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Cumulative Review--Environmental Science 2015-2016
WATER
1. What are the rivers in our watershed? There are 6: Susquehanna River, James River, Potomac
River, Patapsco River, York River, and Rappahannock River
2. What’s the name of our large regional watershed? Chesapeake Bay
3. What states are in it? There are 6: VA, MD, DEL, WV, PA, NY
4. How much area (sq. miles) is in our watershed? 64 square miles. How far is it across the widest part of
the Bay? 30 miles
5. Know these terms:
Riparian: Zone The vegetation along a waterway
Aquifer: Underground H2O supply; an underground rock formation that holds H2O
Runoff: Water that runs over the land; doesn’t sink in
Storage/sediment/retention pond:
A storage pond is an area of land designed to hold water
near the run-off ultimately refilling the water table. Man-made, help to control flooding,
stores runoff
Renewable resource: Resources that can be replaced usually with in a life time
Non-renewable resource: ex. Fossil fuels. Sources of energy that have an end.
Percolate: Downward dripping of H2O
Potable: H2O that is safe for drinking
Transpiration: the chemical change that occurs in tree leaves—CO2 in and H2O out
Desalination: Removing salt from H2O
Point source pollution can point to the source of pollution Ex: Chimney Stake
Non-point source pollution cannot point to the source of pollution Ex: Fertilizer in H2O
Sustainable: The wise use of resources so that they are available for future generations
Artesian well: Water bubbling to the surface not dug or pumped (without human
interference) is considered an artesian well.
2015-6 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Cumulative REVIEW
Effluent: Water exiting a pipe (often polluted)
Unsaturated zone: The area underground between the surface and an aquifer
Eutrophication The buildup of algae because of excessive nutrients; Eutrophication is when
there are too many nutrients in the water system which causes an algal bloom. The
scientific term for ’overstimulation of growth of aquatic plants and algae’ caused by an
increase in nutrients resulting in a reduction of oxygen.
Alkalinity
Recharge:
The water table is replenished by precipitation; the adding of H2O to the
aquifer.
Land Subsidence—what it is & where they’re found in VA: A sinking of land
that occurs when large amounts of ground water have been excessively taken from an
aquifer; Southwest Virginia in the mountain region
Wet deposition—what it is and examples any type of precipitation (like: snow, rain, drizzle,
sleet);
6. Who was Rachel Carson? Environmental Pioneer who started the Environmental Movement. She
wrote Silent Spring which warned about the effects of DDT (insecticide) on animals, especially
birds.
7. What was the “Tragedy of the Commons” about? When a people use a resource that is held in
common thinking that someone else is responsible for it. What was its main message? As humans
we need to pay attention of our individual and corporate impact upon the environment.
8. What are the 2 types of aquifers? Confined and Unconfined
9. How is a regular well different from an artesian well? A regular well is drilled. An artesian well
bubbles to the surface without human intervention.
10. What are the main chemicals responsible for acid rain? SOx & NOx What is the main source for acid
rain in the East? (Where does it come from?) Acid rain primarily comes from Coal burning power
plants in the Mid-West.
11. What are the different ways that nitrogen can enter the environment? Nitrates are found in fertilizers
used in farming, and lawn enhancement. The chemical is transported through runoff into the
water system. Fertilizer, sewage, human waste, lightning add nitrogen into the environment.
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12. Why are the oysters in the Chesapeake Bay important? The filter the H20.
SUSTAINABLE STORMWATER TREATMENT
13. Which sustainable storm water treatment elements are always put underground? Soakage Trench and
Dry Well
14. Which ones are truly considered landscaping elements? rain garden, vegetative swale, planter boxes,
trees
15. Which would store water for household use? Cistern
16. Which one can be used on a roof, on the ground, and underground? Cistern
AIR
17. When was the Clean Air Act first passed? 1970
18. Who monitors compliance of the Clean Air Act? EPA
19. What chemicals combine to make ozone? VOC and NOx
20. What makes ground level ozone worse? Heat and Drier What’s another name for ground level ozone?
Smog
21. What’s a “temperature inversion”? The warm air is on the bottom and cold air is on the top adding to air
pollution.
22. What are “holes” in the ozone layer and where are they found? Ozone holes are much like the wornout places in an old sock or sweater; there are still threads covering the worn out area but the
fabric can be so thin you can see right through it. 5 locations: 1.Ozone hole was found above
Antarctica (South Pole); 2. Above the Northern half of the United States; 3. Canada; 4. Into the Arctic
regions (the area of the North Pole); 5. Over Northern Europe
23. What causes/caused the holes in the ozone layer? CFC’s
24. What does VOC stand for? Volatile Organic Compounds. What does CFC stand for?
chlorofluorocarbons which were in car air conditioners, and aerosol (spray) cans such as hair
spray, deodorants). CFC’s were banned in 1978.
25. What’s the difference between “good” and “bad” ozone? Where is each found? Good ozone is the atmospheric
layer that protects us from harmful UV rays. Bad Ozone is smog in the lower part of the atmosphere that we
breathe. Is it comprised from many sources, smokestacks, cars, paints and solvents.
26. How does bad ozone affect human health? Causes lung issues: asthma, cancer, general breathing
problems
27. What does the Air Quality Index measure? Measures the amount of smog in the air, and rates the
quality by color. What do the colors represent?
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http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi
28. Know several examples of non-renewable resources. Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable. Coal,
natural gas, oil. Nuclear power is considered non-renewable because of the potential environmental
impacts (meltdown, and radioactive uranium).
