Ap Environmental Science Study Guide

Front 1

biota

Back 1

grouping or assemblage of living organisms in an ecosytem

Hint 1

plants, animals, microbes

Front 2

ecotone

Back 2

the transitional area where one ecosystem blends into another

Hint 2

where grassland meets forest

Front 3

synergistic effect

Back 3

greater effect of two factors interacting together than individually

Hint 3

chemical A -> effect B
chemical C -> effect D
chemical A+B -> effect E

Front 4

First Law of Thermodynamics

Back 4

energy is neither created nor destroyed but may be converted from one form to another

Hint 4

you can't get something for nothing

Front 5

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Back 5

in an energy conversion, you will end up with less useable energy than you started with

Hint 5

you can't even break even

Front 6

Law of Conservation of Matter

Back 6

Atoms are not created or destroyes in chemical reactions

Front 7

Synthetic Organics

Back 7

Compounds produced by humans in test tupes

Hint 7

plastics

Front 8

Monoculture

Back 8

Growth of a single species over a wide area

Hint 8

a field of cotton

Front 9

vigor

Back 9

tolerance to adverse conditions

Hint 9

competitiveness

Front 10

private land trust

Back 10

a nonprofit organization that will accept outright gifts of land or easements

Hint 10

Nature Concervancy

Front 11

breeder reactors

Back 11

processors that produce fuel in the process of consuming fuel

Hint 11

Superphenix

Front 12

OTEC

Back 12

concept of using ocean's temperature differences to produce power

Hint 12

Hawaii

Front 13

epidemiology

Back 13

study of the presence, distribution and contro of disease in populations

Hint 13

tracking geographic distribution of HIV

Front 14

vector

Back 14

disease carrying agent

Hint 14

mosquito

Front 15

FIFRA

Back 15

key legislation to control pesticides in US
(see hint)

Hint 15

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide act

Front 16

IPM

Back 16

key legislation to control pesticides in US
(see hint)

Hint 16

Integrated Pest Mangement

Front 17

benthic plants

Back 17

deep rooted aquatic plants

Hint 17

cattails, water sedges

Front 18

euphotic zone

Back 18

depth of adaquate light for photosynthesis

Hint 18

1 inch to 600 feet

Front 19

oligotrophic

Back 19

inland wetlands

Front 20

NPL

Back 20

sites representing the most immediate and severe toxic waste threats

Hint 20

military bases

Front 21

planetary albedo

Back 21

a natural reflection of light that contributes to overall cooling

Hint 21

low clouds

Front 22

percolation

Back 22

movement through the soil beyond capillary water

Front 23

cultivar

Back 23

cultivated variety of a wild strain

Hint 23

corn, wheat, rice

Front 24

Delaney Clause

Back 24

Prohibits using any additive in foods that has been shown to cause canser in test animals or people, with no consideration of economic health benefits or risks

Hint 24

amendment to US food and drug legislation

Front 25

Lacey Act

Back 25

Requires a federal permit to transport live or dead wild animals or their parts across state borders

Hint 25

animal transportation

Front 26

Wilderness Act

Back 26

establishes the national wilderness system

Hint 26

large undeveloped areas

Front 27

Wild and senic rivers act

Back 27

allows rivers and river segments with outstanding scenic, recreational geological, wildlife, historical or cutural values to protected

Hint 27

pretty stuff = safe stuff

Front 28

Pittman-Robertson Act

Back 28

levies federal tax on gun and ammunition sales, with funds used for wildlife research and protection

Hint 28

(Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act)

Front 29

Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act

Back 29

Requires federal license for duck hunters with funds used for waterfowl refuges

Hint 29

licences and refuges

Front 30

National Park Service Act

Back 30

creates national park system and national park service

Front 31

Antiquities Act

Back 31

allows president to set aside areas on federal lands as national monuments

Hint 31

monumental legislation

Front 32

Surface mining control and reclamation act

Back 32

requires relamation of surface mined lands, with areas in the arid west frequently exempt

Front 33

Mining act of 1872

Back 33

Allows public lands which are though to contain valuable hardrock minerals to be patented and legally owned

Hint 33

(Hardock Mining law)

Front 34

Recource Conservation and Recovery Acts

Back 34

identify hazardous wastes, set standards for their management, require permits for high hazardous waste producers

Front 35

National Environmental Policy Act

Back 35

Requires an Environmental impact statement for any project which recieve federal funding

Hint 35

impact

Front 36

Endangered species act

Back 36

No import/trade of E/t or products made of them, and permits USFWS and NMFS to identify and list E/T species

Hint 36

E/T = endangered or threatened

Front 37

Clean Air Acts

Back 37

sets standards for six criteria pollitants national ambient air quality standards: particulates, SO2, CO, NOx, O3 and Pb

Front 38

Clean Water Acts

Back 38

Protecting waters, requires permit for discharge of pollution, stengthens standards

Front 39

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

Back 39

identification and clean up of hazardous waste dump/leak sites

Hint 39

SUPERFUND Program

Front 40

allelopathy

Back 40

the prevention of growth or establishment of one species of plants by chemicals produced by another species

Hint 40

interference

Front 41

abyssal floor

Back 41

deep ocean basin, thick accumulations of sediment bury topography of oceanic crust

Hint 41

ocean

Front 42

BOD

Back 42

oxygen required for decomposition of organic compounds by microorganisms in a specific amount of water

Hint 42

Biological Oxygen Demand

Front 43

cogeneration

Back 43

the capture and use of waste heat

Hint 43

think 2nd law of thermodynamics

Front 44

epilimnion

Back 44

upper layer of a lake

Hint 44

lakes

Front 45

Hadley Cell

Back 45

a circulating body of air that occurs between 0 (air up) and 30 (air down) degrees of latitude (equator)

Hint 45

climate cycles

Front 46

K strategists

Back 46

large organisms that have long life spans, produce few offspring and provide care for them

Hint 46

humans

Front 47

Kyoto Protocol

Back 47

attempted to stabalize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmostphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system

Hint 47

greenhouse gas

Front 48

Malthusian

Back 48

belief that human population would soon exceed food supply leading to famine.

Hint 48

my hero

Front 49

nihilism

Back 49

a philosophy that states that the world makes no sense at all and that everything is arbitrary, only instinct is to survive, morals do not exist

Hint 49

pessimism

Front 50

Limnetic zone

Back 50

the well-lit, open surface waters farther from shore in a lake

Front 51

Littoral Zone

Back 51

refers to the coast of an ocean or sea, or to the banks of a river, lake or estuary

Front 52

Profundal Zone`

Back 52

is a deep zone of a body of water, such as an ocean or a lake, located below the range of effective light penetration

Front 53

Benthic ZOne

Back 53

the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.

Front 54

Oligotrophic

Back 54

lake with low ability to sustain life

Front 55

Eutrophic

Back 55

lake with high ability to sustain life

Front 56

Us fish and wildlife service

Back 56

manages National Wildlife Refuges

Front 57

National Resouces Defence OCuncil

Back 57

Manages National resource lands

Front 58

top six elements in biotic systems

Back 58

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous, Sulfur
(THINK N-CHOPS)