Module 0: What Is Environmental Science? (Video Notes)

Flashcards covering core concepts introduced in Module 0 and related environmental science basics.

What is environmental science?

The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature.

What is the environment?

The sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life, including living and nonliving components such as soil, temperature, and water.

What is an ecosystem?

A particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components.

What does biotic mean?

Living components of an environment.

What does abiotic mean?

Nonliving components of an environment.

What is environmentalism?

A social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education.

What is an environmentalist?

A person who participates in environmentalism.

What subjects contribute to environmental science as shown in the notes?

It encompasses topics from many disciplines, such as chemistry, biology, and Earth science.

What are the four Big Ideas in environmental science?

Energy transfer; Interactions between Earth systems; Interactions between different species and the environment; Sustainability.

Describe Big Idea 1: Energy Transfer.

Energy is contained in all objects and cannot be created or destroyed, but it can change form; energy flow through systems degrades, leading to waste and pollution.

Describe Big Idea 2: Interactions Between Earth Systems.

Earth is one large system with interconnected components; changes in one part affect others through energy and nutrient cycles (e.g., carbon cycle).

Describe Big Idea 3: Interactions Between Different Species and the Environment.

Humans and early species have altered resources and pollution through growth, technology, and land use, affecting ecosystems.

Describe Big Idea 4: Sustainability.

Using Earth's resources in a way that does not jeopardize future generations; includes social, cultural, and economic considerations.

What is the Scientific Method?

An objective process to explore the natural world, draw inferences, and predict outcomes; steps include observing, questioning, forming hypotheses, collecting data, interpreting results, and disseminating findings.

What is Observing and Questioning in the scientific method?

Scientists observe the natural and human-made worlds and ask questions about what they see.

What is a hypothesis?

A testable conjecture about how something works.

What makes a hypothesis testable?

It can be tested through experiments and can be falsified.

What is a null hypothesis?

A prediction that there is no difference between the groups or conditions being compared.

What is a control group?

A group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study.

What is replication in data collection?

Taking repeated measurements of the same sample; the number of repetitions is the sample size (n).

What is accuracy?

How close a measured value is to the actual or true value.

What is precision?

How close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another.

What is uncertainty?

An estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value.

What is a theory? (In scientific terms)

A well-supported explanation that has withstood testing and is widely accepted; more robust than a simple hypothesis.

What does the first law of thermodynamics state?

Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but it can change from one form to another.

What does the second law of thermodynamics state?

When energy is transformed, the total energy remains the same but its ability to do work diminishes.

What is a natural experiment?

A natural event that acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem.

What is a habitat?

A specific area within a biome where a particular species lives.

What is a biome?

A large geographic area defined by a particular set of climate conditions and distinctive plant growth forms.

What is a biosphere?

The region of Earth where life resides, roughly 20 kilometers thick.

Name three types of interactions that involve one species consuming another.

Predation, parasitism, and herbivory.

What is competition in ecology?

The struggle of individuals to obtain a shared, limited resource.

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

Two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist.

What is resource partitioning?

Two species evolve to divide a resource based on differences in behavior or morphology.

What is mutualism?

An interaction between two species that increases the chances of survival or reproduction for both.

What is commensalism?

An interaction in which one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped.

What is an invasive species?

An exotic species that spreads rapidly and causes harm.

What is a native vs an exotic species?

Native species live in their historical range; exotic (alien) species live outside their historical range.

What is climate?

The average weather that occurs in a region over a long period of time.

What is weather?

The short-term atmospheric conditions in a local area.

What are the seven processes driving the carbon cycle?

Photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation, burial, extraction, and combustion.

What are the five transformations in the nitrogen cycle?

Nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, mineralization, and denitrification.