Ch 9 Science Vocab.

Front 1

litter

Back 1

the very top layer of fertile soil made of dead leaves and grass.

Front 2

topsoil

Back 2

The crumbly, topmost layer of soil made up of clay and other minerals and humus.

Front 3

subsoil

Back 3

The layer of soil below topsoil that has less plant and animal matter than topsoil and contains mostly clay and other minerals.

Front 4

bedrock

Back 4

rock that makes up Earth's crust; also the solid rock layer beneath the soil

Front 5

erosion

Back 5

the process by which water, ice, wind or gravity moves weathered particles of rock and soil.

Front 6

nutrient depletion

Back 6

the situation that arises when more soil nutrients are used than the decomposers can supply.

Front 7

fertilizer

Back 7

a substance that provides nutrients to elp crops grow better.

Front 8

desertification

Back 8

The advance of desert-like conditions into areas that were previously fertile : caused by overfarming overgrazing drought and climate change

Front 9

drought

Back 9

a long period of low participation.

Front 10

land reclamation

Back 10

the process of restoring land to a more natural productive state.

Front 11

municipal solid waste

Back 11

waste produced in homes buisnesses schools and in a community

Front 12

incineration

Back 12

the burning of solid waste

Front 13

pollutant

Back 13

a substance that causes pollution

Front 14

leachate

Back 14

polluted liquid produced by water passing through and disolving chemicals from buried wastes in a landfill.

Front 15

sanitary landfill

Back 15

a landfill that holds nonhazardous waste such as municipalsolid waste.

Front 16

recycling

Back 16

the process of reclaiming and reusing raw materials

Front 17

biodegradable

Back 17

capable of being broken down by bacteria and other decomposers.

Front 18

hazardous waste

Back 18

a material that can be harmful if it is not properly disposed of.

Front 19

emissions

Back 19

pollutants that are released into the air.

Front 20

(photochemical) smog

Back 20

a brownish thick hazethat is a mixture of ozone and other chemicals formed when pollutants react with sunlight

Front 21

ozone

Back 21

a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen in having three atoms in its molecule.

Front 22

temperature inversion

Back 22

a condition in which a layer of warm air traps polluted air close to earth's surface.

Front 23

acid rain

Back 23

rain or another form of precipitation that is more acidic than normalcaused by the release of molecules of sulfer dixoide and nitrogen oxygen into the air.

Front 24

radon

Back 24

a colorless odarless radioactive gas

Front 25

ozone layer

Back 25

the layer of the upper atmosphere that contains a higher concentration of ozone than the rest of the atmosphere.

Front 26

chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

Back 26

human-made gases containing chlorine and fluorine that are the main cause of oxone depletion.

Front 27

pesticide

Back 27

a chemical that kills insects and other crop-destroying organisms.

Front 28

sewage

Back 28

the water and human wastes that are washed down sinks toliets and showers.

Front 29

sediment

Back 29

small solid pieces of material that come from rocks or the remains of organisms ; earth materials deposited by erosion.

Front 30

greenhouse gas

Back 30

gases in the atmosphere that trap energy.

Front 31

fossil fuel

Back 31

coal oil or natural gas that forms over millions of years from the remains of ancient organisms; burned to release energy

Front 32

global warming

Back 32

a gradual increase in the average temperature, thought to be caused by in increase in greenhouse gases from human activities.