Environmental Science Vocab

Environmental Science

Uses specific approaches of observation and analysis to understand the natural systems around us

Natural Resources

Substances and energy sources needed for survival

Non-Renewable Resources

Unavailable after depletion

Theory

Well-tested and widely accepted explanation

John Muir

The first president of the Sierra Club, opposed Pinchot's utilitarian policies

Biodiversity

The cumulative number and diversity of living things

Renewable Resources

Can be replenished

Paradigm Shift

A dramatic upheaval in thought

Science

A process for producing knowledge based observations

Probability

A measure of how likely something is to occur

Aldo Leopold

Observed that the great challenges in conservation have less to do with managing resources than with managing people and our demands on resources.

Rachel Carson

Published Silent Spring, in 1962.

Wicked Problem

Are complex with no simple solution

Sustainability

A search for long term ecological stability and human progress

Natural Capital

Earth's total wealth of resources

Tragedy of the Commons

Unregulated exploitation of public resources leads to depletion and damage

Ecosystem Services

Refers to services or resources provided by environmental systems

Deductive Reasoning

Logical Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Observation Reasoning

Natural Experiment

Involves observation of events that have already happened.

Manipulative

Have conditions deliberately altered, and all other variables are held constant or controlled.

Blind Experiments

Are those in which the researcher doesn't know which group is treated until after the data have been analyzed.

Double-Blind Experiments

Neither the subject nor the researcher knows who is in the treatment group and who is in the control group.

Empiricism

Observations of real and observable phenomena can help us understand natural processes.

Uniformitarianism

Natural forces at work today are the same as those that shaped the world in the past.

Parsimony

The simpler of two explanations is preferable.

Uncertainty

Knowledge can be updated to be more precise and accurate as new evidence is collected.

Repeatability

Inquiries should be reproduceable

Proof

New evidence can always improve scientific knowledge so no theory is every considered finished

System

A network of interdependent components and processes with materials and energy flowing from one component of the system to another

Open Systems

Those that receive inputs from their surroundings and produce outputs that leave the system

Closed System

Exchanges no energy or matter with its surroundings

Throughput

A term we can use to describe the energy and matter that flow into, through, and out of a system

Equilibrium

When a system is in a stable balance

Thresholds

Conditions where sudden change can occur in a system

Positive Feedback Loop

Tends to increase a process or component

Negative Feedback Loop

Diminishes a process or component

Elements

Are substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical reactions

Atoms

Are the smallest particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element

Matter

All material in the universe that has mass and occupies space

Law of Conservation of Matter

Matter can be transformed from one type of substance into others

Protons

Positively charged particles

Neutrons

Particles lacking electric charge

Atomic Number

The number of protons

Electrons

Negatively charged particles

Ions

Charged atoms

Compounds

Atoms of elements joined together

Molecule

A pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit

Acids

Substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water

Bases

Substances that readily bond with ions

pH

We describe Acids and based in these terms

Organic Compounds geology

The material of which biomolecules and therefore living organisms are made

Lipids

Store energy for cells and provide the core of cell membranes and other structures

Carbohydrates

They usually consist of a long chains of simple sugars like glucose

DNA

Essential for storing and expressing genetic information

Cells

Miniature compartments within which the processes of life are carried out

Energy

The ability to do work such as moving matter over a distance or causing a heat transfer between two objects at different temperatures

Kinetic Energy

The energy contained in moving objects

Potential Energy

Stored energy that is available for use

Chemical Energy

Potential energy stored in the chemical bonds of molecules

Heat

The energy that can be transferred between objects of different temperatures

First Law of Thermodynamics

That energy is conserved

Second Law of Thermodynamics

With each successive energy transfer or transformation in a system less energy is available to do work

Photosynthesis

Nearly all organisms on the earth’s surface depend on solar radiation for life-sustaining energy which is captured by

Cellular Respiration

The energy in its chemical bonds can be released

Biological Community

All of the populations of organisms living and interacting in a particular area

Ecosystem

Composed of a biological community and its physical environment

Net Primary Productivity

The amount of organic material produced by photosynthesis in an ecosystem minus the portion consumed by decomposers

Food Web

Individual food chains become interconnected

Trophic Level

An organism’s feeding status in an ecosystem

Autotrophs

Feed themselves using only sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and minerals

Heterotrophs

Other organisms in the ecosystem are () the chemical energy harnessed by the primary producers

Herbivores

Are consumer who are plant eaters

Carnivores

Are flesh eaters

Omnivores

Eat both plant and animal matter

Scavengers

Clean up dead carcasses of larger animals

Detritivores

Consume litter, debris, and dung

Decomposer

Complete the final breakdown and recycling of organic materials

Carbon Cycle

Begins with photosynthetic organisms taking up carbon dioxide (C O₂). This is called carbon fixation because carbon is changed from gaseous C O₂ to an organic molecules like sugar

Nitrogen Cycle

Plants acquire nitrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in and around their roots

Hydrologic Cycle

Water condenses over land surfaces, in the form of rain, snow, or fog, supporting terrestrial ecosystems

Phosphorus Cycle

Has no gaseous form, because it doesn’t cycle through the atmosphere, it moves from minerals and rocks through living organisms and waterways, and eventually washes back to the sea

Sulfur Cycle

Weathering, emissions from deep seafloor vents, and volcanic eruptions release this inorganic sulfur into the air and water

Species

A population or group of populations

Population

A group of individuals of a species that live in the same area

Evolution

Means change over time

Natural Selection

Traits that enhance survival and reproduction

Adaptation

The process where, over time, characteristics that lead to better reproductive success

Adaptive Trait

A trait that promotes reproductive success

Mutations

Accidental changes in DNA that may be passed on to the next generation

Directional Selection

Drives a feature in one direction

Stabilizing Selection

Favors intermediate traits

Disruptive Selection

Traits diverge in two or more directions

Convergent Evolution

Unrelated species may evolve similar traits

Artificial Selection

The process of selection conducted under human direction

Allopatric Speciation

Species formation due to physical separation of populations

Sympatric Selection

Species form from populations that become reproductively isolated within the same area

Phylogenetic Trees (Cladograms)

Show relationships among species, groups, genes, etc.

Fossil

An imprint in stone of a dead organism

Fossil Record

The cumulative body of fossils worldwide