AP Environmental Science Unit 1-5

Environmental Science

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

Ecosystem

a particular location on Earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components

Environmentalist

a person who participates in environmentalism

Ecosystem Services

the processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced

Environmental Indicators

describe the current state of an environmental system

Sustainability

The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained

Biodiversity

The amount of biological or living diversity per unit area. It includes the concepts of species diversity, habitat diversity and genetic diversity.

Genetic Diversity

The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.

Species Diversity

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

Ecosystem Diversity

the variety of ecosystems within a given region

Anthropogenic

derived from human activities

Greenhouse Gases

Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.

The Greenhouse Effect

the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

Development

improvement in human well-being through economic advancement

Sustainable Development

development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

Ecological Footprint

A measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land

Natural Experiment

occurs when a natural event acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem

Environmental Justice

A social movement and field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society.

Polar Molecule

a molecule in which one side of the molecule is slightly negative and the opposite side is slightly positive

Surface Tension

A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid

Capillary Action

happens when adhesion of water molecules to a surface is stronger than cohesion between the molecules

pH scale

indicate the strength of acids and bases

Inorganic Compounds

A compound that does not contain the element carbon or contains carbon bound to elements other than hydrogen.

Organic Compounds

Compounds that contain carbon

Energy

the ability to do work

Electromagnetic Radiation

a form of energy that exhibits wavelike behavior as it travels through space

Photosynthesis

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy can be transferred and transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes

Energy Efficiency

The ratio of the amount of work done to the total amount of energy introduced to the system

Energy Quality

the ease with which an energy source can be used for work

Entropy

A measure of disorder or randomness.

Open Systems

exchange both matter and energy across the boundaries of a system

Closed Systems

systems that can sustain themselves without interacting with their environments

Steady State

a state in which inputs equal outputs, so that the system is not changing over time

Negative Feedback Loop

A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring.

Positive Feedback Loop

Causes a system to change further in the same direction.

Producers/Autotrophs

make their own food

Consumers (heterotrophs)

incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain their energy by consuming other organisms

Primary Consumers

herbivores

Secondary Consumers

carnivores that eat herbivores

Tertiary Consumers

eat secondary consumers

Trophic Levels

levels of nourishment in a food chain

Detritvores

feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter

Gross Primary Productivity

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.

Net Primary Productivity

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Biomass

the total mass of all living matter in a specific area

Ecological Efficiency

the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

Biogeochemical Cycle

process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

Hydrologic Cycle

the movement of water through the biosphere

Carbon Cycle

The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again

Nitrogen Cycle

The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere

Macronutrients

The six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

Limiting Nutrient

single essential nutrient that limits productivity in an ecosystem

Nitrogen Fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

Leaching

the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater

Disturbance

an event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition

Resistance

a measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem

Resilience

the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

Instrument Value

A value that is attribute it to something as a means to something that is considered to have intrinsic value.

Intrinsic Value

value independent of any benefit to humans

Troposphere

0-17 km above Earth's surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor. (temperature decreases with increasing altitude, pressure decreases)

Stratosphere

12 to 50 km, Ozone held here, absorbs UV radiation

Mesosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere

Thermosphere

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases

Exosphere

The outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space.

Adiabatic Cooling

the cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands

Adiabatic Heating

the heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of Earth and decreases in volume

Hadley Cell

a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

the area of the Earth that receives the most intense sunlight, where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge

Polar Cells

where polar air sinks and flows away from the poles downward meeting the ferrel cells at 60 degrees latitude

Coriolis Effect

The deflection of an objects path due to Earth's rotation

Gyres

Huge circular moving current systems dominate the surfaces of the oceans.

Upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface

Thermohaline Circulation

an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water

Rain Shadows

one side of a mountain receives all the rain while another does not due to moisture falling on the windward side of the mountain

Biomes

A community of living organisms of a single major ecological region.

Tundra

An extremely cold, dry biome.

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

a region of coniferous forest (such as pine, spruce, and fir) in the Northern Hemisphere; located just south of the tundra

Temperate Rainforest

a coastal biome typified by moderate temperatures and high precipitation

Temperate Seasonal Forest

A biome with warmer summers and colder winters than temperate rainforests and dominated by deciduous trees.

Woodland/Shrubland

a biome characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters

Temperate Grassland

biome characterized by deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports many grass species

Tropical Rainforest

a broadleaf evergreen forest found in wet and hot regions near the equator.

Subtropical Desert

Dry air, little water, lots of sun, hot weather.

Species Richness

the number of different species in a community

Species Evenness

the relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area

Phylogenies

the branching patterns of evolutionary relationships

Bottleneck Effect

a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size

Founder Effect

change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population

Fundamental Niche

The full potential range of the physical, chemical, and biological factors a species can use if there is no competition from other species.

Realized Niche

the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives

Niche Generalists

a species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions

Niche Specialists

a species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of species