Put These Facts on Index Cards. Study Them
A.P.E.S. FACTS
Put these facts on index cards. Study them.
1) Atmospheric nitrogen(N2) cannot be used directly by plants, so it must first be converted into ammonia (NH3)
through nitrogen fixationby bacteria.
2) Ammonification occurs when nitrogen is converted into ammonia by ammonifying bacteria.
3) Assimilation occurs when inorganic N2 is converted into organic molecules such as DNA/amino acids & proteins.
4) Denitrification occurs when bacteria convert nitrate (NO3)and nitrite (NO2)back into N2 gas.
5) Phosphorus does not circulate as easily as nitrogen because it does not exist as a gas, but is released by
weathering of phosphate (PO4) rocks.
6) Eutrophication is caused excess phosphorus added to aquatic ecosystems through runoff of animal wastes,
fertilizer, discharge of sewage.
7) Photosynthesis occurs when plants convert atmospheric carbon (CO2) into glucose and oxygen is released as a
waste product.
8) Aerobic respiration occurs when oxygen is consumed and glucose is broken down to release carbon dioxide and
produce energy.
9) Anaerobic respiration occurs during the break down of carbohydrates without oxygen to produce energy.
10) Transpiration is the process whereby water passes through pores(stomata) in leaves and evaporates into
atmosphere as water vapor.
11) Largest reservoirs of carbon are found in carbonate (CO3) in rocks first and then oceans.
12) Surface mining is cheap and can remove more minerals while being less hazardous to workers
13) Ore is a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it profitable to mine.
14) Humus is an organic, dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms.
15) Leaching is the removal of dissolved materials from soil by water moving downwards.
16) Illuviation is the deposit of leached material in lower soil layers (B horizon).
17) Loam is the perfect agricultural soil with optimal portions of sand, silt, clay (40%, 40%, 20%).
18) Soil Profile horizons in order areO – A – E – B – C –R
19) Organic fertilizer is slow-acting & long-lasting because the organic remains need time to be decomposed.
20) Salinization of soil occurs in arid regions when water evaporates leaving salts behind.
21) Volcano and earthquake occurs at plate boundaries.
22) Monoculture is the cultivation of a single crop, usually in a large area.
23) Foods such as wheat, rice and corn provide more than ½ of the calories in the food consumed by the world’s
people.
24) Wegner proposed that all the continents were once one large continent called Pangea.
25)Paleomagnetism is earth’s magnetic field that produces invisible lines of force that extend from one pole to the
other.
26)Seafloor spreading is based on the existence of ridges located above zones of upwelling in the mantle creating
the seafloor.
27)High intensity zones of the seafloor correspond to seafloor formed during a period of normal magnetic polarity.
28)Low intensity zones of the seafloor correspond to seafloor formed during a period of reversed magnetic polarity.
29) The theory of plate tectonics states that earth’s surface is composed of 7 major ridge plates known as the
lithosphere.
30) Divergent boundaries occur between plates that move away from one another.
31)Convergent boundaries occur between plates that move towards one another.
32)Transform boundaries occur when plates grind past one another.
33)Rift valleys form when the continental crust has upward movement of hot rock within the mantle accompanied
by faulting.
34) Most earthquakes coincide with plate boundaries due to movement along the boundaries.
35) Most volcanoes occur at subduction zones and mid-oceanic ridges.
36) Volcanoes release sulfur dioxide which causes more radiation from the sun to reflected causing the environment
to cool.
37) Earthquakes are caused by volcanic eruptions, collapse of a cavern, impact of a meteorite, and the movement of
plate boundaries.
38)Primary (P) waves are compression waves that move fast through any material.
39)Secondary (S) waves move side to side and can only move through solid material.
40)Surface waves travel along the earth’s surface and are slowest causing the most damage.
41) Sustainability is the ability to meet the current needs of humanity without compromising the ability of future
generations.
42) The Tragedy of the Commons refers to a situation where individuals acting in their own self-interests behave
contrary to the best interests of the whole by depleting a common resource.
43) Natural selection is when organisms that possess favorable adaptations survive and pass them onto the next
generation.
44) In a food chain only 10% of the usable energy is transferred because energy is used as heat, for metabolism,
and catching prey.
45) Bioticfactors are the living parts of an ecosystem and abiotic factors are the nonliving components of an
ecosystem.
46) Competition is a type of population interaction, usually over a limited resource that may be intraspecific or
interspecific.
47) A producer produces it’s own food either through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.(aka autotroph)
48) A chemotroph is an organism that undergoes chemosynthesis and is usually sulfur bacteria found in aphotic zones
within deep ocean vents.
