Pass Check: Earth, Atmosphere & Resources
Earth's atmosphere, finite resources and human activity must be managed to reduce environmental impact.
Greenhouse gas
A gas such as carbon dioxide or methane that absorbs infrared radiation and helps keep the Earth warm.
Finite resource
A resource, such as crude oil, that is used up faster than it can be replaced and will eventually run out.
Potable water
Water that is safe to drink, having low levels of dissolved salts and microbes, but not necessarily pure H2O.
Fractional distillation
The process of separating crude oil into fractions with different boiling points based on the number of carbon atoms in the hydrocarbons.
Quick check
Mixed quiz
1. A power plant produces 250,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Calculate the reduction needed to cut emissions by 40%.
2. A country's annual carbon emissions fall from 500 million tonnes to 350 million tonnes. Calculate the percentage decrease.
3. State one example of a renewable resource.
4. Explain the process by which the Earth's early carbon dioxide levels decreased over billions of years, referring to oceans and organisms.
5. State one way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy production.
6. State the three main fossil fuels.
7. A student compares the LCA of a plastic bag (0.5 MJ to produce) and a cotton bag (150 MJ to produce, reused 100 times). Calculate the energy per use of the cotton bag.
8. About what percentage of today's atmosphere is oxygen?