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Homework answers / question archive / Chapter 12 Human Impact on the Environment The study of how living things interact with each other and their environment part of earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere a specific biological community and its physical environment interacting in an exchange of matter and energy
Chapter 12 Human Impact on the Environment
The study of how living things interact with each other and their environment
part of earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere
a specific biological community and its physical environment interacting in an exchange of matter and energy.
series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Is a helpful way of summarizing the different factors influencing the degree of human impact on the environment. (Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Mathematical model to assess impact of different human actions. Can be used to work towards sustainability by identifying key problems and initiating development of solutions. )
..., the natural process by which water is purified and made fresh through evaporation and precipitation. The cycle provides all the fresh water available for biological life.
..., An engineering technique to straighten, widen, deepen, or otherwise modify a natural stream channel.
..., the introduction into the biosphere of materials that because of their quantity, chemical nature, or temperature have a negative impact on the ecosystem or that cannot be readily disposed of by natural recycling processes
..., process by which a body of water becomes too rich in dissolved nutrients, leading to plant growth that depletes oxygen
..., Group of 209 different toxic, oily, synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds that can be biologically amplified in food chains and webs.
..., a temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life
..., The lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist
..., rain containing acids that form in the atmosphere when industrial gas emissions (especially sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) combine with water
..., The brown haze that develops in sunny cities. it is formed by the action of sunlight on pollutants such as hydrocarbons and nurtogen oxides. these chemicals react to form a brownish muzture of ozone and other pollutants.
..., a form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of two. protects us from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
..., a layer in the stratosphere (at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun
..., Organic compounds made up of atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. An example is Freon-12 (CCl2F2), used as a refrigerant in refrigerators and air conditioners and in making plastics such as Styrofoam. Gaseous CFCs can deplete the ozone layer when they slowly rise into the stratosphere and their chlorine atoms react with ozone molecules.
..., geological phenomenon in which the ground in an area sinks
..., area with an exceptionally high number of endemic species (those that occur no where else) and that is at high risk of disruption by human activities.
..., organisms that are not native to a particular area
(also called Biomagnification), increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web
..., Any material that can be harmful to human health or the environment if it is not properly disposed of
..., waste such as cell phones, computer monitors, etc. that contain heavy metals and other toxic materials. Problem with US exporting it to China.
..., Collecting and reprocessing a resource or product to make into new products