Environmental Science Fundamentals

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts of environmental science, sustainability, and scientific investigation procedures.

Environment

Everything around us.

Environmental Science

How humans and nature interact.

Ecosystem

Biotic + Abiotic interacting in one place.

Biotic

Living.

Abiotic

Non-living.

Anthropogenic

Human-caused.

Environmental Indicators

Health checks for Earth.

Environmentalism

Activism and lobbying for nature.

Environmental Studies

Environmental Science + Policy, Ethics, & Law.

Tragedy of the Commons

Shared free resource gets depleted by greed.

Externality

A hidden side-cost not in the price tag.

Sustainability

Using resources today without ruining tomorrow.

Sustainable Development

Economic growth that protects the environment.

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

The max you can harvest without crashing the population.

Ecological Footprint

Total land/water needed to support your lifestyle.

Carbon Footprint

Total greenhouse gases you produce.

Scientific Method

Step-by-step testing to find truth.

Hypothesis

A testable "If / Then" prediction.

Variable

Anything that changes in an experiment.

Independent Variable

The ONE thing you change (The Cause).

Dependent Variable

The thing you measure (The Effect).

Control Group

The baseline group kept completely normal.

Replication

Repeating the test to check accuracy.

Sample Size ($n$)

How many subjects you test.