29. How do cars contribute to air pollution? Cars contribute to air pollution primarily by emitting CO2 by
using fossil fuels as their primary energy source. What has been done by manufacturers to improve car
emissions? Emissions have been reduced, and mileage per gallon (of fuel) has been improved. Gasoline
is cleaner.
BIRDS
30. Be able to identify by sight the following birds:
robin
Canada goose
song sparrow
blue jay
grackle
nuthatch
crow
mourning dove
starling
cardinal
ring billed gull
herring gull
great blue heron
house sparrow
goldfinch
33. About how many species of birds are there?
34. What is the smallest bird we have? The hummingbird is only 2 inches long and weigh less than 1 ounce.
35. Why are bird skeletons so light? (2 reasons)
Hollow bones (criss cross struts), and less bones.
36. Because of their skulls, birds most closely resemble what other group of animals? A bird’s skull most
closely resembles a reptile.
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37. Birds of prey have what kind of vision? Binocular vision is 3 dimensional which is important in judging
distance and is necessary in hunting fast-moving prey. Their eyes are located toward the front of the
head, such as in owls & eagles.
38. Songbirds have what kind of vision? Song birds have monocular vision. Monocular vision allows eyes
to see far to the side to detect predators. Their eyes are located toward the sides of their heads. Which
birds in our list are songbirds? Song Sparrow, mockingbird, cardinal, goldfinch, robin, mourning dove
39. Know some examples of birds of prey that we have here in VA. : red shouldered hawk, bald eagle,
40. What is the “crop”? Crop-an enlargement of the esophagus is a storage chamber for food before
passing to the stomach; hard foods like seeds, and nuts are softened with mucus. It is extended wide not
straight.
41. What is the “gizzard”? The crop, gizzard, and stomach are the three main parts of a bird’s digestive
system. Gizzard-a muscular stomach that contains small stones & grit which grind up and crush food;
these are found in birds of prey like hawk, and owl; the gizzard traps indigestible matter such as bones
and pellets by regurgitation**
42. What is the third part of the digestive system in birds? The crop, gizzard, and stomach are the three
main parts of a bird’s digestive system. Stomach—2 kinds: glandular (which has digestive enzymes** to
break down proteins and partially dissolve bones (owl pellet, fur, bones) that have been swallowed.
These enzymes speed up chemical reactions (in this case they are proteins).
44. What are the 4 types of flight?
1) flapping, 2)hovering, 3) soaring and 4) gliding
45. Which one uses the most energy? Hovering: used to remain stationary over one spot; requires* more
energy than flapping. The least? Gliding: the simplest form of flight, it requires the least energy
46. Be able to list examples of flightless birds.
Penguin, ostrich, emu, kiwi & rheas (potentially the flamingo, cassowaries) have wings, but the wings are
too weak or small to make them airborne.
47. Be able to identify the leaves of the following trees: TREE IDENTIFICATION IS ON THE NEXT
FOUR PAGES.
48. Which of the above trees have/has compound leaves? Hickory leaf
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TREES
Oak
Paw Paw
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Maple
Tulip Poplar
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Beech
Hickory
GLOBAL WARMING
46. How is the Earth like a greenhouse? Holds in heat like a blanket, and reflects sunlight which keeps the
Earth cool.
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47. What does the natural greenhouse effect do for the Earth? The natural greenhouse effect uses the
atmospheric ozone layer to protect us from harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays, amplifies the sun’s heat, and traps
the heat inside our atmosphere keeping the cold from space out.
48. How could Global Warming effect our water supply? How/why? Because sea ice is melting adding
fresh water to our seas, the sea levels are rising infiltrating our coastal wetlands. Lowering the amount of
fresh water.
49. Be able to name the 5 GHG’s that we studied? CO2, Water Vapor, Methane, NOx, CFC’s
50. Know what the most harmful human activity that causes GW is. Burning fossil fuels
51. What was the date and goal of the original Kyoto Protocol? A gathering of countries trying to agree on
the stabilization of GHG in the atmosphere in 1997 (primarily directed at the US).
52. Be able to name at least 4 things that cause Global Warming or make it worse? Contributing Factors (or
Causes) of Global Warming
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Burning fossil fuels
Deforestation
Cows (Methane)
Air pollution
Inorganic fertilizers (give off NOx and VOx)
Cultivation of rice
Increase of poplation
53. Be able to name 3 things or areas that sequester most of the atmospheric CO2’s.: 1) soil 2) ocean 3) trees
54. What is a carbon footprint? The amount of CO2 a person is responsible for in her or his lifetime.
55. Be able to explain the “3 worrisome scenarios.”
1. Rainforest Collapse—Because there is more CO2 in the atmosphere because of pollution, the trees in
the rainforest do not transpire (take in as much CO2 ) therefore they do not emit as much water vapor
creating less precipitation. Without the same amount of precipitation, the trees will die, and over time, they
will be replaced with grassland (savannah) or desert.
2. Gulf Stream Collapse—As the glaciers on Greenland melt, fresh water is added to the ocean in the North
Atlantic. The additional fresh water changes the salinity of the ocean especially close to Greenland.
Usually because of the cold water the Gulf Stream chills and because of the saltiness of the current, the
current falls to the bottom of the ocean to keep moving around the world. If the salinity of the current is
modified or reduced, the current may not fall leading to England becoming like Alaska.
3. Methane Clathrate Release—Because global temperatures are rising, the temperatures of the ocean are
rising as well. If the ocean temperatures rise enough, and the pressure of the water near the bottom of the
ocean will change, which will release methane deposits from the ocean floor. As the methane deposits
(clathrates) rise and hit the atmosphere they will ignite creating a catastrophic event—or a global BBQ.
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