Chapter 15 Pearson Environmental Science Terms Flashcards

9821564847	Atmosphere	Thin layer of gases that surrounds Earth	0
9821564848	Relative Humidity	The ratio of water vapor the air contains to the maximum amount it could have at that temperature	1
9821564849	Air Pressure	The force exerted by air on the area below it	2
9821564850	Troposphere	The lowest layer of the atmosphere, the one directly above the ground	3
9821564851	Stratosphere	The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere	4
9821564852	Ozone Layer	Ozone is concentrated in a portion of the stratosphere	5
9821564853	Mesosphere	Above the stratosphere, the layer that extends 50-80 kilometers above sea level	6
9821564854	Thermosphere	The top layer, which begins about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface and extends upward into space	7
9821564855	Radiation	The transfer of energy through space	8
9821564856	Conduction	The transfer of heat directly between two objects that are in contact with one another	9
9821564857	Convection	The transfer of heat by the movement of currents within a fluid	10
9821564858	Convection Current	a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid	11
9821564859	Air Mass	A large body of air	12
9821564860	Front	The boundary between air masses that differ in temperature and moisture	13
9821564861	Air Pollution	The release of damaging materials into the atmosphere	14
9821564862	Emissions	Pollutants that are released into the air	15
9821564863	Fossil Fuels	Carbon-containing fuels that formed millions of years ago from the remains of living things	16
9821564864	Primary Air Pollutant	Pollutants released directly into the troposphere	17
9821564865	Secondary Air Pollutant	Harmful products produced when primary air pollutants react chemically with other substances	18
9821564866	Smog	An unhealthy mixture of air pollutants that may form over cities and nearby areas	19
9821564867	Temperature Inversion	The condition in the troposphere in which a layer of cooler air lies beneath a layer of warmer air	20
9821564868	Acid Deposition	caused by sulfuric and nitric acids resulting in lowered pH of surface waters, also called acid rain	21
9821564869	Clean Air Act	Protects and improves the quality of air in order to safeguard human health and the environment.	22
9821564870	Catalytic Converter	A device in a motor vehicle that reduces the amount of air pollutants in emissions	23
9821564871	Scrubber	Removes pollutants or changes them chemically before they leave factory smokestacks	24
9821564872	Ozone Hole	The area of lowered concentration over Antarctica that occurs every year from August until October	25
9821564873	Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)	A family of chemical compounds containing chlorine, fluorine, and carbon.	26
9821564874	Montreal Protocol	Issued in 1987, it was a treaty requesting ozone substances to become depleted	27