Grade 11 Environmental Science - Targeted Main Quiz Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering core definitions, scientific inquiry terms, ecological concepts, systems, and Sustainable Development Goals from the Grade 11 Environmental Science question bank.

Environmental science

The study of how humans interact with the environment, including habitats, pollution, and resources.

Biology

The study of living things.

Chemistry

The study of matter and its changes.

Physics

The study of matter, energy, and forces.

Geology

The study of Earth, rocks, and landforms.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work or ideas as your own without credit.

Fabrication

Making up data or results that were never collected.

Falsification

Changing real data or results so they look better.

Proteins

Biomolecules made of amino acids that form enzymes to speed up reactions and build muscle.

Nucleic acids

Biomolecules consisting of DNA and RNA that carry genetic information.

Carbohydrates

Sugars and starch that provide quick, short-term energy.

Lipids

Fats and oils used for long-term energy storage, containing about twice as much energy per gram compared to carbohydrates.

Major chemical elements of living things

Living things are mostly made of $C$ (carbon), $H$ (hydrogen), $O$ (oxygen), and $N$ (nitrogen), plus $P$ (phosphorus) and $S$ (sulfur).

Chemical symbol rule

A chemical symbol always starts with a capital letter; if there is a second letter, it is written as a small (lowercase) letter.

Organism

One individual living thing (such as one flamingo).

Population

All the organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Community

All the different populations living together in one area.

Ecosystem

The ecological community plus the non-living (abiotic) parts, such as water, soil, sunlight, and air.

Biosphere

All the ecosystems on Earth combined.

The Sun

The main source of energy for most ecosystems.

Food chain arrows

Arrows that show the direction energy flows, pointing from the organism eaten to the eater.

Producer (autotroph)

An organism that makes its own food by photosynthesis using sunlight (e.g., plants, algae).

Consumer (heterotroph)

An organism that obtains food and energy by eating other organisms.

Herbivore

A consumer that eats plants.

Carnivore

A consumer that eats animals.

Omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals.

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down dead matter and recycles nutrients.

Independent variable

The factor in an experiment that the scientist changes on purpose.

Dependent variable

The factor in an experiment that is measured to determine the outcome.

Controlled variables

Factors kept the same throughout an investigation to ensure a fair test.

Testable hypothesis

A scientific prediction structured in the format: "If [independent variable] …, then [dependent variable] … because …".

Inductive reasoning

A form of logical thinking that moves from specific observations to a general conclusion.

Deductive reasoning

A form of logical thinking that moves from a general rule to a specific prediction.

Science

A practice that asks a question about the natural world and tests it.

Engineering

A practice that designs a solution to a problem to meet criteria within given constraints.

Criteria

The desired requirements that an engineering solution must do or achieve.

Constraints

The limits placed on an engineering design, such as budget, safety, and time.

SDG 6

Sustainable Development Goal focused on clean water.

SDG 12

Sustainable Development Goal focused on responsible consumption and production (less waste, reuse, recycle).

SDG 13

Sustainable Development Goal focused on climate action.

SDG 14

Sustainable Development Goal focused on life below water (protecting seas from pollution).

SDG 15

Sustainable Development Goal focused on life on land.

Open system

A system in which both matter and energy enter and leave (e.g., a pond, the human body).

Closed system

A system in which energy enters and leaves, but matter does not (e.g., a sealed bottle garden, Earth).

Isolated system

A system in which neither matter nor energy is exchanged (very rare).

Photosynthesis

The biological process that captures light energy and stores it as chemical energy in glucose.

Cellular respiration

The biological process that releases the energy stored in glucose for an organism to use, with some energy lost as heat.

Benefit

A positive or advantageous result produced by an action or plan.

Trade-off

Something given up or a new cost incurred when selecting a solution or plan.

Fair test

An experimental trial in which you change only one thing, measure the result, and keep everything else the same.

Eutrophication

The ecological process where fertilizer runoff adds nitrates and phosphates to water, causing rapid algal growth (algal bloom).

Negative feedback

A feedback loop in which a change causes effects that reduce the original change, keeping the system stable.

Positive feedback

A feedback loop in which a change causes effects that increase the change, moving the system away from stability.

Buffer zones

Zones of plants planted along bodies of water that help reduce nutrient pollution by absorbing runoff.

Measurable indicator

A specific, quantifiable factor with units (such as $kg/\text{day}$ of waste, $mg/L$ of nitrate, or fish count) tracked to evaluate progress.