Ap Environmental Vocabulary

Front 1

Abiotic

Back 1

non-living factors in an ecosystem

Front 2

Acid deposition

Back 2

any kind of acid precipitation

Front 3

Acid Precipitation

Back 3

condensed or frozen water vapor that includes acid rain, acid fog, and acid snow

Front 4

Activated Sludge

Back 4

a mass of living bacterial organisms on waste material that has settled

Front 5

Adaptation

Back 5

An ecological or evolutionary adjustment to environmental changes

Front 6

Adiabatic cooling

Back 6

cooling that occurs when warm air, such as in the tropics, rises and bumps into lower atmospheric pressure

Front 7

Aeration

Back 7

in soil: the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. In water: it is the bubbling of air or oxygen through water

Front 8

Aerobic respiration

Back 8

organisms that require oxygen during the break down of organic molecules

Front 9

Aerosols

Back 9

microscopic liquid or solid particle coming from land or water surfaces that are carried into the atmosphere

Front 10

Aesthetics

Back 10

natural beauty of something

Front 11

Agenda 21

Back 11

a program designed to promote sustainable development

Front 12

Age Structure

Back 12

the proportions of people of different age groups

Front 13

Age Structure diagrams

Back 13

graphic representative of the age distribution

Front 14

Alga, or algae

Back 14

small plants that live and reproduce entirely in aquatic environments

Front 15

Algal bloom

Back 15

rapid development of platonic algae

Front 16

Alkaline, alkalinity

Back 16

a chemical that has a pH above 7.0

Front 17

Alternative energy

Back 17

energy sources that do not require fossil fuels or nuclear power

Front 18

Ambient standards

Back 18

air quality standards stating that the outside average air should always maintain a certain level of purity

Front 19

Ammonification

Back 19

a process in the nitrogen cycle where soil bacteria convert organic waste to ammonia

Front 20

Anaerobic

Back 20

without oxygen

Front 21

Anthropogenic

Back 21

human activities

Front 22

Appropriate technology

Back 22

technology that increases the efficiency and productivity of hand labor with displacing workers

Front 23

Aquaculture

Back 23

aquatic farming

Front 24

Aquifer

Back 24

underground layer of porous rock

Front 25

Asbestos fibers

Back 25

crystals of asbestos that form minute strands

Front 26

Assimilation

Back 26

nutrients are converted into organic molecules

Front 27

Autotroph

Back 27

organism that can produce its own food

Front 28

Background radiation

Back 28

radioactive radiation that comes from natural sources

Front 29

Balanced herbivory

Back 29

diversified plant community held in balance

Front 30

Bedload

Back 30

load of cource sediment

Front 31

Benefit-cost analysis

Back 31

analysis of the value of benefits

Front 32

Bentic plant

Back 32

plants that grow under water attached to the bottom

Front 33

Bioaccumulation

Back 33

accumulation of increasing higher and higher concentrations of potentially toxic chemicals in organisms through a food chain

Front 34

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

Back 34

the amount of oxygen that is used or demanded as waste material is digested in organisms

Front 35

Bioconversion

Back 35

substance that can be broken down to natural substances

Front 36

Biodiversity

Back 36

varity of life

Front 37

Biogas

Back 37

fuel that contains about 2/3 methane, 1/3 carbon dioxide, and a small amount form anaerobic digestion

Front 38

Biological control

Back 38

control unwanted pest population by using living organisms

Front 39

Biological nutrient removal

Back 39

sewage treatment that removes nitrogen and phosphorus from the final process

Front 40

Biomagnification

Back 40

Bioaccumulation of a pollutant occuring through several levels of a food chain

Front 41

Biomass

Back 41

mass of biological material

Front 42

Biome

Back 42

group of ecosystems with similar vegetation and climate conditions

Front 43

Bioremediation

Back 43

uses microorganisms to decontaminate soil or groud water

Front 44

Biosolids

Back 44

organic material removed from sewage effluents (Sludge)

Front 45

Biosphere

Back 45

entire ecosystem of earth

Front 46

Biota

Back 46

living or once-living things in an ecosystem

Front 47

Biotic

Back 47

living or once-living things

Front 48

Biotechnology

Back 48

genetic engineering or organganisms

Front 49

Biotic potential

Back 49

reproductive potential of a species

Front 50

Birth rates

Back 50

number of live births per 1000 individuals