Energy
Biogeochemical cycles
Pollution
Policy
The Earth
100
The most fundamental source of energy on our planet.
What is the Sun?
100
This cycle relies on bacteria for several processes.
What is the nitrogen cycle?
100
This greenhouse gas is exclusively anthropogenic.
What is cloroflurocarbons (CFC's)?
100
This federal law protects public water drinking water supplies throughout the nation.
Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)
100
The layer of atmosphere where the ozone layer is found.
What is the stratosphere?
200
This non-renewable resource produces no air pollution.
What is nuclear power?
200
This serves as the energy source that drives the hydrologic cycle.
The sun.
200
This major climate change gas is NOT regulated by the federal government.
What is CO2?
200
This law provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found.
What is the Endangered Species Act (1973)?
200
Which naturally occurring rock present in soil can neutralize the effects of acid rain?
What is the limestone?
300
These high-efficiency devices use hydrogen gas to produce electricity, resulting in a by-product of pure water.
What are fuel cells?
300
The ocean serves as a large reserve or "sink" in this cycle.
What is the carbon cycle?
300
These are three ways wastewater is disinfected at a municipal treatment plant.
What is ozone, UV, and chlorine treatment?
300
This legislation funded municipal sewage treatment plants.
What is the Clean Water Act?
300
Winds across the middle US are most likely to blow in this direction.
What is west to east?
(Remember the 3 major convection cells, and think about how their surface currents are flowing and the effect of the Coriolis force)
400
These three countries contain over 60% of all the world's coal reserves.
What are the United States, Russia, & China.
400
The process of converting NO3 to N2.
What is denitrification?
400
These TWO types of air pollution are primarily responsible for causing acid rain.
What are nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx).
400
This agreement banned the production of aerosols and reduced the amount of chlorofluorocarbons released into the atmosphere.
What is the Montreal protocol?
400
This is one of the world's largest aquifers that underlies the United States High Plains and is being depleted by overuse.
What is the Ogallala Aquifier?
500
For this reason, hybrid electric vehicles use less fossil fuel per mile traveled than a typical internal combustion engine uses.
What is hybrid electric vehicles convert kinetic energy into electric energy when the brakes are applied. This electricity is used by the electric motor to assist the gas motor.
500
Describe four ways carbon is released into the atmosphere.
1. Respiration of plants and animals.
2. Decay of organic material.
3. Combustion of fossil fuels or biomass.
4. Weatherization of rocks.
5. Volcanic eruptions.
6. Release of CO2 by warmer ocean water.
500
These are the three main sources of anthropogenic gaseous air pollutants in the United States.
What is industry, transportation, and energy production.
500
This legislation established federal authority for emergency response and clean-up of hazardous substances that have been spilled, improperly disposed, or released into the environment.
What is CERCLA? (The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)
500
This is the area beneath the ocean floor where tectonic plates move away from each other.
What is divergent plate boundary?