Global issues

• What is the definition of the environment?


  The surroundings - elements of the natural world
• What is plastic?


  Man-made material which does not biodegrade
• What is pollution?


  Waste released to the environment - land, air or water
• What does biodegradable mean?


  Breaks down and is naturally recycled by the environment
• What is an ocean?


  A very large expanse of sea (salt water)
• What does latitude measure?


  Degrees north or south of the equator
• What does longitude measure?


  Degrees east or west of the equator
• What are coral?


  Tiny animals (polyps) which form an exoskeleton and live in a colony in shallow areas
• What is an ecosystem?


  A community of interconnected living and non-living elements
• What is a food chain?


  Links between organisms that feed on each other
• What is a producer in an ecosystem?


  An organism that turns energy from the sun into carbohydrate
• What is a consumer in an ecosystem?


  An organism that gets its energy from eating another organism
• What does biodiversity measure?


  A measure of the variety of species in an ecosystem
• What is a rainforest?


  Dense vegetation found in warm and wet climates
• What is deforestation?


  Large-scale removal of forest ecosystem
• What is climate change?


  Marked change in climate (typical weather patterns for a region) over time
• What is the greenhouse effect?


  Heating of the earth by storing of reflected solar energy in the atmosphere
• What are greenhouse gases (GHG)?


  Gas released into the atmosphere that absorb solar radiation (mostly carbon dioxide and methane)
• What does unsustainable mean?


  A practice that cannot continue - is damaging to the environment in some way
• What is mitigation?


  Slowing down of effect or reducing the risk of something happening
• What is a carbon footprint?


  A measure of GHGs released by a person or country