Environmental Science Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering ecosystem services, population dynamics, natural selection, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and demographic transition models.

Population Pyramid

A graphical representation showing the distribution of various age groups in a population to determine if it is increasing, decreasing, or stable.

Increasing Population Pyramid

A population pyramid characterized by a broad base, indicating high birth rates and rapid population growth.

Decreasing Population Pyramid

A population pyramid with a narrow base, reflecting low birth rates and a declining overall population size.

Stable Population Pyramid

A population pyramid with relatively equal width across age groups, showing low birth and death rates with stable growth.

Ecosystem Services

The essential benefits and services that natural ecosystems provide to human society and organisms.

Examples of Ecosystem Services

Benefits such as water filtration, crop pollination, soil formation, climate regulation, and timber production.

Law of Conservation of Matter

A physical law stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction or physical change, only converted from one form to another.

Photosynthesis

The biological process in Chapter 3 where light energy converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

Photosynthesis Chemical Equation

The balanced chemical equation $6\text{CO}_2 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + 6\text{O}_2$ representing solar energy conversion into organic matter.

Cellular Respiration

The metabolic process in Chapter 3 where organisms break down organic molecules like glucose with oxygen to produce energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Cellular Respiration Chemical Equation

The chemical equation $\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + 6\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 6\text{CO}_2 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{ATP}$ showing energy extraction from glucose.

Chapter 3 Core Topics

The course unit focusing on foundational ecological and biological processes, including Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, Natural Selection, and species reproductive strategies.

Natural Selection

The evolutionary mechanism outlined in Chapter 3 whereby environmental conditions favor individuals with advantageous traits, enabling them to survive and reproduce.

Examples of Natural Selection

Documented cases such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria or beak size adaptation in finches demonstrating evolutionary shifts due to environmental pressures.

Mechanism of Natural Selection

The process explaining how and why natural selection occurs: environmental selective pressures act on pre-existing genetic variations, leading to differential survival and trait inheritance.

r-selected Species (Selctul Species)

Species whose reproductive strategy favors rapid growth, producing numerous offspring with high mortality rates and little parental investment.

Characteristics of r-selected Species

Traits including small body size, early maturity, short lifespans, large clutch sizes, and opportunistic growth in unstable environments.

K-selected Species

Species whose reproductive strategy emphasizes population stability near environmental carrying capacity, producing few offspring with high survival rates.

Characteristics of K-selected Species

Traits including larger body size, long lifespans, late sexual maturity, small offspring numbers, and substantial parental care in stable ecosystems.

Chapter 4 Core Topics

The course unit examining environmental population dynamics, including Carrying Capacity, Ecological Niche, Fertility Rates, and the Demographic Transition Model.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum limit of a population size that an ecosystem's available resources can sustainably support over time.

Ecological Niche

The unique ecological role, position, and resource utilization pattern an organism occupies within its ecosystem.

Fertility Rates

Demographic measurements quantifying the average number of live births produced by individuals or women in a given population.

Total Fertility Rate

The average total number of children a woman is projected to bear over her lifetime based on current age-specific birth rates.

Demographic Transition Model

A demographic model illustrating how human populations transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through economic and societal development.

Stage 1 of Demographic Transition

The pre-industrial phase characterized by high, fluctuating birth rates and high death rates, resulting in minimal overall population growth.

Stage 2 of Demographic Transition

The transitional phase marked by rapidly declining death rates due to improvements in food and health, while birth rates remain high, producing rapid population expansion.

Stage 3 of Demographic Transition

The industrializing phase where birth rates begin to fall alongside low death rates, slowing the overall rate of population growth.

Stage 4 of Demographic Transition

The post-industrial phase characterized by low birth rates and low death rates, yielding a stable or declining population size.

Conservation of Matter in Bio-Cycles

The application of matter conservation principles to show how carbon and oxygen cycle recursively between Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration without net loss.

Population Pyramid

A graphical representation showing the distribution of various age groups in a population to determine if it is increasing, decreasing, or stable.

