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.