Unit 1 APES

Environmental Science

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

Abotic

Non-living

System

A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal.

enivronment

the sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life

Ecosytem Services

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

Biodiversity

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

greenhouse gases

Gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

nonrewable resources

resources that cannot regenerate in our lifetime (fossil fuels) or are found on earth in a finite amount

per capita

per person

Anthopogenic

derived from human activities

Sustainability

Living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources

ecological footprint

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

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

a variable that is dependent on other factors

Hypothesis

a testable prediction about how something works

null hypothesis

A prediction that there is no difference between groups or conditions that are compared

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.