APES Ch. 1-2

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environment

Consists of all the living and nonliving things (includes people)

Environmental science

The study of how the natural world works, how it affects us, and how affect it

Natural resources

Substances and energy sources that we take from the environment

Renewable natural resources

Can be replenished at the same/ faster rate of consumption

Nonrenewable natural resources

Finite supply- form far more slowly than we use them

Ecosystem services

processes maintained by ecosystems that benefit people (ex: water/ air purification, nutrient cycle, water cycle, flood prevention, reducing erosion)

Agricultural revolution

When people began to grow crops, domesticate animals, and settle in villages

Industrial revolution

period where economies transitioned from agrarian to manufacturing, populations grew, and technology advanced at a fast rate

Fossil fuels

hydrocarbons that form in the earth’s crust from prehistoric organisms

Ecological footprint

the consumption by the area of land and water needed to provide the resources a person consumes or the waste they generate

Natural capital

All Earth’s resources and ecosystemic services

Interdisciplinary

Multiple academic disciplines included

Environmental studies

Social sciences; connection of humanity to environment

Environmentalism

Social movement; protecting the natural world

Descriptive science

Recording observations and information

Correlation

relationship/ connection between things based on patterns/ similarities

Theory

an assumption made with the backing of observations and evidence, that can be directly tested

Paradigm

common/ standard scientific belief

Sustainability

Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance

Matter

Any material that has mass and occupies space

Chemistry

Studies interaction of matter

Element

Substance with specific property that cannot be broken down into substances with other properties

Atom

Smallest units which still contain all the element’s chemical properties

Radioactive

property possessed by elements or isotopes of spontaneously emitting energetic particles (radiation) by the disintegration of their atomic nuclei

Radioisotopes

Radioactive isotopes

Isotopes

Atoms in which the number of neutrons doesn’t match the number of protons

Half-life

The amount of time it will take for half of an element’s atoms to decay

Molecules

Chemical bond of two or more atoms

Compound

Chemical bond of 2 or more different elements

Covalent bond

Electrons shared between atoms

Hydrogen bond

weak attraction between elements due to opposite charges

Ionic bond

an electron is transferred from one element to another; attraction caused by their opposite charges

Organic compounds

carbon-based compounds from living organisms

Macromolecules

carbon based compounds required for life (ex: proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids)

Proteins

polymers made up of amino acids (things like muscles or enzymes, which perform actions in the body)

Nucleic acids

DNA and RNA- blueprints for producing all proteins in living organisms

Carbohydrates

simple and complex sugars; used for energy

Lipids

molecules that do not dissolve in water (fats, oils, waxes, steroids)

pH

A logarithmic scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of aqueous solutions

Acid

compounds with a pH of 0-7 (positive charge; more hydrogen ions)

Base

compounds with a pH of 7-14 (negative charge; less hydrogen ions)

Energy

The capacity to change the position, composition and temperature of matter

Work

The transfer of energy by a force acting on an object as it is displaced

Potential energy

Energy of position or composition

Kinetic energy

Energy of motion

Autotrophs

organisms that use the sun’s radiation to produce their own food

Photosynthesis

process by which plants, algae, and some protists/bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy, producing sugars and oxygen as byproducts

Cellular respiration

The process by which organisms combine oxygen with foodstuff molecules

Heterotrophs

Organisms that cannot manufacture their own food

Geology

The study of Earth’s physical features, processes, and history

Mantle

The region of the earth's interior between the crust and the core

Asthenosphere

mantle lying beneath the lithosphere; hotter and semi-fluid

Lithosphere

Includes the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle; solid

Crust

The outermost layer of rock of which a planet consists

Plate tectonics

Heat from the Earth drives convection currents that cycle the mantle upwards and downwards, moving the crust

Rock cycle

A natural, continuous process that describes how rocks are formed, broken down, and transformed into different types over time

Mineral

A naturally occurring solid, inorganic substance

Earthquake

A sudden release of energy at a tectonic plate boundary

Tsunami

A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake

Volcano

A mountain or hill having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are erupted

Landslide

Large amount of rock or soil collapse and flow downhill

Mass wasting

The downward pull of gravity that causes landslides