UNIT 1 ENVIRO EXAM

Accuracy

How close the data is to the true value

Precision

How close all the data is to each other

Repeatability

consistency of results when repeated under the same conditions

Reproduceability

other researchers can obtain the same results using the original data and methods

True value

the actual, ideal value of a quantity that would be obtained if the measurement were performed perfectly without any errors

Validity

how well an experiment or investigation actually measures what it is supposed to measure

E.g of personal errors

misreading scales, miscalculations, or using the wrong procedure

E.g of systematic errors

a miscalibrated scale consistently registers weights as higher than they actually are

E.g of random errors

what is uncertainty

not being sure of the answer

what are outliers

observation that lies an abnormal distance from other values

what are stakeholders

a person with an interest or concern in something

what is something biotic

something in the environment thats living

what is something abiotic

something in the environment that’s not living

examples of biotic factors

plants, fungi, bacteria, animals, herbivores, carnivores, decomposers

examples of abiotic factors

temperature, terrain, soil, water, sunlight, oxygen

what is a biome

a large geographical area defined by its distinct climate, vegetation, and animal life

what is an ecosystem

a community of living organisms in a particular area

what is a habitat

natural home or environment of an animal, plant or other organism

what is a community

group of living things that live in the same place or have a particular characteristic in common and how they interact

what is a population

all the inhabitants of a particular place

what is an open system

a system that has influences from outside of its self

“a system that freely exchanges both matter and energy with its surroundings”

what is a closed system

A system that doesn’t get anything coming into it

what is a semipermeable system

Only some things can come into the system

e.g. semipermeable membrane

what is an organism

a living thing

what is an autotroph

Produces it’s own food

e.g plants, algae, phytoplankton

what is photosynthesis

Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of glucose (sugar).

What is an heterotroph

Does not produce it’s own food

e.g animals, fungi, Detritivores

What is a food chain

illustrates the flow of energy in an ecosystem by showing who eats whom

What is a food web

network of interconnected food chains, demonstrating the various paths that energy and nutrients can take through different species

What are the trophic levels

producers, primary consumers (herbivores)

secondary consumers (carnivores)

tertiary (third) consumers (carnivores)

What is a producer

organism that creates its own food

What is a consumer

something that doesn’t make it’s own food, eats producers

What is a primary consumer

an animal that eats producers, like plants or algae, and is the first level of consumer in a food chain

herbivores

What is a biomass pyramid

illustrates the total mass of living organisms at each trophic level in a food chain or food web

What is an energy pyramid

a diagram that represents the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem

What is a numbers pyramid

represents the number of organisms at each trophic level within a food chain or ecosystem

What is ecosystem productivity

rate at which biomass is generated in an ecosystem, essentially how quickly living things are producing organic matter

What are the different value systems

Anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism and technocentrism

What is Anthropocentrism

viewpoint that places humans at the center of the universe

What is biocentrism

The value we give living things

What is ecocentrism

belief that gives inherit value to individual living things & ecosystems

What is technocentrism

world view that prioritizes technology & scientific advances

What’s the atmosphere

protective layer made of air, containing mainly nitrogen and oxygen, along with other gases like argon, carbon dioxide

What’s the hydrosphere

water on the surface of of earth

e.g oceans, rivers, lakes, rain

What’s the lithosphere

earths crust, landforms (rocks & soils)

continental crust

oceanic crust

soil structure

What’s the biosphere

living matter on earth, including all animal and plant life forms

What’s groundwater

all underground water

What’s an aquifer

body of rock/sediment that has groundwater

What is the recharging of aquifers

process by which an aquifer is replenished with water

happens through natural processes like rainfall seeping into the ground or from surface water sources like rivers and streams

What’s fresh brackish (saltwater)

mix of saltwater and freshwater

What’s river delta

landform created where a river flows into another body of water, like an ocean, lake, or another river, and deposits sediment

What’s desalination

process of removing salt and other impurities from saltwater to produce fresh water

What’s the asthenosphere

semi-molten layer in the upper mantle, is directly beneath the lithosphere

What’s the mantle

largest and thickest layer of the Earth, located between the crust and the outer core

What is continental crust

thicker, less dense crust that forms the landmasses of the Earth.

What’s oceanic crust

outermost layer beneath the oceans, thin, dense, and primarily composed of basalt and other mafic rocks.

