Intro to APES

Environment

The sum of all conditions surrounding us that influence life

Environmental Science

The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature

Tragedy of the Commons

The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act from self-interest for short-term gain

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 are of land

Scientific Method

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

Hypothesis

A testable conjecture (claim) about how something works

Null Hypothesis

A prediction that there is no difference between groups or conditions, or a statement or an idea that can be falsified, or proved wrong

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

Experimental Group

The group in a scientific study that receives the specific treatment, intervention, or change being tested

Independent Variable

The specific factor or condition that a researcher deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment to test its effects on something else

Dependent Variable

The factor that you measure and observe in a scientific experiment to see how it responds to changes made by the researcher