exam 1

Question 1

A green pigment, present in all green plants and in cyanobacteria, responsible for the absorption of light to provide energy for photosynthesis.

Answer 1

Chlorophyll

Question 2

The movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth’s crust. EX> Phosphorus cycle,Oxygen cycle ,Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle

Answer 2

Biogeochemical cycle

Question 3

The geologic time scale is the “calendar” for events in Earth history

Answer 3

Time scale

Question 4

A simplification of a connected system where a substance (like water) is held in reservoirs and moves between reservoirs through transport processes or fluxes

Answer 4

Box model

Question 5

The biosphere of the earth or another planet, especially when the interaction between the living and nonliving components is emphasized

Answer 5

ecosphere

Question 6

A natural, organic material that forms in wetlands when plant matter decomposes under low oxygen conditions

Answer 6

Peat

Question 7

General definition: a concept that describes how a change increases over time as each new amount or fact is added

Answer 7

Cumulative Change

Question 8

A system that transfers energy, but not matter, across its boundary to the surrounding environment

Answer 8

Closed System

Question 9

The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems

Answer 9

Anthropocene

Question 10

The color and width of tree rings can provide snapshots of past climate conditions

Answer 10

Tree Rings

Question 11

The electromagnetic spectrum, includes energy from long wavelengths (radio waves), through visible light, all the way to short-wavelength X-rays and gamma waves

Answer 11

Electromagnetic waves

Question 12

Organisms, such as plants and phytoplankton, that can produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Answer 12

Primary Producer

Question 13

The rate of transfer of fluids, particles or energy per unit area across a given surface

Answer 13

Flux

Question 14

he rate at which solar energy is captured in sugar molecules during photosynthesis

Answer 14

gross primary production

Question 15

A hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting of hydrogen and carbon found in crude oil, natural gas, and coal

Answer 15

Hydrocarbon

Question 16

he total amount of water on a planet

Answer 16

Hydrosphere

Question 17

A combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with high amounts of carbon and hydrocarbons

Answer 17

Coal

Question 18

A generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, coal products, natural gas, etc.

Answer 18

Fossil Fuels

Question 19

Involves the movement of carbon atoms over a relatively short period of time

Answer 19

Short term carbon cycle

Question 20

A series of graphs for different plant species displayed side by side

Answer 20

Pollen Diagram

Question 21

Realm of technology and its effect on the climate

Answer 21

technosphere

Question 22

The theory that change in the earth’s crust during geological history have resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes

Answer 22

Uniformitarianism

Question 23

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water during photosynthesis, water and carbon dioxide combine to form carbohydrates and give off oxygen

Answer 23

Photosynthesis

Question 24

The release of CO2 into the atmosphere, soil and oceans by animals as they exhale

Answer 24

Respiration

Question 25

The residence time definition is adapted to fit with ground water, the atmosphere, glaciers, lakes, streams, oceans. More specifically it is the time during which water remains within an aquifer, lake, river, or other water body before continuing around the hydrological cycle

Answer 25

Residence Time

Question 26

Continuing without change in function or structure

Answer 26

Peristent Change

Question 26

Refers to comprehensive and fundamental shifts that impact the structures and processes of global systems – such as economics, politics, society, and the environment

Answer 26

Systemic Change

Question 26

The cumulative environmental effects of human activities ultimately intensify global warming and climate change

Answer 26

Cumulative Change

Question 27

To flow with the seasons and respond to longer climatic shifts and often to the actions of people

Answer 27

Rhythmic Change

Question 28

these terms refer to certain short-term changes in climate

Answer 28

Short lived change

Question 29

A simplification of a connected system where a substance, like water, is held in reservoirs and moves between reservoirs through transport processes or fluxes

Answer 29

Reservoir

Question 30

Rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi

Answer 30

Rot or decompose

Question 31

A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation

Answer 31

Green house gas

Question 32

Evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field

Answer 32

peer reivew

Question 33

Relating to or denoting the first epoch of the quaternary period, between the Pliocene and Holocene epochs

Answer 33

pleistocene period

Question 33

Systems change can be defined as shifting component parts of a system — and the pattern of interactions between these parts — to ultimately form a new system that behaves in a qualitatively different way

Answer 33

systemic change

Question 34

a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research

Answer 34

research paper

Question 35

gross primary productivity minus the rate of energy loss to metabolism and maintenance. In other words, it's the rate at which energy is stored as biomass by plants or other primary producers and made available to the consumers in the ecosystem.

Answer 35

net primary production

Question 36

Means that there is balance in the long-term, despite short-term changes and fluctuations happening

Answer 36

steady state

Question 37

Oil in terms of geography refers to the location of oil deposits, how oil is formed, and how it is extracted from the earth

Answer 37

oil

Question 38

Chemical compound consisting of one atom of calcium, one of carbon, and three of oxygen that is the major constituent of limestone, marble, chalk,

Answer 38

CaC03

Question 39

The name given to the last 11,700 years of earths history

Answer 39

Holocene

Question 39

Rocks formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms that accumulate on the earth’s surface

Answer 39

Sedimentary Rocks

Question 40

Degraded by microbes, thermogenically altered by heat and pressure, or buried more deeply and lost to the surface carbon cycle

Answer 40

Buried organic matter