1. What is a thermal inversion?

http://www.chaseireland.org/Thermal%20Inversion.htm

2. What is the Ogallala Aquifer and where is it located?

2. The Ogalla Aquifer is

• The largest ground water deposit in the world.

• Located under the Great Plains in the United States, from South Dakota to Texas.

3. What is a major drawback to hydroelectric dams?

3. What is a major drawback to hydroelectric dams?

4. Name one technique to prevent river flooding.

4. Name one technique that involves levees to prevent river flooding.

5. What causes salinization of soil?

5. What causes salinization of soil?

• Irrigation in dry climates.• The water collects salts as it travels over the

ground.• These salts settle on the crop land.• When there are more solutes in the surrounding

soil, what happens to the water uptake by the plants?

6. What causes stratospheric ozone depletion?

6. What causes ozone depletion?CFCs or chloroflourocarbons. Greatest heat-trapping abilityChlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals found mainly in spray aerosols heavily used by industrialized nations for much of the past 50 years, are the primary culprits in ozone layer breakdown. When CFCs reach the upper atmosphere, they are exposed to ultraviolet rays, which causes them to break down into substances that include chlorine. The chlorine reacts with the oxygen atoms in ozone and rips apart the ozone molecule. It will take another 50 years for ozone to replenish.Stratospheric OzoneThe stratosphere, or "good" ozone layer extends upward from about 6 to 30 miles and protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. This natural shield has been gradually depleted by man-made chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A depleted ozone shield allows more UV radiation to reach the ground, leading to more cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and other health and environmental problems.

7. Where is ozone considered bad?

7. What causes ozone in the troposphere?

7. What causes ozone in the troposphere?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVcFps_gWpk

8. What is a salt water intrusion and what causes it?

8. What is a salt water intrusion and what causes it?

9. Place the following greenhouse gases in order from greatest heat-

trapping ability to least heat-trapping ability

Carbon dioxide CO2Methane CH4Nitrous Oxide N2OChloroflourocarbons CFCs

10. What greenhouse gas has been around for millions of years and is a necessary ingredient for keeping the

planet warm?

11. What is nonpoint source pollution?

11. What is nonpoint source pollution?

12. What is ecological succession?

12. What is ecological succession?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V49IovRSJDs

13. Name 3 reasons coral reefs around the world are in danger.

13. Name 3 reasons coral reefs around the world are in danger.

15. Name the steps in the Scientific Method.

15. Scientific Method

1. Observe2. Problem3. Hypothesis4. Experiment5. Collect Data6. Conclusion7. Report Findings

16. Identify the independent variable, dependent variable, experimental group and

control group:

• A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of course. Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money.

16. Identify the independent variable, dependent variable, experimental group and

control group:

• Independent variable: money• Dependent variable:

performance on reading test• Experimental group: those

receiving the $• Control group: those receiving

no $

17. Limiting factors cause a population to remain steady or decrease in size. Name as many limiting factors you can think of.

17. Limiting factors cause a population to remain steady or decrease in size. Name as many limiting factors you can think of.

18. Define oxbow lake, tributaries and riparian zones

18. Define oxbow lake, tributaries and riparian zones

19. Identify areas of an aquifer: water table, unconfined aquifer, cone of

depression, surface water, ground water, recharge, discharge

19. Identify areas of an aquifer: water table, unconfined aquifer, cone of

depression, surface water, ground water, recharge, discharge

20. Name sources of underground water pollution

20. Name sources of underground water pollution

21. What can happen because of ground water depletion?

21. What can happen because of ground water depletion?

21. What can happen because of ground water depletion?

Land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, sink holes, fissures, reduction in total storage capacity

22. Define “tragedy of the commons”

22. Define “tragedy of the commons”If a resource is held in common for use by all, then ultimately that resource will be destroyed. “Freedom

Note that the tragedy does not need to follow from greed. In the example below, we all breath the air. This degrades the common resource: air. But we breath not because we are greedy, but because we want to live. Any sustained increase of population in a finite biosystem ends in tragedy.

23. Draw a simple food web using at least 4 organisms

23. Draw a simple food web using at least 4 organisms

24. What is radon gas? Where does it come from? What does it do?

24. What is radon gas? Where does it come from? What does it do?

• Radon comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air you breathe.

• Radon can be found all over the US and can get into any type of building.

• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

25. What is carbon monoxide gas? Where does it come from? What does it do?

25. What is carbon monoxide gas? Where does it come from? What does it do?

Carbon monoxide is a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete burning of various fuels, including coal, wood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane and natural gas. Products and equipment powered by internal combustion engines such as portable generators, cars, lawn mowers, and power washers also produce CO.

Carbon monoxide mainly causes adverse effects in humans by combining with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) in the blood. This prevents oxygen binding to hemoglobin, reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, leading to hypoxia.

26. What are VOCs and POPs?

26. What are VOCs and POPs?VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are organic chemicals that can vaporise, pollutethe air and be absorbed or inhaled by humans, animals and plants. They are generallyman-made carbon-based molecules such as paint thinners, dry cleaning fl uid, nailpolish remover, grease solvents and the emissions of crude oil, fuels and plastics.However, trees also give off natural VOCs such as terpenes and isoprenes – thecharacteristic eucalyptus smell of summer or the turpentine smell of fresh pinewood.

POPs, or persistent organic pollutants, are also carbon-based organic compoundsthat have the special abilities to be long-lasting and to resist breakdown into safersubstances. Because of this, they persist in the environment, can move over immensedistances in air or water, can build up in human or animal fat, and can accumulatein food chains with serious consequences for health and the natural environment.POPs are often solvents, pesticides or the by-products of industrial processes. POPsare nicknamed ‘poisons without passports’ because they ride around on air and seacurrents without breaking down.Some substances are both VOCs and POPs. DDT

27. What are the layers of the atmosphere? Which layer holds

beneficial ozone?

27. What are the layers of the atmosphere?

28. What are El Nino and La Nina?

28. What are El Nino and La Nina?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FVZrw7bk1whttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTYYrZ5K3ghttp://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/la-nina-story.html

29. What is the precautionary principle?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAsH4Q7Njy8

• The Precautionary Principle• The precautionary principle advocates

common sense. This principle states that evidence of harm, rather than definitive proof of harm, should prompt policy action.

30. What are the two causes of acid rain? What is acidic deposition?

30. What are the two causes of acid rain? What is acidic deposition?

• Wet deposition of acid in precipitation (rain, snow, or fog); or

• Dry deposition of acidic material on dust, smoke, or other aerosols (small, microscopic particles in the air).