AP Environmental Science Vocabulary

Flashcards covering the vocabulary from the lecture notes.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Biome with warm summers, cool winters, average rainfall, fertile soils, and broadleaf trees that lose their leaves each winter.

Temperate Grasslands

Biome with warm summers, cool winters, little rain, thick fertile soil, and dominant producers are perennial grasses.

Temperate Rainforest

Biome with warm summers, cool winters, lots of rain, fertile but easily eroded soils, and dominant producers are conifers.

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Biome with long, dry winters, short, warm summers, moderate rainfall, acidic sandy soil, and dominant producers are conifers.

Chaparral

Biome with warm, dry summers, cool, wet winters, little rainfall, dominant producers are shrubs and grasses, and wildfires are common in summer.

Tundra

Biome with long, cold winters, short summers, little rainfall, dominant producers are grasses which give way to mosses and lichens, and permafrost is a prominent feature.

Desert

Biome with great variation in temperature, little to no rainfall, dominant producers are grasses, shrubs, and cacti, and plants and animals are adapted to dry environments.

Tropical Rainforest

Biome with warm weather year round, lots of rain, dominant producers are broadleaf evergreen trees, and is the most biodiverse terrestrial biome with relatively bad soil.

Tropical Dry (deciduous) Forest

Biome with warm weather year round, moderate rainfall, trees lose leaves in the dry season.

Savana

Biome with warm weather year round, distinct wet and dry seasons, dominant producers are perennial grasses, wildfires are common, and many large herbivores and carnivores.

Photosynthesis

Process: CO2 + H2O → C6H12O6 + O2

Respiration

Process: C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Decomposition

Process: Organic matter → decomposers → CO2

Burial and Lithification

Process: Organic matter → heat and pressure → Fossil Fuels

Combustion

Process: Fossil Fuels + O2 → CO2

Weathering

Process: CaCO3 → CO2

Nitrogen Fixation

Process: N2 → NH3 (Ammonia) , NH4 + (Ammonium)

Nitrification

Process: NH3 , NH4 + → NO2 - (Nitrite) → NO3 - (Nitrate)

Assimilation

Process: NH3 , NH4 + , NO3 - → Producers (DNA, RNA, Amino Acids)

Ammonification

Process: Organic waste→ NH3 , NH4 +

Denitrification

Process: NO3 - → NO2 - → N2 + N2O (Nitrous Oxide)

Producers

Organisms at the bottom of the food chain/web that produce their own food.

Herbivores

Organisms second from the bottom of the food chain/web that consume producers.

Omnivores

Organisms above herbivores that consume both producers and other animals.

Carnivores

Organisms highest on the food chain/web that consume only other animals.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down all organic matter.

Abiotic

Non-living components of ecosystems.

Biotic

Living components of ecosystems.

Interspecific Competition

Competition between individuals in different species.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition within the same species (most intense).

Competitive Exclusion

When two species share the same niche, competing for the same resources, and one species goes extinct.

Resource Partitioning

When the niche of two species overlap, they specialize to reduce competition.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit (win/win).

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits while the other is harmed (win/lose).

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits while the other is not affected (win/don’t care).

Littoral Zone

The zone by the shore of a lake with rooted plants.

Limnetic Zone

The top area of a lake with light and algae.

Photic Zone

The zone in between the limnetic and benthic zone that is dark and cold with low DO.

Benthic Zone

The lake bottom that is dark with nutrients and low DO.

Turbidity

The cloudiness of water caused by suspended sediments.

Genetic Diversity

Diversity of genes within a species.

Species Diversity

Variety of species in a community.

Habitat Diversity

Variety of structure within an ecosystem.

Ecosystem Diversity

Variety within an ecosystem as a whole.

Selective Pressure

A force that is “doing the choosing” in natural selection.

Range of Tolerance

The range of conditions that a species can endure before harm/death.

Primary Succession

Succession that starts from bare rock.

Secondary Succession

Succession that starts with soil after some sort of disruption (ie wildfire).

Keystone Species

A species that holds a significant role in the community that affects other species.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Average number of children born to a woman living in that country.

Replacement Fertility

The TFR needed to keep the population stable.

Density Dependent Factors

Factors that fluctuate based on the size of the population (food, water, etc.).

Density Independent Factors

Factors that are present regardless of the size of the population (heat wave, hurricane, etc.).

r-selected

Reproductive strategy to max out biotic potential (r).

k-selected

Reproductive strategy to keep population at carrying capacity (k).

O Horizon

The uppermost layer of soil, consisting of organic matter.

A Horizon

The topsoil layer, dark in color, containing humus and supporting plants.

E Horizon

The eluviated layer where minerals are leached out.

B Horizon

The subsoil layer, light in color, with low humus, enriched with minerals from the E horizon.

C Horizon

The layer of partly broken down bedrock.

Soil Permeability

How easily water can pass through soil.

Troposphere

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere where weather, pollution, and climate occur.

Stratosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere that contains the ozone layer.

Transform Plate Boundary

Boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions; earthquakes are common.

El Nino

A climate pattern with weak easterly winds and warm ocean currents moving from west to east.

Runoff

Water that flows over the land surface rather than infiltrating into the ground.

Slash and Burn Agriculture

The process of cutting down and burning trees to release nutrients into the soil.

Saltwater Intrusion

The movement of salt water inland due to overpumping of groundwater.

Tragedy of the Commons

When a public resource is exploited for individual gain, thus degrading the resource for all.

Arable Land

Land that is sustainable and able to be farmed on.

Criteria Air Pollutants

The six major air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act: Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Particulate matter (PM10 or PM2.5), Lead (Pb), Ozone (O3), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Carbon monoxide (CO)

Photochemical Smog

Occurs when NO + VOCs react with sunlight & UV to produce O3 + PANs.

Thermal Inversion

A pocket/layer of warm air above the layer of cooler air in the atmosphere, thus, air pollution is unable to rise through this less dense layer of air, as it is too dense.

Meltdown

Coolant is lost and temperature and pressure increases leading H2o to split into H2 + O2, the reactor explodes and radioactive debris spreads and contaminates groundwater.

Cogeneration

One method of energy production is used to complete multiple tasks.

Fracking

Hydraulic fracturing used to extract gas and oil trapped in shale.

Acid Deposition

Occurs when pollutants such as NOx and SO2 are mixed with other materials forming H2SO4 and HNO3.

Cultural Eutrophication

Nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems caused by human activities.

Bioaccumulation

The accumulation of toxic compounds in the tissues of an organism.

Biomagnification

The increase in concentration of toxic compounds as they move up the food chain.

LD50

The dose of a substance that is lethal to 50% of the test population.

Point Source Pollution

Pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source.

Nonpoint Source Pollution

Pollution that comes from many diffuse sources.

Turbidity

Cloudiness of water; affected by total amount of solids within water. Measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU)