AP Environmental Review

Approximate efficiency of the conversion of light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis

1%

Approximate efficiency of an average coal- fired power plant

30%

Approximate percentage of electrical energy converted to heat in the average incandescent light bulb

95%

Name a source of energy not derived directly or indirectly from solar energy: a. Geothermal b. Photovoltaic c. hydroelectric d. biomass e. Wind

A. Geothermal

Nitrification

Ammonia is converted to nitrite then to nitrate

Country with the greatest percentage of land area affected by desertification

Australia

biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, this is often used to mean plant based material, but ... can equally apply to both animal and vegetable derived material.

Biomass

biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing, needle-leaved, or scale-leaved evergreen trees, found in regions that have long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation.

Boreal forests

Organic compounds made up of atoms of carbon, chlorine and fluorine. An example is freon-12 which is used as a refrigerant in fridges and air conditioners and in making plastics such as Styrofoam. Gaseous CFC's can deplete the ozone layer when they slowly rise into the stratosphere and their chlorine atoms react with ozone molecules.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Ozone

Considered harmful in the troposphere but beneficial in the stratosphere

heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable

Geothermal energy

The most abundant element in Earth's core

Iron

Particulates

Is the major pollutant that electrostatic precipitators are designed to remove from power-plant smokestack emissions

Protocol that exemplifies global collaboration for a sustainable environment

Montreal protocol

Most abundant element in the Earth's crust

Oxygen

Colorless and highly reactive gas; major component of photochemical smog and also found in the stratosphere where it protects life by filtering out most harmful UV radiation from the sun

Ozone

Assimilation

Plant roots absorb ammonium ions and nitrate ions for use in making molecules such as DNA, amino acids, and proteins

Country with the largest area of boreal forests

Russia

Denitrification

The process by which a soil nutrient is reduced and released to the atmosphere as a gas Nitrate ions and nitrite ions are converted into nitrous oxide gas and nitrogen gas

Country with largest area of temperate deciduous forests

United States

Element commercially extracted from bauxite

alumminum

Eutrophication

excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

a chlorofluocarbon

freons

Lead

implicated in human neurological damage

Sulfur dioxide

most often cited as the causative factor for acid deposition

Most abundant element in the Earth's atmosphere

nitrogen

Effective alternative to chlorine for disinfecting wastewater in a municipal treatment plant

ozone

Decomposition is the

rapid rate of this process in tropical forests results in low-nutrient soils

Desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.