49) Primary succession is the development of communities in an area not previously inhabited by life or those in
which thesoil profile is totally destroyed, and begins with lichen.
50) Scondary succession is the development of communities in an area where soil remains (clear-cut forest, fire,
disturbed areas).
51) Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship where both partners benefit.
52) Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits & the other is unaffected.
53) Parasitism is a relationship in which one partner benefits at the expense of the host.
54) Biomes are large distinct region having similar climate, soil, plants & animals.
55) Carrying capacity is the number of individuals that can be sustained by that ecosystem.
56) Rreproductive strategy includes reproducing early in life with many offspring and a short life span; tend to be
generalists.
57) Kreproductive strategy includes reproducing late in life with few offspring requiring long-term care and long
lifespan; tend to be specialists.
58) Positive feedback occurs when a change in some condition triggers a response that intensifies the changing
condition.
59) Negative feedback occurs when a change in some condition triggers a response that stops the changed condition.
60) Pesticide help saves lives from insect-transmitted disease, increases food supply, and increases for farmers.
61) Pesticide overuse can create genetic resistance, ecosystem imbalance, bioaccumulation, and biological
magnification.
62) Conservation is the use of resources in a responsible manner
63) Preservation is setting aside areas and protecting them from human activities.
64) Keystone species is a species who plays a crucial role in how an ecosystem functions.
65) Indicator species is a species that serve as early warnings that an ecosystem is changing.
66) Characteristics of endangered species include small range, large territory, or live on an island.
67) Endangered species is a group of organisms in danger of becoming extinct.
68) Invasive species is a non-native species that often thrive and disrupt the ecosystem balance.(aka exotic or alien)
69) During an El Niño year trade winds weaken & warm water sloshed back to South America.
70) During a non El Niño year easterly trade winds and ocean currents pool warm water in the western Pacific,
allowingupwelling of nutrient rich water off the west coast of South America.
71) Effects of El Niño upwelling decreases disrupting food chains; northern U.S. has mild winters, southwestern U.S.
has increased rainfall, and less Atlantic hurricanes.
72) Temperature inversion is a layer of dense, cool air trapped under a layer of warm dense air.
73) Surface forest fire usually burns only under growth and leaf litter on forest floor.
74) Crown forest fire, are hot and may start on the ground but eventually leap from treetop to treetop.
75) Groundforest fire may smolder for days or weeks, difficult to detect and extinguish, i.e. peat bogs.
76) Malthus said human population increases exponentially, while food supplies increase arithmetically and factors
that keepthe population in check include war, famine & disease.
77) Replacement level fertility is the number of children a couple must have to replace themselves.
78) The world population is about6.8 billionwhile that U.S. population is about 310 million people.
79) The preindustrial stage includes high birth & death rates, slow population growth, and a high infant mortality.
80) The transitional stage includes a low death rate, better health care, and fast population growth.
81) The industrial stage includes a decline in birth rate and slow population growth.
82) The postindustrial stage includes low birth & death rates.
83) China and India are the first and second most populated countries.
84) The low status of womenis the most important thing affecting population growth.
85) Mutagens cause hereditary changes.
86)Teratogens cause fetal deformities.
87) Carcinogens cause cancer.
88) Main component of municipal solid waste (MSW) is paper.
89) The advantages of incineration of solid waste includes volume of waste reduced by 90%, and waste heat can be
used.
90) Best way to solve waste problem is toreduce the amounts of waste at the source.
91) Threshold dose is the maximum dose that has no measurable effect on a given population.
92) The earth is 97.5% seawater and 2.5% freshwater.
93) Aquifers are any water-bearing layer in the ground.
94) Subsidence occurs when land sinks as result of over pumping an aquifer.
95) Cone of depression is the lowering of the water table around a pumping well.
96) Salt water intrusion is the over-pumping of groundwater near the coast causing saltwater to move into the
aquifer.
97) Cogeneration is the use of waste heat to make electricity
98) Electricity generated by fossil fuels, biomass or nuclear power.
99) As heat is produced, steamis created which turns a turbine, from which mechanical energy is converted to
electrical energy and istransmitted to homes through power lines.
100) Hydroelectric power is the potential energy of stored water that is used to turn a turbine.
101) A thermal gradient is the spontaneous flow of heat from warmer to cooler bodies.
102) Ionizing radiation contains enough energy to dislodge electrons from atoms, forming ions that are capable of
causing cancer (ex: gamma, X-rays, UV).
103) High quality energy is organized & concentrated and can perform useful work (ex: fossil fuel & nuclear).
104) Low quality energy is disorganized and dispersed (ex: heat in ocean or air wind, solar).
105) First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from
one form to another(Law of Conservation of Energy).
