Environmental Science Unit 1 Study Guide
1. Define ecology: Study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
2. Rule of 70: Used to estimate doubling time; .
3. ppb vs. ppm: Parts per billion (ppb) and parts per million (ppm) measure chemical concentration; 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb.
4. What is per capita? Per person; often used in measurements like GDP per capita.
5. Contrast more and less developed countries: More developed countries have higher GDP, industrialization, and standards of living, whereas less developed countries have lower levels of these.
6. Define economically depleted: Resources are not worth extracting due to high cost or low abundance.
7. Contrast renewable and nonrenewable resources with examples: Renewable resources (e.g., solar energy, wind) can replenish naturally, while non-renewable resources (e.g., coal, oil) cannot.
8. Reuse vs. recycle: Reuse is using an item multiple times; recycling is reprocessing an item into new products.
9. Describe the tragedy of the commons: Overuse of shared resources leads to depletion (e.g., overfishing).
10. Examples of commons: Oceans, atmosphere, forests.
11. Solutions to prevent the tragedy of the commons: Regulation, privatization, and community management.
12. Define sustainable yield: The rate at which a resource can be used without depleting it.
13. Define an ecological footprint and how to reduce it: A measure of human impact on the environment; reduce by lowering consumption and waste.
14. Perceived vs. planned obsolescence: Perceived is consumer perception that newer is better; planned is intentional design to become outdated.
15. Define pollution: Contaminants in the environment that harm health and ecosystems.
16. Point vs. nonpoint sources of pollution: Point source has a specific origin (e.g., factory waste); nonpoint source is diffuse (e.g., runoff).
17. Define persistence: How long a pollutant remains in the environment.
18. Contrast positive and negative feedback loops with examples: Positive amplifies changes (e.g., melting ice), negative stabilizes (e.g., predator-prey dynamics).
19. Define synergistic effect: When combined substances have a greater impact together than separately.
20. Explain how acidity is measured: By pH scale; lower pH means more acidic.
21. Contrast high and low quality energy with examples: High-quality (electricity) can do more work; low-quality (heat) is less usable.
22. What is the fuel in nuclear reactors? Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239.
23. Contrast fission and fusion: Fission splits atoms; fusion combines them.
24. What is the first and second law of thermodynamics? Energy cannot be created/destroyed; energy disperses and increases entropy.
25. Describe the law of conservation of matter: Matter cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form.
26. Contrast biome, ecosystem, community, population: Biome is a large region with distinct climate; ecosystem includes all living and nonliving components; community is interacting organisms; population is one species in an area.
27. List 5 major greenhouse gases: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, H₂O vapor, O₃.
28. Describe the greenhouse effect: Greenhouse gases trap heat, warming the Earth.
29. Contrast biotic and abiotic factors: Biotic are living (plants); abiotic are non-living (temperature).
30. What determines the type of biome? Climate (temperature and precipitation).
31. What is the zone of tolerance? Range of conditions a species can tolerate.
32. Contrast producer and consumer: Producers (plants) make food via photosynthesis; consumers eat other organisms.
33. Define biodegradable: Capable of being broken down by microorganisms.
34. Identify primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers: Primary consume producers; secondary eat primary consumers; tertiary eat secondary consumers.
35. What is primary productivity? Rate at which producers create biomass.
36. Contrast GPP and NPP: GPP is total photosynthesis; NPP is GPP minus respiration.
37. 10% rule: Only 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.
38. Calculating percent growth rate of a population: .
39. Contrast the most and least productive ecosystems: Most productive: tropical rainforests; least productive: deserts.
40. No till/conservation tillage vs. crop rotation: No-till minimizes soil disruption; crop rotation alternates crops to maintain soil fertility.
41. Terracing vs. contour farming: Terracing creates steps on slopes; contour farming plows along slopes.
42. Eutrophication sequence: Nutrient runoff → algal bloom → oxygen depletion → dead zones.
43. Define anthropogenic: Human-caused effects on the environment.
44. El Niño vs. La Nina: El Nino warms the Pacific Ocean, altering weather; La Nina cools it.
45. Coriolis effect: Deflection of moving air/water due to Earth’s rotation.
46. Describe each soil horizon: Layers: O (organic), A (topsoil), B (subsoil), C (weathered parent material), R (bedrock).
47. N cycle: Nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, denitrification.
48. P cycle: Movement of phosphorus through rocks, water, soil, and living organisms.
49. C cycle: Carbon moves through respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition, combustion.
50. Water cycle: Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration.
51. S cycle: Movement of sulfur through rocks, water, soil, air, and organisms.
52. Identify the gas composition of Earth’s atmosphere: Mostly nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon, CO₂.
53. Describe legumes: Plants with root nodules housing nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
54. Describe how mutations are created: Random changes in DNA due to errors or environmental factors.
55. Define adaptation: Trait that increases survival or reproduction.
56. Define coevolution and give examples: Species evolve in response to each other (e.g., predator-prey).
57. Contrast gradualism and punctuated equilibrium: Gradualism is slow evolution; punctuated equilibrium is rapid bursts.
58. Contrast weather and climate: Weather is short-term; climate is long-term average.
59. Describe the rain shadow effect: Dry area on leeward side of mountain due to blocked rain.
60. Be able to read a food web: Shows energy flow between organisms in an ecosystem.
61. Identify biomes by location or characteristics: Tropical rainforest, desert, tundra, etc.
62. Give examples of deciduous plants: Oak, maple, birch.
63. Give examples of evergreen plants: Pine, spruce, fir.
64. Describe the plants of the desert: Drought-resistant, often with thick stems and spines.
65. Define resource partitioning and give examples: Species divide resources to reduce competition (e.g., birds at different tree heights).
66. Describe the producers of the tundra: Lichens, mosses, low shrubs.
67. Describe how climate and vegetation vary by altitude and elevation: Higher altitude/elevation has colder temperatures and different vegetation.
68. Describe the shape of an exponential curve: J-shaped; rapid growth rate.
69. Factors that lead to tropical rainforest destruction: Logging, agriculture, urbanization.
70. What is carrying capacity? Maximum population size an environment can support.
71. Ecological services provided by forests: Carbon storage, habitat, water regulation.
72. 4 types of ecological services with examples: Provisioning (food), regulating (climate), supporting (photosynthesis), cultural (recreation).
73. Contrast sand, silt, clay: Differ in particle size; sand is largest, clay is smallest.
74. Contrast sandy soil and clay soils in terms of water retention: Sandy drains quickly; clay retains water well.
75. Identify seasons based on the tilt of the Earth: Tilt affects sunlight, causing seasons.
76. Generalist vs. Specialist: Generalists have a broad niche; specialists have a narrow niche.