AP Environmental Science Unit 1

Abiotic factor

A factor in an environment that does not derive from living things

Acid precipitation

Precipitation (rain or snow) that has an increased level of acidity (lower than normal pH) due to environmental factors

Anthropology

The scientific study of humans in terms of the evolution of physical characteristics, societies, and culture

Biologist

A scientist who studies the living world

Biology

The scientific study of the living world

Biotic factor

A factor in an environment that derives from living things

Botany

The scientific study of plants

Chemistry

The scientific study of matter, its properties and composition, and the changes it undergoes

Earth science

The scientific study of Earth and its atmosphere

Ecology

The scientific study of relationships among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Environment

The entire set of biotic and abiotic factors that surround an organism or community

Environmental science

The scientific study of interactions in the environment and particularly of human impact on the environment

Geography

The scientific study of Earth's surface. Geography deals with the arrangement of geological and biological features in particular, including the distribution of populations

Geologist

A scientist who studies Earth, including its structure, the processes that take place within it, and its history

Geology

The scientific study of Earth, including its structure, the processes that take place within it, and its history

Geophysics

The scientific study of the physical processes that occur within Earth

Hydrologist

A scientist who studies water, including its quality, distribution, and movement through Earth and the atmosphere

Hydrology

The scientific study of water, including its quality, distribution, and movement through Earth and the atmosphere

Interdisciplinary

Relating to more than one academic discipline or body of knowledge

Meteorology

The scientific study of the atmosphere, including climate and weather

Microbiology

The scientific study of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, archaea, unicellular protists and fungi, and viruses

Oceanography

The scientific study of all aspects of the sea, including its extent and depth and the life it contains

Organisms

Individual living things

Physics

The scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact in the world around us

Sociology

The scientific study of human society

Zoology

The scientific study of animals

Acoustics

A branch of physics that deals with the properties of sound

Applied science

The application of science to solve problems and answer questions

Biostimulation

The modification of the environment to stimulate cleanup by natural bacteria

Biotechnology

The use of living things, or parts of living things, to create products useful to society

Climate

The weather conditions, including temperature, rain, and wind, that are typical of a particular place

Ecosystem

A system formed by the interaction of a community of living organisms with their nonliving physical environment

Engineering

The application of science and technology to the design and construction of structures, materials, products, and systems

Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveillance

The confirmation of the presence of an organism using DNA samples from the environment where the organism lives

Gel electrophoresis

A laboratory technique used to separate biological molecules by size and charge.

Geographic information system (GIS)

A system that collects, stores, manages, analyzes, and presents geographical information

Global positioning system (GPS)

A navigational system that uses constant satellite signals to provide precise velocity and positional information for all locations on Earth

Invasive species

A nonnative species that, when introduced to an area, reproduces rapidly and to the extent that it harms and outcompetes existing (native) species

Negative (-) control

A test sample or group that does not have the factor for which an experimental procedure is designed to test

Positive (+) control

A test sample or group that is known to have the factor for which an experimental procedure is designed to test

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

A technology that generates large numbers of identical DNA molecules from only a few by causing the DNA to undergo repeated rounds of DNA replication

Remote sensing

The process of gathering information about land and water through images taken by a vehicle, such as a satellite, at a great distance above Earth

System

A set of interacting components that are grouped together and isolated from outside influence

Technology

The application of scientific principles to solve practical problems

Topography

The features that form the shape of a land surface

Matter

Anything that takes up space and has mass

Atom

The smallest unit of an element, which is one of the fundamental kinds of matter. An atom is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons

Molecule

A group of atoms that bond together by sharing electrons

Inorganic matter

The matter that makes up nonliving things

Organic matter

The matter that makes up living things and that contains carbon compounds

Mixture

The result of two or more substances combining but not chemical bonding with one another

