APES summer

APES Summer Test Vocab (Module 0 + Chapter 2)

Module 0

  • Environment: sum of all conditions surrounding us that influence life

  • Environmental science: study of interactions among human systems and natural systems

  • Ecosystem: a location with interacting biotic and abiotic components

  • Biotic: living

  • Abiotic: nonliving

  • Environmentalism: a social movement to protect the environment (lobbying, activism, education)

  • Environmental studies: environmental science plus policy, economics, literature, and ethics

  • Sustainability: using resources in a way that doesn't jeopardize future generations doing the same

  • Scientific method: objective way to explore nature, draw inferences, and predict outcomes

  • Hypothesis: a testable conjecture about how something works

  • Variable: any category, condition, factor, or trait that differs

  • Independent variable: the variable you change or control; not dependent on other factors

  • Dependent variable: the variable you measure; depends on the independent variable

  • Null hypothesis: prediction that there is no difference between the groups compared

  • Control group: group with the same conditions as the experimental group except the one variable under study

  • Natural experiment: a natural event that acts as an experimental treatment

  • Replication: taking repeated measurements

  • Sample size (n): number of times a measurement is replicated

  • Accuracy: how close a measured value is to the true value

  • Precision: how close repeated measurements are to one another

  • Uncertainty: estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from the true value

  • Inductive reasoning: making general statements from specific facts or examples

  • Deductive reasoning: applying a general statement to specific facts or situations

  • Theory: a hypothesis repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and widely accepted

  • First law of thermodynamics: energy is neither created nor destroyed, but can change form

  • Second law of thermodynamics: when energy is transformed, the quantity stays the same but its ability to do work diminishes

Chapter 2, Section 2-1 (Science)

  • Science: attempt to discover how nature works and use that knowledge to predict what will happen

  • Data: information collected through observation and experiments

  • Model: approximate representation or simulation of a system

  • Scientific hypothesis: possible, testable answer to a scientific question

  • Scientific theory: well-tested, widely accepted hypothesis

  • Scientific law (law of nature): well-tested description of what repeatedly happens the same way in nature

  • Peer review: scientists publish their methods and results for other experts in the field to evaluate

  • Tentative (frontier) science: preliminary results not yet widely tested or peer reviewed

  • Reliable science: data, models, theories, and laws widely accepted by experts after testing, peer review, and debate

  • Unreliable science: results presented as reliable without peer review, or discarded by it

Chapter 2, Section 2-2 (Matter)

  • Matter: anything that has mass and takes up space

  • Element: fundamental type of matter with a unique set of properties; can't be broken down chemically

  • Compound: two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions

  • Atom: smallest unit of matter that keeps an element's chemical properties

  • Atomic theory: all elements are made of atoms

  • Molecule: two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds

  • Ion: atom or group of atoms with a net positive or negative charge

  • Proton (p): positively charged particle in the nucleus

  • Neutron (n): particle with no charge in the nucleus

  • Electron (e): negatively charged particle outside the nucleus

  • Nucleus: the tiny center of an atom containing protons and neutrons

  • Atomic number: number of protons in an atom's nucleus

  • Mass number: protons plus neutrons in the nucleus

  • Isotope: forms of an element with the same atomic number but different mass numbers

  • Acidity: how acidic a water solution is, based on H+ vs. OH- amounts

  • pH: measure of acidity (below 7 acidic, 7 neutral, above 7 basic)

  • Chemical formula: shorthand showing the number of each type of atom or ion in a compound

  • Organic compound: contains at least two carbon atoms combined with other elements (methane is the exception)

  • Inorganic compound: any compound that isn't organic

  • Complex carbohydrates: polymers of simple sugars (starch, cellulose)

  • Proteins: polymers of amino acids

  • Nucleic acids: polymers of nucleotides (DNA, RNA)

  • Lipids: fats and waxes; a macromolecule not made of monomers

  • Cell: fundamental structural and functional unit of life

  • Gene: DNA sequence that codes for a specific protein

  • Trait: characteristic passed from parents to offspring

  • Chromosome: DNA double helix wrapped around proteins, made of thousands of genes

  • Physical change: change with no change in chemical composition

  • Chemical change (chemical reaction): change in the chemical composition of substances

  • Nuclear change: change in the nuclei of atoms

  • Radioactive decay: unstable nuclei spontaneously emit particles or radiation

  • Nuclear fission: large nuclei are split into lighter nuclei, releasing energy and neutrons

  • Nuclear fusion: two light nuclei are forced together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy

  • Law of conservation of matter: no atoms are created or destroyed in a physical or chemical change

Chapter 2, Section 2-3 (Energy)

  • Energy: capacity to do work or transfer heat

  • Kinetic energy: energy of motion

  • Potential energy: stored energy available for use

  • Heat (thermal energy): total kinetic energy of all moving atoms, ions, or molecules in a substance

  • Electromagnetic radiation: energy that travels as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields

  • Renewable energy: replenished by natural processes in a relatively short time

  • Nonrenewable energy: can be depleted and isn't replenished on a human time scale

  • Fossil fuels: oil, coal, and natural gas, formed over millions of years from decayed ancient organisms

  • Energy quality: capacity of a type of energy to do useful work

  • High-quality energy: concentrated energy with a high capacity to do work

  • Low-quality energy: dispersed energy with little capacity to do work

  • First law of thermodynamics (law of conservation of energy): energy is neither created nor destroyed

  • Second law of thermodynamics: energy always goes from a more useful to a less useful form

  • Energy efficiency: getting more work out of the energy we use

Chapter 2, Section 2-4 (Systems)

  • System: set of components that function and interact in some regular way

  • Inputs: matter, energy, and information entering a system

  • Flows (throughputs): matter and energy moving within a system

  • Outputs: matter and energy leaving a system

  • Feedback: any process that increases or decreases a change to a system

  • Feedback loop: an output of matter, energy, or information is fed back into the system as an input

  • Positive feedback loop: pushes a system further in the same direction

  • Negative (corrective) feedback loop: pushes a system in the opposite direction

  • Time delay: lag between a feedback stimulus and the system's response

  • Tipping point (threshold level): point where a fundamental, often irreversible shift in a system occurs

  • Synergistic interaction (synergy): combined effect of two or more processes is greater than the sum of their separate effects