Environmental Science and Biology Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core topics in environmental science, chemistry, population biology, and ecology based on lecture questions.

Foundation of Science

The core basis upon which all science and scientific discoveries are founded, specifically observations.

Environmental Science

A field of study best described as an integrative and interdisciplinary practice.

Scientific Peer-Review Process

A procedure that ensures scientific studies have proper design and methods and are free from bias.

Scientific Theory

A well-supported broad explanation, exemplified by the statement that all gases, liquids, and solids consist of atoms.

Pseudoscience

Claims or practice that, compared to real science, do not conform to established scientific rigors.

Confidence in a Scientific Theory

A measure of reliability that is most directly related to the amount of unbiased supporting evidence.

Neutron Count Calculation

The number of neutrons in an atom with a charge of $+1$, an atomic number of $6$, and a mass number of $14$, calculated as $14 - 6 = 8$.

Water Molecule Charge Distribution

The polarity property where one region of a water molecule is slightly negatively charged because the oxygen atom attracts electrons more strongly than the hydrogen atoms do.

Enzymes

Proteins that facilitate chemical reactions such as digestion.

Entropy in Energy Conversions

The thermodynamic measure that increases during conversions such as burning coal to produce heat, due to heat released during the process.

Atom

The smallest unit of matter that still maintains the chemical properties of an element.

Kinetic to Electrical Energy Conversion

The process performed by mechanical devices designed to convert kinetic energy to electrical energy.

Modern Extinction Rates

Extinction rates observed today that are higher compared to the long-term historical average rate of extinction.

Gene Flow

An evolutionary process illustrated when newly arrived stranded birds freely interbreed with an existing island population of the same species and produce fertile offspring.

Planetary Boundary

A threshold or tipping point, beyond which there is a risk of irreversible and abrupt environmental change.

Prokaryotes

Organisms lacking a membrane-bound nucleus, such as soil bacteria.

Species Diversity Regulation

The planetary processes that regulate the world's current level of species diversity, specifically extinction and speciation.

Major Factors Contributing to Extinction

The five primary drivers of extinction today: habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, overexploitation, and climate change.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship illustrated by brown-headed cowbirds laying eggs in songbird nests, relying on host birds to raise their chicks at the cost of the hosts' reproductive success.

Fungus Trophic Classification

The trophic group designation for a fungus, which acts as a decomposer.

Physical Limiting Factors

Abiotic factors affecting organism survival and growth—such as sunlight, temperature, and salinity—excluding biotic interactions like predation.

Population Equilibrium

A stable state maintained in a population if births and deaths increased by the same number of organisms.

Wolf Reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park

An ecological restoration effort that benefited ecosystem structure and function because wolves control elk populations that graze on bank-stabilizing riparian plants.

21st-Century Food Production Requirement

A necessary growth of $50\text{--}70\text{\%}$ in global food production over current levels if the global human population reaches $9\text{ billion}$ by mid-century.

1950–2000 Population Doubling

The historical time period during which the world's human population more than doubled.