Solution

A homogeneous mixture of a solute and a solvent

Chemical energy

Energy stored in the chemical bonds of compounds

Kinetic energy

Energy associated with an object's motion

Potential energy

Energy associated with an object's position. Energy that is stored

Light energy

Energy associated with electromagnetic radiation

Thermal energy

Kinetic energy due to atomic or molecular motion, which results in heat

Conduction

The transfer of heat through direct contact of materials of different temperatures

Convection

The transfer of heat due to molecular motion in currents within a liquid or gas

Radiation

The transfer of heat by light waves

Insolation

The amount of sunlight striking a surface

Albedo

The percentage of light reflected from a body

Radiation balance

The net amount of energy entering Earth

Closed system

A system that does not exchange matter or energy with its surroundings

Open system

A system that takes in or releases energy, matter, or both energy and matter from or to its surroundings

Static system

A system whose outputs match its inputs at every point in time

Dynamic system

A system that has inputs and outputs that change over time

Equilibrium

A state of balance between opposing forces or actions with a system

Feedback loop

A system, or mechanism with a system, that uses the information about the output of a process to regulate the rate at which the input process occurs; this regulation in turn affects the output

Negative feedback

A mechanism within a feedback loop that responds to input and causes changes that keep a system at equilibrium

Positive feedback

A mechanism within a feedback loop by which the output of a pathway causes inputs to the pathway to speed up or increase

Thermodynamics

The study of energy and its transformations

Conservation of energy

A law stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed; energy can only change forms

Entropy

A thermodynamic measure of the disorder in a system

Aerobe

An organism that requires the presence of oxygen in order to live

Aerobic

Requiring the presence of oxygen

Anaerobe

An organism that does not require the presence of oxygen in order to live

Anaerobic

Not requiring the presence of oxygen

ATP synthase

A protein in the thylakoid membrane that produces ATP

ATP/ADP

Short for adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate; the energy molecules of a cell

Calvin cycle

The series of chemical reactions in photosynthesis that do not require light; they are also called the dark reactions or carbon fixation. The Calvin cycle is a repeating series of reactions that generates a 3-carbon product and its 5-carbon starting material

Chemical equation

A representation of a chemical reaction that uses chemical symbols and formulas in which the reactants are shown to the left of an arrow pointing to the right and the products are shown to the right of the arrow

Chlorophyll

A green substance in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts that gathers light for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll reflects green light and absorbs other colors of light, which supply energy for photosynthesis

Chloroplast

A double-membrane organelle in plant cells and some protist cells that is the main site of photosynthesis

Dark reactions

The chemical reactions in photosynthesis that do not require light; these reactions are also called the Calvin cycle or carbon fixation

Electron

The negatively charged fundamental particle found within an atom

Electron transport

The movement of electrons from one protein to another in a series of proteins found in the inner membranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria. Electron transport involves a series of chemical reactions and plays a role in the production of ATP during both photosynthesis and cellular respiration

Electron transport chain

A series of membrane-embedded proteins that transfer electrons from donors to acceptors while transferring hydrogen ions (H+) across the membrane

Enzyme

A protein that catalyzes (speeds up) chemical reactions.

Water-splitting enzyme

An enzyme that catalyzes the splitting of water molecules in the light reactions of photosynthesis

Excited electron

An electron that has been raised to a higher state of energy because of the action of radiant energy or chemical energy

FAD/FADH2

An energy-carrier molecule used in cellular respiration

Food chain

A diagram that shows the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

Glycolysis

The first step in cellular respiration, in which glucose is broken down

Grana

The stacks of thylakoids within a chloroplast

Intermembrane space

The area between two membranes, such as the inner and outer membranes of a mitochondrion

Krebs cycle

The second step of cellular respiration, which occurs within mitochondria and produces energy-carrying molecules

Light reactions

The chemical reactions in photosynthesis that require light; these reactions include the splitting of water molecules using light energy and electron transport

Mitochondrial matrix

The material within the inner membrane of a mitochondrion

Mitochondrion

A double-membrane organelle in cells that is the main site of cellular respiration