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Fossil Fuel
A fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago
Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, a method of oil and gas extraction that uses high-pressure fluids to force open cracks in rocks deep underground
Environment
The sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life
Environmental Science
The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature
Ecosystem
A particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components
Biotic
Living
Abiotic
Nonliving
Environmentalism
A social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education
Environmental Studies
The field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics
Ecosystem Services
The processes by which life supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced
Environmental Indicator
An indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system
Biodiversity
The diversity of life forms in an environment
Genetic Diversity
A measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population
Species
A group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology (body form and structure), behavior, or biochemical properties
Species Diversity
The number of species in a region or in a particular ecosystem
Speciation
The evolution of new species
Background Extinction Rate
The average rate at which species become extinct over the long term
Greenhouse Gases
Gases in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat near the surface
Anthropogenic
Derived from human activities
Per Capita
Amount per each person in a country or unit of population
Development
Improvement in human well-being through economic advancement
Sustainability
Living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources
Sustainable Development
Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations
Biophilia
Love of life
Ecological Footprint
A measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land
Scientific Method
An objective method to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes
Hypothesis
A testable conjecture about how something works
Variable
Any categories, conditions, factors, or traits that differ in the natural world or in experimental situations
Independent Variable
A variable that is not dependent on other factors
Dependent Variable
A variable that is dependent on other factors
Null Hypothesis
A prediction that there is no difference between the groups or conditions that are being compared
Replication
The data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements
Sample Size (n)
The number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection
Accuracy
How close a measured value is to the actual or true value
Precision
How close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another
Uncertainty
An estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value
Theory
A hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance
Control Group
In a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study
Natural Experiment
A natural event that acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem
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