APES Vocab FINAL

Environmental Science for the AP Course Andrew Friedland; Rick Relyea

Environment

the sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.

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.

Abiotic

Non-living.

Environmentalism

A social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education.

Environmental Studies

The field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics.

Ecosystem Services

The process by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced.

Environmental Indicators

An indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system.

Biodiversity

The diversity of life forms in an environment.

Genetic Diversity

A measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population.

Species

A group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology (body form and structure), behavior, or biochemical properties.

Species Diversity

The number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat.

Speciation

The evolution of new species.

Background Extinction Rate

The average rate at which species become extinct over the long term.

Greenhouse Gases

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

Anthropogenic

Derived from human activities.

Per Capita

Amount per each person in a country or unit of population.

Developement

Improvement of human-well-being through economic advancement.

Sustainability

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

Sustainable Development

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

Biophilia

Love of life.

Ecological Footprint.

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

Scientific Method

An objective method to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes.

Hypothesis

A testable conjecture about how something works.

Variables

Any categories, conditions, factors, or traits that differ in the natural world or in experimental situations.

Independent Variable

A variable that is not dependent on other factors.

Dependent Variable

A variable that is dependent on other factors.

Null Hypothesis

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

Replication

The data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements.

Sample Size

The number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection.

Accuracy

How close a measured value is to the actual or true value.

Precision

How close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another.

Uncertainty

An estimate on how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value.

Theory

A hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance.

Control Group

In a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study.

Natural Experiment

A natural event that acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem.

Matter

Anything that occupies space and has mass.

Mass

A measurement of the amount of matter an object contains.

Atom

The smallest particle that can contain the chemical properties of an element.

Element

A substance composed of atoms that cannot be broken down into smaller, simpler components.

Periodic Table

A chart of all chemical elements currently known, organized by their properties.

Molecules

A particle that contains more than one atom.

Compounds

A molecule containing more than one element.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in the nucleus of a particular element.

Mass Number

A measurement of the total number of protons and neutrons in an element.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

Radioactive Decay

The spontaneous release of material from the nucleus of radioactive isotopes.

Half-Life

The time it takes for one-half of an original radioactive parent atom to decay.

Covalent Bonds

The bond formed when elements share electrons.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond between two ions of opposite charges.

Hydrogen Bond

A weak chemical bond that forms when hydrogen atoms that are covalently bonded to one atom are attracted to another atom on another molecule.

Polar Molecules

A molecule in which one side is more positive and the other side is more negative.

Surface Tension

A property of water that results from the cohesion of water molecules at the surface of a body of water and that creates a sort of skin on the water's surface.

Capillary Action

A property of water that occurs when adhesion of water molecules to a surface is stronger than cohesion between the molecules.

Acid

A substance that contributes hydrogen ions to a solution.

Base

A substance that contributes hydroxide ions to a solution.

pH

The number that indicates the relative strength of acids and bases in a substance.

Ocean Acidification

An increase in the acidity of the oceans.

Chemical Reaction

A reaction that occurs when atoms separate from molecules or recombine with other molecules.

Law of Conservation of Matter

A law of nature stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form.

Inorganic Compounds

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

Organic Compounds

A compound that contains carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds.

Carbohydrates

A compound composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.

Proteins

A critical component of living organisms made up of a long chain of nitrogen-containing organic molecules known as amino acids.

Nucleic Acids

Organic compounds found in all living cells.

Lipids

A smaller organic biological molecule that does not mix with water.

Cell

A highly organized living entity that consists of the four types of macromolecules and other substances in a watery solution, surrounded by a membrane.

Energy

The ability to do work or transfer heat.

Joule

The amount of energy used when a 1-watt electrical device is turned on for 1 second.

Power

The rate at which work is done.

Electromagnetic Radiation

A form of energy emitted by the Sun that includes, but is not limited to, visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared energy.

Photons

A massless packet of energy that carries electromagnetic radiation at the speed of light.

Potential Energy

Stored energy that has not been released.

Chemical Energy

Potential energy stored in chemical bonds.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion.

Temperature

The measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance.

First Law of Thermodynamics

A physical law which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can change from one form to another.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The physical law stating that 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 energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system.

Energy Quality

The ease with which an energy source can be used for work.

Entropy

Randomness in a system.

Open System

A system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries.

Closed System

A system in which matter and energy exchanges do not occur across boundaries.

Inputs

An addition to a system.

Outputs

A loss from a system.

System Analysis

An analysis to determine inputs, outputs, and changes in a system under various conditions.

Steady State

A state in which inputs equals outputs, so that the system is not changing over time.

Negative Feedback Loops

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

A feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified.

Biosphere

The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.

Producers

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy, also known as autotroph.

Autotroph

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy, also known as producer.

Photosynthesis

The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.

Aerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.

Consumers

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain the energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as heterotroph.

Heterotrophs

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain the energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as consumer.

Herbivores

A consumer that eats producers. Also known as primary consumer.