AP environmental science

Term 1: Ecology
Definition 1: The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
Term 2: Biome
Definition 2: A large geographic area characterized by specific climate conditions, animal populations, and plant species.
Term 3: Ecosystem
Definition 3: A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment.
Term 4: Food Web
Definition 4: A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
Term 5: Trophic Level
Definition 5: Each step in a food chain or food web representing energy transfer.
Term 6: Producers
Definition 6: Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis (e.g., plants).
Term 7: Consumers
Definition 7: Organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms.
Term 8: Decomposers
Definition 8: Organisms that break down dead organic matter, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem (e.g., bacteria, fungi).
Term 9: Biodiversity
Definition 9: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Term 10: Endangered Species
Definition 10: A species at risk of extinction due to a critically low population size.
Term 11: Invasive Species
Definition 11: A species that is not native to a specific location, and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.
Term 12: Pollution
Definition 12: Contamination of the environment with harmful substances.
Term 13: Acid Rain
Definition 13: Rainfall made acidic by atmospheric pollution that causes environmental harm.
Term 14: Ozone Layer
Definition 14: A layer in the Earth's stratosphere containing high concentrations of ozone, which absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Term 15: Climate Change
Definition 15: Long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns, primarily caused by human activities.
Term 16: Greenhouse Effect
Definition 16: The process by which certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat, warming the Earth.
Term 17: Deforestation
Definition 17: The clearing of forests for other land uses.
Term 18: Sustainability
Definition 18: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Term 19: Renewable Resources
Definition 19: Resources that can be replenished naturally over time (e.g., solar, wind, water).
Term 20: Non-renewable Resources
Definition 20: Resources that cannot be easily replenished and are finite (e.g., fossil fuels).
Term 21: Environmental Policy
Definition 21: Government laws and regulations designed to protect the environment.
Term 22: Tragedy of the Commons
Definition 22: A situation where individuals acting independently and rationally deplete a shared resource, even when doing so is not in their best interest.
Term 23: Keystone Species
Definition 23: A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.
Term 24: Carrying Capacity
Definition 24: The maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can support.
Term 25: r-selected species
Definition 25: Species that reproduce early in their life span and produce large numbers of usually small and short-lived offspring in unstable environment
Term 26: K-selected species
Definition 26: Species that produce a few, often fairly large offspring, but invest a great deal of time and energy to ensure that most of those offspring reach reproductive age in a stable environment (e.g. elephants).
Term 27: Demographic Transition Model
Definition 27: Model that describes population growth through stages of birth and death rates as a country