ecosystem
What lives in habitats?
Plants and Animals
Most natural resources are what?
Raw materials for other products
What are Earth's most important natural resources?
Air, Water, Soils, Forests, and Minerals
What is another word for surroundings?
Environment
What year did dodo birds become extinct?
1681
What factors limit where plants and animals can live?
Temperature, Rainfall, and Soil Conditions
Oil is used to make _________, which are processed to make products such as plastics and cosmetics.
Petrochemicals
Wastes from nuclear power plants must be stored how long before they are safe?
Thousands of Years
What provides energy to plants which then uses that energy to make their own food?
The Sun
What are some examples of ecosystems?
Garden pond, a City Park, a Prairie, and a Rain Forest
The interconnected parts of and ecosystem exist in what kind of balance?
Fragile
What is the name for any material in nature that people use and value?
Natural Resources
What is the name for nonrenewable resources that have formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals?
Fossil Fuels
What can cause soil to erode?
Clearing Land
Where did dodos once live?
Mauritius
Nuclear energy gets energy by doing what?
Splitting Atoms
Which country is rich in oil but lacks water for growing food?
Saudi Arabia
Trees oil and metals are all examples of what?
Natural Resources
What helps determine what plants will grow and how well and also plays an important role in the environment?
Soils
Extinct
What is it called when we can repair and prevent resource loss?
Reforestation
We turn solar energy into what?
Electricity
What is another name for heat within the Earth and is used in power plants?
Geothermal Energy
What can lead to the spread of desert-like conditions or desertification?
Fragile Dry Environments
Plants
What is another word for oil?
Petroleum
What are the most important fossil fuels?
Coal, Petroleum, and Natural Gas
What is another word for the clearing of trees?
Deforestation
________ from wind and water can sweep topsoil away.
Erosion
What are some things that people do to clear land?
Farmland, Lumber, and other reasons
What is the name of resources that can't be replaced by the Earth?
Nonrenewable Resources
Everyday we use plants and animals in the dinosaur age in the form of energy resources that do what?
Power Vehicles, Produce Heat, and Generate Electricity
What mineral resources can be described as quite valuable?
Metals, Salt, Rocks, and Gemstones
What is the term for desert-like conditions?
Desertification
What can cause plants and animals to die out or become extinct?
Extreme changes in ecosystems
We mostly use coal for what?
Create Electricity at Power Plants
What is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel?
Natural Gas
What is formed over millions of years and is a nonrenewable resource?
Coal