106) Second Law of Thermodynamics states that when energy is changed from one form to another some useful
energy is always degraded into lower quality energy, typically heat.
107) Best solutions to energy shortage include conservation, increase efficiency, and to explore alternative energy
options.
108) Alternate energy sources include wind, solar, waves, biomass, geothermal, fuel cells.
109) Natural radioactive decay occurs when unstable radioisotopes decay releasing gamma rays, alpha particles, and
beta particles.
110) Half-life is the time it takes for ½ the mass of a radioisotope to decay.
111) It takes approximately 10 half-lives for a radioactive isotope to be stored until it decays to a safe level.
112) Nuclear fission occurs when nuclei of isotopes split apart when struck by neutrons.
113) Nuclear fusion occurs when two isotopes of light elements (H) are forced together at high temperatures until
they fuse to form a heaviernucleus (He).
114) Two most serious nuclear accidents occurred at Chernobyl, Ukraine (1986) and Three Mile Island, PA (1979)
115) Petroleum formation occurs when microscopic aquatic organisms in sediments are converted by heat and
pressure into a mixture of hydrocarbons.
116) Particulate matter comes from burning fossil fuels and diesel exhaust and lead to reduced visibility &
respiratory irritation.
117) Nitrogen oxides (NOx) comes from transportation exhaust and industry and leads to acidification of lakes,
respiratory irritation, leads to photochemical smog & ozone formation
118)The equation for nitrous acid formation: NO + O2 NO2 + H2O HNO3
119) Sulfur oxides (SOx) comes from coal burning and leads to acid deposition, respiratory irritation, damages plants.
120) The equation for sulfuric acid formation: SO2 + O2 SO3 + H2O H2SO4.
121) Carbon oxides (CO and CO2) comes from auto exhaust, incomplete combustion and leads to reducing the blood’s
ability to carry O2 and contributes toglobal warming.
122) Radon is a naturally occurring colorless, odorless, radioactive gas, found in some types of soil and rock that can
seep intohomes and buildings, formed from the decay of uranium (U), causes cancer.
123) Photochemical smog is formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight and is associated with automobile
traffic.
124) Acid deposition is caused by sulfuric and nitric acids, resulting in lowered pH of surface waters, and soil
acidification.
125) Greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane which trap outgoing heat.
126) Effects of global warming include rising sea level, extreme weather, drought, famine, and extinctions.
127)Ozone depletion is caused by caused by CFCs, methyl chloroform, trichloromethane, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4),
and methyl bromide (CH3Br)— all of whichattack stratospheric ozone.
128) Effects of ozone depletion include increased UV light that results in skin cancer, cataracts, decreased plant
growth, and impaired immune systems.
129) Primary air pollutants are produced by humans and nature.
130) Secondary air pollutants are produced as a result of reactions that primary air pollutants.
131) Sources of mercury include burning coal and compact fluorescent bulbs.
132) Major source of sulfur is coal burning power plants.
133) Point source pollution comes from specific location such as a pipe.
134) Non-point source pollution comes from over an area such as runoff.
135) Chlorine can be good; it can disinfect water.
136) Fecal coliform/Enterococcus bacteria is an indicator of sewage contamination and is found in the intestines of
all warm blooded mammals.
137) Biological oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down
organicmaterials in water
138) Eutrophicationmay result in rapid algal growth caused by an excess of nitrates (NO3)and phosphates (PO4)in
water.
139) Hypoxia occurs when aquatic plants die, the BOD rises as aerobic decomposers break down the plants, the DO
(dissolvedO2) drops & the water cannot support life; very low DO levels; dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico
140) Anoxic water occurs when there is no dissolved O2in the water
LEGISLATION
141) Madrid Protocol: (1991) Moratorium on mineral exploration for 50 years in Antarctica
142) Safe Drinking Water Act: (1974) set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants in drinking water that
mayhave adverse effects on human health
143) Clean Water Act: (1972) set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants that can be discharged
intowaterways; aims to make surface waters swimmable and fishable
144) Clean Air Act: (CAA, 1970) set emission standards for cars and limits for release of air pollutants
145) Kyoto Protocol: (2005) controlling global warming by setting greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed
countries
146) Montreal Protocol: (1987) phase-out of ozone depleting substances
147) Food Quality Protection Act (1996): set pesticide limits in food, & all active and inactive ingredients must
be screened for estrogenic/endocrine effects
148) Endangered Species Act: (1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their
protectionahead of economic considerations
149) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species : (1973) lists species that cannot be
commerciallytraded as live specimens or wildlife products
150) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 states that environmental impact statements must be done before
any projectaffecting federal lands can be started.