Unit 10 Human Interaction and the Environment: Test Review

Terms in this set (56)

What is a mineral?
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, homogeneous, solid with a crystalline structure.
How are rocks and minerals different?
Rocks are made up of minerals. Minerals are homogeneous, rocks are not.
Name the four main processes by which minerals form.
1. Cooling magma
2. Evaporation
3. Precipitation
4. Heat and Pressure
What is a lode?
A lode is a hot mineral solution that settles into in cracks in rocks.
What is a primary ore and where is it located?
A primary ores is a deep vein and deposit underground - often rich in sulfur.
What is a weather (supergene) ore and where is it located?
Weathered (supergene) ores are ores weathered near the surface. The sulfur has leached out of them - they are cleaner and cheaper to mine and process.
What is overburden and where is it located?
Overburden is the material that lies above an ore area and must be removed prior to surface mining.
Why are mining companies required to reclaim the area where they have mined?
Without reclamation, habitats are permanently destroyed and erosion increases.
What does renewable mean?
Renewable means that the resources is not depleted when used.
Name the renewable energy resources we learned.
Solar power, hydropower, wind power, biomass, geothermal power, water power (tides and waves) are the renewable resources we learned about.
What does nonrenewable mean?
Nonrenewable means that the resource cannot be replaced naturally at the same pace it is being used.
Name the nonrenewable energy resources we learned.
Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Nuclear Power are the nonrenewable energy resources we learned about.
Name the three fossil fuels.
Coal, Petroleum (crude oil), and natural gas.
Which fossil fuel is formed 300-400 million years ago from land plants.
Coal formed from the dead remains of trees, ferns and other plants that lived 300 to 400 million years ago.
How were the fossil fuels petroleum and natural gas formed?
Oil and natural gas are from organisms that lived in the water and were buried under ocean or river sediments.
Which fossil fuels burns the cleanest?
Natural gas burns the cleanest.
How does nuclear power provide the energy to turn a turbine to make electricity?
Nuclear power uses the heat from radioactive uranium to heat water to make steam to turn the turbine.
What are some advantages of nuclear power?
1. Uranium can be found in rocks all over the world.
2. There is no air pollutions given off.
3. The cost of uranium ore is cheap.
What are some disadvantages of nuclear power?
1. Nuclear Power plants produce nuclear waste which is radioactive.
2. Nuclear Power plants are expensive to build.
How does solar power provide the energy to make electricity?
Photovoltaic cells take the energy of the sun and turn it into electricity.
What are some advantages of solar power?
1. Unlimited supply of sun power.
2. Solar power produces no air or water pollution.
What are some disadvantages of solar power?
1. Solar cells are expensive to build but the price is coming down.
2. Solar farms require a lot of land.
3. Only certain areas get enough sunlight on a daily basis for solar energy to be economical.
4. When the sun goes down, not power can be collected.
How does wind power provide the energy to make electricity?
The wind turns fan blades which turn a turbine which generates electricity.
What are some advantages of wind power?
1. Unlimited supply of wind power.
2. Wind power produces no air or water pollution.
What are some disadvantages of wind power?
1. Not all areas of the world have enough wind.
2. The wind turbines can kill birds as they turn.
3. Some think the turbines are not pleasing to look at or listen to.
4. Wind farms require a lot of land to place the turbines on.
How does geothermal power provide the energy to make electricity?
Geothermal energy comes from the tremendous heat trapped deep within the Earth. Natural steam geysers are used to generate electricity by using the steam to turn a turbine.
What are some advantages of geothermal power?
1. The Earth has no shortage of thermal activity.
2. Can be used to heat homes (single house) and product electricity (power plant).
What are some disadvantages of geothermal power?
1. The underground water does have some contaminants which are removed.
2. Not all geothermal areas are in places where power plants can be built and not all areas have available geothermal sites.
How does biomass power provide the energy to make electricity?
Biofuels are organic (once-living) matter such as trees, sugarcane, corn, manure, and seaweed. Some of these organic materials can be burned directly to produce heat. Others are converted into flammable liquids or gases. These are then used to heat water which turns to steam and turns a turbine to make electricity.
What are some advantages of biomass power?
1. There is always available biomass to burn.
2. Does not produce pollution that causes acid rain.
3. Methane captured from landfills does not go into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.
What are some disadvantages of biomass power?
