| A | B |
|---|
| Nitrogen Fixation | process of combining free nitrogen from the atmosphere with other elements so that organisms can use it (bacteria in plant roots) |
| Pollution | any change in the environment that produces a condition that is harmful to living things |
| Fertilizer | substance that enriches soil so plants can grow better - contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium |
| Pesticide | a chemical used to kill pests |
| Pest | organism that harms people, crops, or structures |
| Septic Tank | underground tank in which bacteria break down organic material in sewage before they are moved out into the soil |
| Sewage Treatment Plant | building and ground with special equipment use to treat wastes from homes, businesses, etc. so that waste can be disposed of safely |
| Effluent | waste water released from a factory or sewage treatment plant |
| Storm Sewer | large pipes that carry runoff from yards and streets directly into rivers, lakes, and oceans, without treatment |
| Fossil Fuel | fuel formed from dead plants and animals (coal, oil, natural gas) |
| Sour Gas | natural gas that contains hydrogen sulfide |
| Acid | a compound that dissolves in water to form a solution with a pH below 7 |
| pH | measure of the percentage of hydrogen ions in a solution (scale - 0=acidic, 7=neutral, 14=basic) |
| Base | compound that dissolves in water to form a solution with a pH higher than 7 |
| Neutral | a substance that is neither an acid nor a base; has a pH of 7 |
| Neutralization | reaction between an acid and a base that produces water and a solid compound called a salt |
| Salt | compound produced in a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base |
| Organic Compound | compound whose molecules contain carbon (except CO2, CO, carbonates, cyanides) |
| Inorganic Compound | compounds whose molecules do not contain carbon (also carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbonates, and cyanides) |
| Nutrient | elements and compounds that organisms need to live, grow, and reproduce |
| Macronutrient | nutrients that organisms need in relatively large amounts |
| Micronutrient | nutrients that organisms need in only minor or trace amounts |
| Carbohydrate | organic molecules made up of C, H, and O that are soluble in water e.g sugars (simple) and starch (complex) |
| Lipids | organic molecules made up of C, H, and O that are insoluble in water (e.g. fats, oils, waxes) |
| Protein | organic compound made up of subunits called amino acids; contain C, H, O, and N |
| Enzyme | catalyst involved in chemical reactions in living things (usually protein based) |
| Amino Acid | the building block of proteins; contains C, H, O, and N |
| Nucleic Acid | largest and most complicated biological molecules made of sugars, phosphates, and nitrogen bases; control heredity (e.g. DNA, RNA) |
| Diffusion | process in which molecules move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration |
| Osmosis | type of diffusion in which water molecules mover from an area with more water molecules to an area with less water molecules |
| Active Transport | process in which cells use energy to move nutrient molecules from areas of lower concentration to areas of higher concentration |
| Hydrolysis | break down of a substance using water (hydro = water, lysis = break down) |
| Substrate | surface on which an organism lives or moves |
| Ozone Layer | layer of ozone found 15-50km above Earth's surface that helps protect the surface from ultraviolet radiation |
| Monitoring | keeping track of something for a specific purpose (e.g. chemicals in the environment to make sure levels are safe) |
| Invertebrate | animals without backbones |
| ppm | parts per million - measurement used to describe very small concentrations of chemicals; one particle in 1 million total particles |
| Toxin | substance that produces serious health problems or death when introduced into an organism |
| LD50 | lethal dose 50%; amount of a substance tha causes 50% of a test population to die if they are given that dosage |
| Heavy Metals | metals that have a density of 5 or higher (copper, zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel) - monitored to determine water quality |
| Nitrogen Oxides | major air pollutants that give smog its brown color; formed when nitrogen combines with oxygen as a result of fuel combustion (major source: motor vehicles) |
| Carbon Monoxide | colourless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons (major source is motor vehicles) |
| Ozone | colorless, odorless gas which is a pollutant at ground level, but has protective effects high in the atmosphere |
| Greenhouse Gases | gases in the Earth's atmosphere that trap the heat formed when energy from the sun reaches the Earth's surface (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides) |
| Global Warming | increased average temperatures worldwide, caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect |
| Dispersion | scattering of a substance away from its source |
| Groundwater | the water that fills all the interconnected spaces in the soil |
| Water Table | the top of the ground water zone |
| Pores | tiny spaces between soil grains or mineral grains in a rock; substance with many pores is 'porous'; if pores are connected, substance is permeable |
| Permeable | description of a substance that contains connected pores; fluids can flow through permeable substances |
| Leachate | liquid that dissolves and carries substances as it passes through soil |
| Dilution | mixing of a substance with air or water, reducing the substance's concentration |
| Biodegradation | breakdown of materials by organisms such as earthworms, bacteria, and fungi (bio = living, degrade = break down) |
| Aerobic | refers to processes or environments that require or contain oxygen (aero = oxygen) |
| Anaerobic | refers to processes or environments that do not require or contain oxygen (an = without, aero = oxygen) |
| Phytoremediation | clean-up of the environment using plants |
| Photolysis | break down of compounds by sunlight (photo = light, lysis = break down) |
| Biomagnification | increase in concentration of a chemical or element as it moves up the food chain |
