This is a phenomenon in which part of a body of water becomes rich in nutrients, resulting in increased algal production and biological oxygen demand, and ultimately in hypoxia.
What is eutrophication?
100
These two terms describe stored energy and energy in motion.
What are potential and kinetic energy, respectively?
100
This phrase describes a change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating.
What is genetic drift?
100
This term describes the percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface. Lighter surfaces have higher levels, while darker surfaces have lower levels.
What is albedo?
100
These biomes can be found at approximately 30°N and 30°S, and feature hot temperatures, extremely dry conditions, and sparse vegetation. The Sahara region of Africa is an example of one.
What are subtropical deserts (hot deserts)?
200
These three indoor air pollutants come from incomplete combustion, leaks in basements/foundations, and household cleaning products.
What are carbon monoxide, radon, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), respectively?
200
This scientific law states that in the transformation of energy its quantity remains constant, while its ability to do work diminishes.
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
200
This phrase describes a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size.
What is the bottleneck effect?
200
These are Earth's seven geological layers, from furthest inward to furthest outward.
What are the inner core, outer core, mantle, asthenosphere, and lithosphere (consisting of the solid upper mantle and the crust)?
200
These are the six zones of the open ocean biome, including the three tidal zones, two aquatic zones (light and dark) and the ocean floor.
What are the intertidal, high tide, low tide, photic, aphotic, and benthic zones?
300
This phrase is used to describe a buildup of toxic pollutants in an airtight space, often seen in newer buildings.
What is sick building syndrome?
300
This device has blades that can be turned by water, wind, steam, or exhaust gas from combustion, and is often utilized to turn the generator(s) in a power plant.
What is a turbine?
300
This phrase describes a change in the genetic composition of a population as a result of descending from a small number of colonizing individuals.
What is the founder effect?
300
These are the five layers of Earth's atmosphere, from closest to the surface to farthest away.
What are the troposhere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere?
300
These biomes feature warm summers and cold winters, with over 39 inches of annual precipitation. They are dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, and some coniferous species. (Hint: we live in this type of biome.)
What are temperate seasonal forests?
400
This anthropogenic disaster, involving an oil-tanker crash, took place in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24th, 1989. It resulted in the pollution of waters and animals from 38 million gallons of oil, and cleanup cost about $7 billion.
What is the Exxon Valdez Disaster?
400
This anthropogenic disaster, involving a nuclear meltdown, took place in the USSR on April 26th, 1986. It released massive amounts of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, and cleanup cost about $18 billion.
What is the Chernobyl Disaster?
400
This phrase describes the limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate.
What is the range of tolerance?
400
These are the three types of plate boundaries, describing plates passing under one another, plates colliding with one another, and plates passing by one another.
What are divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries, respectively?
400
These biomes are marked by warm temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons. Common plants in these regions include acacia and baobab trees. Basso, Philippines is an example of this type of biome.
What are tropical seasonal forests/savannas?
500
This equation describes the creation of photochemical smog.
What is NO2->NO+O->O+O2->O3 (ozone)->Photochemical
\ / Smog
\ /
->NO+VOCs->Photochemical oxidants
500
These are the four forms of coal, in order from earliest in the cycle of production to the most recent.
What are peat, lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite coal?
500
This first phrase describes the suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproduce, as opposed to this second phrase, which describes the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives.
What is the fundamental niche, in contrast to the realized niche?
500
What are the names of the five types of soil horizon, from topmost to deepest layer? (Hint: includes the sometimes-present layer of leaching metals and nutrients.)
What are the O (organic), A (topsoil), E (metal/nutrient leachate), B (soil-like subsoil), and C (parent-material-like) horizons, respectively?
500
These marine biomes are among Earth's most diverse. Found in warm, shallow waters beyond the shoreline, they are named for a specific organism that inhabit them.