Flashcards
AS Environmental Studies Glossary
Cards in this deck (12)
- 1Ambient gasesthe surrounding environmental gases that are available to organisms.
Some are biological resources such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
some control the physical environmental such as carbon dioxide in the greenhouse effect and stratospheric ozone which absorbs ultraviolet light.
some are distributed by the atmosphere such as water vapor - 2atmospherethe gases surrounding the earth. Different layers are charaterised by their temperture density turbulence and composition
- 3BiosphereAll the living organisms on Earth.
- 4Enzyme functionEnzymes are protein molecules that enable reactions in cells to take place by reducing the activations. enzyme function is inhibited by extreme conditions such as high temperature low ph or the presence of toxic chemicals
- 5greenhouse gasa gas that absorbs infra red radiation emitted by the Earth's surface and causes atmospheric heating carbon dioxide and water vapour are the main naturally occuring greenhouse gases anthropogenic greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide methane NOx CFC's and tropospheric ozone
- 6HydrosphereAll the water on Earth found in solid liquid or gaseous form in a variety of reservoirs including the oceans ice caps rivers and lakes, soil, groundwater atmostphere and living organisms
- 7lithosphereThe relatively hard outer layer of the Earth comprising the crust and upper layer of the mantle it is the source of mineral resources such as metal ores and affects soil formation and properties
- 8photolysisthe splitting of molecules by light including the splitting of water molecules in the early atmosphere producing oxygen
- 9Physiological functionAny Substance that is involved in chemical reactions in a living organism has a Physiological function
- 10specific heat capacitythe measure of the amount of heat energy needed to heat up a particular mass of a materiel through a particular temperature rise water has a high specific heat capacity so is heats up and cools down slowly and has an important role in moderating climatic fuluations
- 11thermophillicheat-loving such as bacteria that live around hot volcanic vents
- 12transpirationthe process by which plants loose water vapour mainly from the stomata of their leaves it is unavoidable as the moist stomata must be open to allow exchange of gases such as carbon dioxide for photosynthesis it is important in cooling plants and in the upward transport of dissolved minerals
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- Flashcards on AS Environmental Studies Glossary, created by Rebecca_Giddings on 02/01/2015.
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