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PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Glossary
The air around us
The smallest unit that anything can be easily broken down into, containing protons, neutrons and electrons
The range or variety of living things in a particular area
The part of the Earth system to do with all living things
carbon
A natural chemical element found in all living, or once living things
Just as the "water cycle" describes the transfer of water molecules between rivers, oceans, land and the atmosphere, the "carbon cycle" refers to the flow of carbon through different parts of the Earth system – including the air and the bodies of plants and animals
When a carbon atom joins with two oxygen atoms, a lot of carbon dioxide comes from burning things containing carbon
Molecules made up of different types of atoms bonded together
chlorine
A chemical element that can be added to city drinking water supplies to kill harmful bacteria.
The average weather over many years
Rapid change in climate due to human activity (mainly burning fossil fuels) increasing heat trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
All the living things in a particular area
condensation
The process of changing water from a gas to a liquid is called condensation
contamination
Where something unwanted or harmful enters something useful e.g. sewage contaminating the drinking water.
This is all the living (e.g. animals, plants) and non-living (e.g. light, water) things within a particular area
evaporation
The process of changing water from a liquid to a gas is called evaporation
This shows what eats what in a community
When the average temperature on earth naturally rises
The natural way the earth is warmed 33 degrees by its atmosphere
Gases which trap heat in the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
All the waters on the Earth's surface, such as lakes and seas
An explanation of why things happen that can be tested by scientists
does not allow fluid to pass through
infrastructure
Services such as roads and water systems.
mass
The quantity of matter contained in an object
matter
Anything that takes up space and has mass - everything around us
A greenhouse gas CH4 produced from the breakdown of once living things
A group of atoms bonded together
Sometimes called laughing gas, a greenhouse gas produced by bacteria and by people through agriculture
A living thing
A gas made up of three oxygen atoms which is naturally present in the upper atmosphere, it helps protect Earth from harmful UV radiation
particles
A very small amount of something, or the smallest possible part of something
allows fluid to pass through
A measure of how acidic (or alkaline) a substance is
The process that plants carry out to harness the sun's energy and carbon dioxide to make sugars for food
The force of something upon a surface eg air pressure is the force or weight of air above a particular point on the Earth's surface
Human waste and waste water which needs to be treated at a wastewater treatment station before it can be released back into the environment
Rain water that has drained off buildings, solid surfaces and roads
A line made through an area to be studied along which samples are taken
utilities
Services such as water pipes and power lines.
Any water including sewage that has been used and needs to be treated before it can be discharged back into the environment
Day to day changes in the atmosphere