1. Does produce air pollution when burned.
2. Contributes to global warming as it produces carbon dioxide.
How does hydropower provide the energy to make electricity?
Moving water holds a tremendous amount of potential energy. Dams are built to direct falling water through turbine blades to generate electricity.
What are some advantages of hydropower?
1. No air pollution is produced.
2. The cheapest way to general electricity once the dam is built.
What are some disadvantages of hydropower?
1. Damming a river to produce electricity can disrupt wildlife and natural resources.
2. Many of the dams in the United States are old.
3. The drain on the drinkable water supply is also causing issues as towns may wind up needing to consume the water that provides them power too.
What is photochemical smog?
Photochemical smog is made from a reaction of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) that occurs in the troposphere.
Produced in series of chemical reactions and it is responsible for brownish haze in afternoons of sunny days.
What is industrial smog?
Industrial smog is a combination of sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and a variety of aerosols from burning coal and heavy oil. Droplets with soot make smog grayish.
What is acid rain?
There are higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids in the atmosphere. These form wet deposition: acid rain, fog, and snow
Natural carbon dioxide in atmosphere is reason for rain's natural acidity of 5.6. Acid rain can have a pH as low as 4.3.
Name some factors that can reduce air pollution.
1. Settling out
2. Precipitation
3. Sea spray
4. Winds
5. Chemical reactions
Name some factors that can increase air pollution.
1. Urban buildings - slow wind dispersal of pollutants.
2. Mountains - promote temperature inversions
3. High temperatures - promote photochemical reactions
What is groundwater?
Groundwater is water that is stored beneath surface - more like water in a sponge than a "river".
What kind of consequences will an increase in population have on our drinking water supply?
1. It will increase demand for water.
2. It will increase pollution of the water.
3. It will increase the waste of the water.
What is groundwater depletion?
Groundwater depletion is long-term water-level declines caused by sustained pumping.
What is saltwater intrusion?
Saltwater intrusion occurs where water table near the coast drops. Saltwater is drawn toward the freshwater zones in the aquifer when too much freshwater is pumped out. Saltwater intrusion decreases freshwater storage in the aquifers.
Name three things that can contaminate groundwater.
1. Storage tanks
2. Septic tanks
3. Landfills
4. Hazardous waste
5. Industrial discharge
Name some benefits of dams.
1. Produce cheap electricity
2. Stores water for drinking
3. Provide year-round water for irrigating cropland
4. Holds excess runoff
Slowly release the water for several days
5. Reduces flooding downstream
6. Recreation and fishing uses
Name some problems of dams.
1. Displaces people
2. Destroys ecosystems to build dams
3. Disrupts aquatic systems
4. Risk of failure
5. Life cycles of some fish species disrupted
6. Downstream estuaries and cropland robbed of nutrients
What is water pollution?
Water pollution is the contamination of bodies of water. It can come from discharges of untreated sewage and industrial wastes.
Where do most of the pollutants in water come from?
Most of the pollutants in water come from activities of humans on land.
Why is polluted groundwater difficult to clean?
Polluted groundwater is difficult to clean because the recycling process of groundwater can take hundreds or thousands of years.
What is point source pollution and name two examples.
Point source pollution comes from specific locations like factory waste, sewage treatment plants, and mines.
What is nonpoint source pollution and name two examples.
Nonpoint source pollution cannot be traced to a single site of discharge like acid rain, runoff, and seepage into groundwater
What is thermal pollution and why is it bad for the environment?
Thermal pollution is the harmful release of heated liquid into a body of water or heat released into the air as a waste product of a business.
It can lead to sudden increases in temperature, decreased dissolved oxygen, changes to reproductive cycles of plants and animals, increased susceptibility to disease, and economic and environmental damage.
Name the nine stages of water treatment.
1. Screening
2. Aeration
3. pH correction
4. Coagulation and flocculation
5. Sedimentation
6. Chlorination
7. Sand filtration
8. Disinfection
9. pH adjustment
What chemical is used to disinfect water to kill bacteria?
Chlorine is the chemical is used to disinfect water to kill bacteria.
Wastewater Treatment plants use the same processes to clean water as what?
Wastewater Treatment plants use the same processes to clean water as natural aquatic systems only they do it faster.
Why do we treat water (effluent) before putting it back in the ocean or river?
Waste water is cleaned so it can be safe to return it to the environment.
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