Environmental Science Ap Exam Review

Question: abiotic

Answer: Pertaining to factors or things that are nonliving.

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Question: acid

Answer: Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also, a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.

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Question: A horizon

Answer: a soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The A layer is formed of weathered rock, with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil.

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Question: alkaline

Answer: a basic substance; chemically, a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water, a measure of the base content of the water.

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Question: aquifer

Answer: an underground layer of porous rock, sand, or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.

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Question: arable

Answer: land that's fit to be cultivated.

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Question: asthenosphere

Answer: the part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.

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Question: atmosphere

Answer: the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the Earth, which is retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.

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Question: barrier island

Answer: a long, relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland-built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from erosion by surf and tidal surges.

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Question: biological weathering

Answer: any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.

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Question: biotic

Answer: living or derived from living things.

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Question: B horizon

Answer: a soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.

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Question: chemical weathering

Answer: the result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.

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Question: C horizon

Answer: a soil horizon, horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that have not undergone much weathering.

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Question: clay

Answer: the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.

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Question: convection

Answer: the vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.

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Question: convection currents

Answer: air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.

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Question: convergent boundary

Answer: a plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.

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Question: coral reef

Answer: an erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.

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Question: Coriolis effect

Answer: The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth, rightward in the Northern Hemisphere, and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Question: crop rotation

Answer: the practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for example, corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn.

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Question: delta

Answer: a usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.

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Question: divergent boundary

Answer: a plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.

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Question: doldrums

Answer: a region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls.

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Question: drip irrigation

Answer: a method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.

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Question: earthquake

Answer: the result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.

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Question: El Nino

Answer: a climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years, for a duration of about one year.

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Question: erosion

Answer: the process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser, sandier, stonier texture.

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Question: estuary

Answer: the part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.

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Question: fault

Answer: the place where two plates abut each other.

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Question: Green Revolution

Answer: the development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.

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Question: greenhouse effect

Answer: the phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through, but absorb heat radiated back from the Earth's surface.

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Question: Hadley cell

Answer: a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.

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Question: Headwaters

Answer: the water from which a river rises; a source.

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Question: Horizon

Answer: a layer of soil.

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Question: humus

Answer: the dark, crumbly, nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.

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Question: hurricane (typhoon, cyclone)

Answer: a severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.

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Question: inner core

Answer: the molten core of the Earth.

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Question: jet stream

Answer: a high-speed, meandering wind current, generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles).

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Question: land degradation

Answer: when soil becomes water-logged and then dries out, and salt forms a layer on its surface.

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Question: La Nina

Answer: a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.

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Question: lithosphere

Answer: the outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.

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Question: loam

Answer: soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter.

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Question: mantle

Answer: the layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.

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Question: monoculture

Answer: the cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single, homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.

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Question: O horizon

Answer: the uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material, including waste from organisms, the bodies of decomposing organisms, and live organisms.

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Question: physical (mechanical) weathering

Answer: any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.

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Question: plate boundaries

Answer: the edges of tectonic plates.

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Question: prior appropriation

Answer: when water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.

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Question: rain shadow

Answer: the low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow is the result of the mountain range's causing precipitation on the windward side.

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Question: red tide

Answer: a bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyamfox produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish.

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Question: R horizon

Answer: The bedrock, which lies below all of the other layers of soil, is referred to as the R horizon.

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Question: riparian right

Answer: the right, as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed, of one who owns riparian land (the land adjacent to a river or stream).

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Question: salinization

Answer: the process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until, finally, the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.

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Question: sand

Answer: the coarsest soil, with particles 0.05,2.0 mm in diameter.

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Question: silt

Answer: soil with particles 0.002,0.05 mm in diameter.

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Question: Southern Oscillation

Answer: the atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.

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Question: subduction zone

Answer: in tectonic plates, the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.

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Question: thermocline

Answer: a layer in a large body of water, such as a lake, that sharply separates regions differing in temperature, so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.

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Question: thermosphere

Answer: the outermost shell of the atmosphere, between the mesosphere and outer space, where temperatures increase steadily with altitude.

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Question: topsoil

Answer: the A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.

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Question: trade winds

Answer: the more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface, as part of Hadley cells.

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Question: transform boundary

Answer: also known as transform faults, boundaries at which plates are moving past each other, sideways.

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Question: tropical storm

Answer: a cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.

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Question: upwelling

Answer: a process in which cold, often nutrient-rich, waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.

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Question: volcanoes

Answer: an opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected.

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Question: watershed

Answer: the region draining into river system or other body of water.

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Question: water-scarce

Answer: countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1,000 m3 per person.

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Question: water-stressed

Answer: countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1,000,2,000 m3 per person.

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Question: weather

Answer: the day-to-day variations in temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity, and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.

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Question: weathering

Answer: the gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles, caused by natural chemical, physical, and biological factors.

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Question: wetlands

Answer: a lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.

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Question: assimilation

Answer: the process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3), ammonia ions (NH4+), and nitrate ions (NO3) through their roots.

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Question: autotroph

Answer: an organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. autotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.

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Question: bioaccumulation

Answer: the accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism.

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Question: biomagnifications

Answer: the process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.

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Question: biosphere

Answer: the part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.

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Question: carnivore

Answer: an animal that only consumes other animals.

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Question: chemotroph (chemoautotroph)

Answer: an organism such as a bacterium or protozoan, that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds, as opposed to photosynthesis.

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Question: climax community

Answer: a stable, mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.

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Question: combustion

Answer: the process of burning.

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Question: community

Answer: formed from populations of different species occupying the same geographic area.

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Question: competitive exclusion

Answer: the process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better adapted species wins.

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Question: consumer

Answer: an organism that must obtain food energy from secondary sources, for example, by eating plant or animal matter.

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Question: decomposer

Answer: bacteria or fungi that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic matter like plant material, the wastes of living organisms, and corpses. They convert these materials into inorganic forms.

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Question: denitrification

Answer: the process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2, and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.

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Question: detritivore

Answer: organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.

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Question: ecological succession

Answer: transition in species composition of a biological community, often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.

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Question: edge effect

Answer: the condition in which, at ecosystem boundaries, there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities.

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Question: energy pyramid

Answer: the structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter, from largest to smallest.

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Question: evaporation

Answer: to convert or change into a vapor.

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Question: evolution

Answer: change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals and resulting in the development of new species.

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Question: extinction

Answer: being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.

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Question: food chain

Answer: a succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and, in turn, is preyed upon by a higher member.

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Question: food web

Answer: a complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.

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Question: Gross Primary Productivity

Answer: the amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis and subtracting from it the amount of energy the plants need for growth maintenance, repair, and reproduction.

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Question: habitat

Answer: the area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.

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Question: habitat fragmentation

Answer: when the size of an organism's natural habitat is reduced, or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.

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Question: heterotrophy

Answer: an organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.

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Question: indigenous species

Answer: species that originate and live, or occur naturally, in an area or environment.

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