Increasing Population Pyramid

A population pyramid characterized by a broad base, indicating high birth rates and rapid population growth.

Decreasing Population Pyramid

A population pyramid with a narrow base, reflecting low birth rates and a declining overall population size.

Stable Population Pyramid

A population pyramid with relatively equal width across age groups, showing low birth and death rates with stable growth.

Age Structure Categories in Population Pyramids

The three primary demographic age cohorts depicted in population pyramids: pre-reproductive ($0$ to $14$ years), reproductive ($15$ to $44$ years), and post-reproductive ($45+$ years).

Ecosystem Services

The essential benefits and services that natural ecosystems provide to human society and organisms.

Examples of Ecosystem Services

Benefits such as water filtration, crop pollination, soil formation, climate regulation, and timber production.

Law of Conservation of Matter

A physical law stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction or physical change, only converted from one form to another.

Photosynthesis

The biological process in Chapter 3 where light energy converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

Photosynthesis Chemical Equation

The balanced chemical equation $6\text{CO}_2 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + 6\text{O}_2$ representing solar energy conversion into organic matter.

Cellular Respiration

The metabolic process in Chapter 3 where organisms break down organic molecules like glucose with oxygen to produce energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Cellular Respiration Chemical Equation

The chemical equation $\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + 6\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 6\text{CO}_2 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{ATP}$ showing energy extraction from glucose.

Chapter 3 Core Topics

The course unit focusing on foundational ecological and biological processes, including Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, Natural Selection, and species reproductive strategies.

Natural Selection

The evolutionary mechanism outlined in Chapter 3 whereby environmental conditions favor individuals with advantageous traits, enabling them to survive and reproduce.

Examples of Natural Selection

Documented cases such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria or beak size adaptation in finches demonstrating evolutionary shifts due to environmental pressures.

Mechanism of Natural Selection

The process explaining how and why natural selection occurs: environmental selective pressures act on pre-existing genetic variations, leading to differential survival and trait inheritance.

r-selected Species (Selctul Species)

Species whose reproductive strategy favors rapid growth, producing numerous offspring with high mortality rates and little parental investment.

Characteristics of r-selected Species

Traits including small body size, early maturity, short lifespans, large clutch sizes, and opportunistic growth in unstable environments.

K-selected Species

Species whose reproductive strategy emphasizes population stability near environmental carrying capacity, producing few offspring with high survival rates.

Characteristics of K-selected Species

Traits including larger body size, long lifespans, late sexual maturity, small offspring numbers, and substantial parental care in stable ecosystems.

Chapter 4 Core Topics

The course unit examining environmental population dynamics, including Carrying Capacity, Ecological Niche, Fertility Rates, and the Demographic Transition Model.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum limit of a population size that an ecosystem's available resources can sustainably support over time.

Ecological Niche

The unique ecological role, position, and resource utilization pattern an organism occupies within its ecosystem.

Fertility Rates

Demographic measurements quantifying the average number of live births produced by individuals or women in a given population.

Total Fertility Rate

The average total number of children a woman is projected to bear over her lifetime based on current age-specific birth rates.

Demographic Transition Model

A demographic model illustrating how human populations transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through economic and societal development.

Stage 1 of Demographic Transition

The pre-industrial phase characterized by high, fluctuating birth rates and high death rates, resulting in minimal overall population growth.

Stage 2 of Demographic Transition

The transitional phase marked by rapidly declining death rates due to improvements in food and health, while birth rates remain high, producing rapid population expansion.

Stage 3 of Demographic Transition

The industrializing phase where birth rates begin to fall alongside low death rates, slowing the overall rate of population growth.

Stage 4 of Demographic Transition

The post-industrial phase characterized by low birth rates and low death rates, yielding a stable or declining population size.

Conservation of Matter in Bio-Cycles

The application of matter conservation principles to show how carbon and oxygen cycle recursively between Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration without net loss.