AP Environmental science semester 1

Fossil Fuel

Natural fuels formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals which fossilized millions of years ago, typically including coal, oil, and natural gas, which release energy when burned.

Fracking

Short for Hydraulic Fracking - A method of extracting oil and gas by injecting high-pressure fluid into underground rock formations, causing them to fracture and release fossil fuels.

Enviroment

The surrounding conditions, influences, or phenomena that affect living organisms, encompassing physical, chemical, and biological factors. The sum of all conditions that influence life, living organisms, nonliving such as water, soil, temperature.

Environmental Science

The study of the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment and their impact on human health and the ecosystem. Interactions between human and natural science systems.

Ecosystem

A complex network of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a system, including biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components.

Biotic

Referring to all living components of an ecosystem, including plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, that interact with each other and their environment. - Living -

Abiotic

Referring to the non-living physical and chemical elements of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, water, temperature, and minerals, that influence the environment and all living organisms. - Non - Living -

Environmentalism

A social and political movement aimed at protecting the environment and promoting sustainable practices to ensure the health of natural ecosystems and human communities.

Environmental Studies

An interdisciplinary field that examines the interactions between human systems and natural ecosystems, focusing on ecological, social, and economic aspects to address environmental issues.

Ecosystem Services

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

Environmental Indicators

Data points used to assess the condition or health of the environment, reflecting changes over time in ecosystems or human impact.

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 near the surface.

Anthropogenic

Derived from human activities

Per Capita

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

Development

Improvement in human-wellbeing 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

Development 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.

Variable

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

Independent Variables

A variable that is not dependent on other factors

Dependant Variables

A variable that is dependent on other factors

Null Hypothesis

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

Replication

The data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements.

Sample Size (n)

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 of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value.

Theory

A hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and the 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 experiment treatment in an ecosystem.

Biosphere

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

Producer

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy.

Autotroph

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy.

Photosynthesis

The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose. - Used a lot by Plants

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, carbon dioxide, and water. - with Oxygen

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert Glucose into energy in the absence of Oxygen. - Without Oxygen

Consumer

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms.

Heterotroph

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must its energy by consuming other organisms.

Herbivore

A consumer that eats producers. An animal that eats plants.

Primary Consumer

Another term for Herbivore, a consumer that only eats producers / plants

Carnivore

A consumer that eats other consumers / an animal that eats other meat animals

Secondary Consumers

A Carnivore that eats primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumer

A Carnivore that eats Secondary Consumers

Trophic Levels

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.

Food Chain

The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.

Food Web

A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.

Scavenger

An organism that consumes dead animals. (Vulture)

Detritivore

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles. ( Dung Beetle )

Decomposer

Fungi and Bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the environment.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.

Biomass

The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.

Standing Crop

The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.

Ecological Efficiency

The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.

Trophic Pyramid

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.

Biogeochemical Cycles

The movements of matter within and between ecosystems.

Hydrologic Cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere.

Transpiration

The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.

Evapotranspiration

The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.

Runoff

Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.

Carbon Cycle

The movement of carbon around the biosphere.

Macronutrient

One of six key elements that organisms need in relativity large amounts: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur

Limiting Nutrient

A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.

Nitrogen Cycle

The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process that converts nitrogen gases in the atmosphere (N2) into forms of nitrogen that producers can use.

Nitrification

The conversion of Ammonia (NH4+) into Nitrite (NO2-) and then into Nitrate (NO3-)

Assimilation

The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.

Mineralization

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic compounds.

Ammonification

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic nitrogen found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic ammonium (NH4+)

Denitrification

The conversion of Nitrate (NO3-) in a series of steps into the gases Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and eventually, Nitrogen Gas (N2), which is emitted into the atmosphere.

Leaching

The transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.

Phosphorous Cycle

The movement of Phosphorous around the biosphere.

Algal Bloom

A rapid increase in the Algal population of a waterway.

Hypoxic

Low in Oxygen

Dead Zone

When Oxygen concentration becomes so low that it kills fish and other aquatic animals.

Sulfur Cycle

The movement of Sulfur around the Biosphere

Disturbance

An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.

Resistance

A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.

Resilience

The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.,

Restoration Ecology

The study and Implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems.

Watershed

All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.

Climate

The average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period of time.

Weather

The short-term conditions of the atmosphere in a local area which include temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, and wind speed

Troposphere

A layer in the atmosphere closest to the surface of the Earth, extending up to approximately 16 km (10 miles).

Stratosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, extending roughly 16 to 50 km ( 10 - 31 miles ) above the surface of the Earth.

Albedo

The percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface.

Saturation Point

The maximum amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature.

Adiabatic Cooling

The cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands.

Adiabatic Heating

The heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of the Earth and decreases in volume.