Understanding Minerals and Rocks: Composition and Formation
Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks
Minerals are solid substances formed by the combination of chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust. Rocks are composed of minerals. To be classified as a mineral, a substance must possess the following characteristics:
- Be solid
- Be naturally occurring
- Have an inorganic origin
- Have a homogeneous chemical composition
Minerals are pure substances, each with a unique chemical composition. This composition determines many of its properties. However, impurities within
Read MoreOceanic Ridges: Formation, Characteristics, and Plate Tectonics
Oceanic Ridge Characteristics and Plate Tectonics
The oceanic ridge system is an undersea mountain range, rising between 2 and 3 km above the abyssal plain. It extends for approximately 65,000 km, periodically interrupted by laterally moving fractures called transform faults. The central depression is known as the rift valley.
Age and Sedimentation
The age of the ocean floor is less than 185 million years (Ma). No rocks currently exist within the ridges that are older than this. The older oceanic crust
Read MoreInfectious vs. Non-Infectious Diseases: Prevention and Treatment
Understanding Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases
DISEASE TYPES: Infectious diseases can manifest rapidly and last a short time (acute). Others develop slowly and last much longer (chronic). Diseases like strokes are sporadic. Usual and unique diseases in a precise region are endemic. An epidemic occurs when a disease attacks many people during a specific time period. When epidemics affect many countries or the entire world, it’s a pandemic.
Infectious Agents
- Viruses: Measles, hepatitis, rabies,
Atmospheric Pollutants: Types, Impacts, and Dispersion
Concept of Atmospheric Pollutant
An air contaminant is any physical, chemical, or biological agent that alters the natural composition of the air or introduces a foreign element. This can occur due to abnormally high levels of a substance and involve risk, danger, or nuisance to people, ecosystems, or property.
Primary and Secondary Pollutants
a) Primary pollutants are those emitted directly into the atmosphere from emission sources. Examples include:
- Suspended particles
- Carbon oxides
- Sulfur oxides
- Nitrogen
Sustainable Biofuel Production: Types, Processes, and Benefits
Composition of Biomass: Biomass that is rich in carbohydrates is suitable for the generation of biofuels. Biomass is present in the form of starch, which is composed of glucose. The non-grain portion of biomass contains biomass in the form of lignin or cellulose. These lignocellulosics are not as readily accessible as starch. Hemicellulose is a polymer containing primarily 5-carbon sugars. Glucose and mannose molecules are dispersed throughout within the structure. Lignin helps bind the cellulose/
Read MoreKey Meteorological and Geographical Terms Defined
Key Meteorological and Geographical Terms
Weather and Climate
Weather: The daily manifestation of the state of the atmosphere, which humans perceive. It’s the atmospheric state we experience daily, and it differs from one day to another. Meteorology is the science that studies the weather.
Climate: The permanent atmosphere of a territory, represented by average values of weather elements, calculated with datasets of at least thirty years.
Anticyclone: A zone where atmospheric pressure is high, higher
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