Pollutant: Any substance that contaminates or makes the environment impure. Pollutants are commonly man-made wastes.
Density: The mass or quantity of a substance per unit of volume (m/V). The relative heaviness of a material or how compact or crowded the molecules are in the material.
Absorption: The process of taking in another substance, in the same manner that a sponge would.
Adsorption: When a liquid or solid takes up a substance and holds it on its surface, so that the substance coats the molecules of the solid or liquid.
Dispersant: A chemical or material that, when added to some other substance, causes it to break apart and scatter about.
Bioremediation: Using natural biological processes to correct or counteract an environmental hazard or ecological disaster. An example of bioremediation is adding fertilizer or bacteria to the water to help clean-up oil spills.
Ecosystem: An ecological unit of all the living organisms plus the non-living, physical environment and how they function together.
