Module 0 and Module 1 Environmental Science Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Module 0 and Module 1 of Environmental Science.

Environment

The sum of all living and non-living conditions and factors surrounding an organism or group of organisms that impact life.

Environmentalism

A social movement and ideology seeking to protect the natural environment through advocacy, education, and policy changes.

Environmental Science

An interdisciplinary field that encompasses physical, biological, and information sciences to study the environment and solve environmental problems. Also, it is the study of interactions between human systems and natural systems.

Biotic

Refers to the living or once-living components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic

Refers to the non-living physical and chemical components of an ecosystem.

Scientific Method

A systematic process of empirical inquiry consisting of observation, question, hypothesis, collecting data/experimentation, interpreting results, and sharing findings with the broader community.

Independent Variable

The factor or variable in an experiment that is intentionally changed or manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured or observed in an experiment, which changes in response to the independent variable.

Null Hypothesis

A statement or default position in scientific testing that assumes there is no effect, relationship, or difference between specified variables or groups.

Control Group

A group in an experiment that receives baseline conditions and no experimental treatment, serving as a standard of comparison.

Natural Experiment

An observational study where natural events or non-manipulated conditions serve as experimental variables outside of a laboratory setup.

Accuracy

Refers to how close a measured value or set of observations is to the true or accepted target value.

Precision

Refers to how close repeated measurements or observations are to each other, regardless of the true value.

Uncertainty

An estimate or measure of the amount by which a calculated or measured value may differ from the true value.

Inductive Reasoning

A method of logical thinking that forms general conclusions based on specific observations or patterns.

Deductive Reasoning

A method of logical thinking that uses general principles or laws to predict specific outcomes or results.

Scientific Theory

A well-substantiated and extensively tested explanation of an aspect of the natural world based on a body of facts and observations.

Scientific Law

A concise description, often mathematical, that describes a natural phenomenon observed under specified conditions.

1st Law of Thermodynamics

The law of conservation of energy, stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

The law stating that when energy is transformed or transferred, the quantity of energy remains constant, but its ability to do work decreases as entropy increases.

Community Ecology

The study of the interactions between different species and how these interactions shape the composition and structure of biological communities.

Symbiosis

A close and prolonged ecological interaction between two or more different biological species.

Predation

A species interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and consumes another organism, the prey.

Parasitism

A symbiotic interaction where one organism lives on or inside a host organism, deriving benefits at the host's expense.

Pathogen

A disease-causing organism or micro-organism, such as a virus, bacterium, or fungus, that harms its host.

Mutualism

An ecological interaction between two species in which both participating organisms benefit.

Commensalism

An interaction between species in which one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Photosynthesis

The biological process by which green plants and other organisms use light energy to synthesize organic energy from carbon dioxide and water.

Biosphere

The global ecosystem comprising all living beings on Earth and their interactions with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Competition

The interaction between organisms or species that struggle for the same limited resource in an ecosystem.

Competitive Exclusion Principle

The principle stating that two species competing for the exact same limited resource cannot coexist indefinitely if all ecological factors remain constant.

Resource Partitioning

An evolutionary or behavioral adaptation where competing species divide limited resources by utilizing them in different ways, times, or places.

Native Species

A species that naturally lives and thrives in a given region or ecosystem without human introduction.

Exotic Species

A species living outside its natural distributional range due to direct or indirect human activity.

Invasive Species

An exotic species that spreads rapidly and causes economic or environmental harm to native species and ecosystems.