What are the different soil textures

clay, silt, sand , loam

What does porosity mean

he quality of being porous, or full of tiny holes

What’s pH

used to measure acidity and basicity

What’s loam

Loam is a “perfect” mix of clay, loam and sand

What’s sand

Sand are small granuals of rock

What’s silt

a sediment particle size that falls between sand and clay

What’s clay

Clay is a solid that is soft and moldable when wet and hardens when heated

example is australian soil

What’s the O horizon

the topmost layer of soil, composed primarily of organic matter like decomposed leaves and plant material

What’s the A horizon

topsoil, a mineral soil layer rich in organic matter and essential for plant growth

What the B horizon

accumulation of materials leached from the A horizon, particularly clay, iron, and aluminum oxides

What’s the C horizon

primarily composed of unconsolidated parent material that has been little affected by soil-forming processes

What’s parent rock

the original rock from which soil is formed

What’s the troposphere

the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere,

most weather occurs

contains about 80% of the atmosphere's total mass

What’s the mesosphere

decreasing temperatures with altitude

located above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere

What’s the thermosphere

high temperatures

feel incredibly cold to humans due to the low density of air

not enough gas molecules to transfer heat

very few atoms and molecules in this layer

What’s the exosphere

extremely low gas density

where particles are so far apart that they often behave like individual atoms and molecules

can even escape into space. 

What’s tropopause

boundary between the Earth's troposphere and stratosphere, acting as a transition layer

What’s stratopause

point where temperatures stop increasing with altitude, as is typical in the stratosphere, and start decreasing with altitude, as in the mesosphere. 

What is mesopause

temperature stops decreasing with increasing height and begins to increase.

What’s the ozone layer

absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation

the reason it’s thinning is because of the chlorofluorocarbons carbons

made up of O3 (three oxygen atoms)

What is weather

short term changes in the atmosphere

state of the atmosphere at a particular time

temperature changes

What is climate

long term changes in the atmosphere

What’s the inversion layer

normal temperature profile is reversed

meaning temperature increases with height instead of decreasing

This creates a stable situation where warm air sits above cooler air

trapping pollutants and preventing the air from mixing effectively

What’s the Coriolis effect

circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere

What’s El Nino

the weather pattern where hot air is pushed towards south america through trade winds across the pacific ocean

What’s El Nina

Where hot winds are pushed from western south America towards the western pacific ocean

What are the biogeochemical cycles?

The water or hydrological cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and phosphorus cycle.

What’s evaporation

the process where a liquid changes into a gas (or vapor)

What’s respiration

the action of taking oxygen and turning it into carbon dioxde

essential for producing energy at a cellular level. 

What’s condensation

process where a substance, often water

changes from a gaseous state to a liquid state, typically due to cooling

What’s a carbon sink

natural or artificial system

absorbs and stores more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases

What’s combustion

chemical process where a substance reacts rapidly with an oxidant, usually oxygen, releasing heat and light

example: when fuel reacts to of oxidant and releases heat and light (a flame)

What are living things

organisms that breathe

What is coal

combustible rock

primarily composed of carbon

formed from the remains of plants that died millions of years ago

What is oil and gas

naturally occurring

combustible hydrocarbons formed from the remains of prehistoric organisms

such as: giant ferns and trees

What is limestone

sedimentary rock primarily composed of calcium carbonate

formed by the accumulation and lithification of shell fragments, coral remains

What is nitrogen fixation

process of converting atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into reactive forms like ammonia (NH3) or ammonium (NH4+) that plants and other organisms can use

animals use nitrogen as sources of nitrogen for building organic molecules like proteins and nucleic acids

What is denitrification

naturally occurring process where bacteria convert nitrate in soil into nitrogen gases

What is ammonia

naturally occurring compound

essential for many biological processes and a key component in the nitrogen cycle.

significant industrial chemical

used in fertilizers, plastics

What is urea

Urea is the waste from the blood before it’s diluted with water in the kidneys

waste product formed by the body during protein breakdown

What are proteins

Made by ribosomes

made up of amino acids, which are linked together in long chains

What is lightening

powerful electrical discharge that occurs in the atmosphere, primarily during thunderstorm

What are legumes

ecological importance due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants