APES UNIT 1: The Living World Vocab

PCBs ( Polychlorinated Biphenyls )

PCBs are used in electronics. Chemical products banned in 1979. Polluted groundwater

Quantitative Data ( N )

Data that uses numbers

Qualitative Data ( L )

Data that uses qualities and characteristics that describe

Experimental Design

set up an experiment

Control

Constant variable and unchanged throughout the course of the investigation

Easter Island

an island owned by Chile where people died because of lack of natural resources

Ecology

Study of living organisms in their nonliving world

Biotic Factor

Living item ( Example: Bacteria )

Abiotic Factor

Non-living thing ( Example: Rock )

Ecological Hierarchy ( Small to Large )

Species → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Biome → Biosphere

Population

A group of individuals of the same species

Community

A group of populations interacting together

Ecosystem

A group of communities interacting together

Biosphere

Another name for Earth

Natural Selection

Survival of the fittest

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Where Potomac River dumps into Atlantic Ocean. Extremely polluted with sediments and nutrients.

Salinity

Level of salt in the water

Brackish

Medium levels of salinity, Often occurs in wetlands where salt and fresh water mix.

Potential Energy

The energy stored: PE = mgh

Kinetic Energy

The energy in movement: KE = ½ mv²

1st Law of Thermodynamics

Energy is not created or destroyed… changes forms

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

No reaction is 100% efficient. Entropy is created after every energy transformation

Entropy

Disorder and Chaos in a system

Gaia Hypothesis: Organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic