APES Exam Review

🌎 Unit 1 – Ecosystems: Nature’s Drama

  • Ecosystems = Nature’s group projects – plants, animals, and the environment all vibin’ together (or fighting 💀).

  • Producers = The ones who actually do the work (photosynthesizers).

  • Consumers = Freeloaders who eat other things (like us 💀).

  • Trophic Levels = Nature’s food pyramid – energy drops the higher you go.

  • 10% Rule = Energy gets lost (only ~10% moves up each level).

  • Food Chain vs Web = One-way snack line vs chaotic buffet.

  • Biogeochemical Cycles = Nature’s recycling system (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water – all on loop).

  • Nitrogen Fixation = Bacteria turning useless nitrogen into plant food – MVPs fr.

☀ Unit 2 – Biodiversity: Earth’s Personality

  • Biodiversity = Earth’s version of a a good change. More diversity = more resilient ecosystem.

  • Species Richness vs Evenness = How many types vs how balanced they are.

  • Generalists = Jack-of-all-trades (raccoons, rats).

  • Specialists = High maintenance divas (pandas, coral).

  • Island Biogeography = Big + close islands = more species pull up.

  • Ecological Succession = Nature’s comeback arc after disaster.

    • Primary: No life? Start from scratch.

    • Secondary: Just a lil mess? Nature will rebuild.

  • Keystone Species = If they leave, the whole ecosystem flops.

🐛 Unit 3 – Populations: Who’s Here & Why

  • r-Selected Species = Fast life, lots of babies, no parenting (insects, rodents).

  • K-Selected Species = Fewer kids, but they raise them right (humans, elephants).

  • Carrying Capacity (K) = The party limit – too many guests = drama.

  • Exponential vs Logistic Growth = Wild & reckless vs chill & stabilized.

  • Survivorship Curves

    • Type I: Long life, die old (humans).

    • Type II: Death is random (squirrels).

    • Type III: Die young, if you make it, you thrive (frogs).

🍼 Unit 4 – Earth Systems: Earth’s Inner Workings

  • Tectonic Plates = Earth’s crust sliding

  • Convergent = Smash together (mountains, volcanoes).

  • Divergent = Break up (mid-ocean ridges).

  • Transform = Slide past each other (earthquakes).

  • Soil Layers = O A B C R – like dirt lasagna.

  • Weathering vs Erosion = Break it vs move it.

  • El Niño = Ocean acting up, messes with global weather.

🌾 Unit 5 – Land and Water Use: Human Shenanigans

  • Tragedy of the Commons = People ruining shared resources cause they selfish.

  • Clearcutting = Tree massacre – big yikes for biodiversity and erosion.

  • Green Revolution = Farming got techy – more food, but also more chemicals.

  • Monoculture = One crop = easy, but risky if pests pull up.

  • Irrigation = Watering the crops, but can cause salt build-up (salinization).

  • CAFOs = Animal prisons – efficient but messy.

  • Sustainable Forestry/Fishing = Letting nature recover, not just taking-till-it’s-gone.

⚡ Unit 6 – Energy: How We Power the Mess

  • Nonrenewables = Fossil fuel faves (coal, oil, gas) – but they dirty and gonna run out.

  • Renewables = Sun, wind, water, etc. – clean and unlimited, just harder to store.

  • Fracking = Crack the ground to get gas – cheap but can mess up water.

  • Nuclear = No CO₂, but radioactive drama if it goes wrong.

  • Cogeneration = Killing two birds – use heat and power together.

  • Energy Efficiency = Stop wasting power your energy-hog.

🌫 Unit 7 – Air Pollution: Can’t Even Breathe Out Here

  • Primary Pollutants = Straight outta source (SO₂, NOx, CO).

  • Secondary Pollutants = When primary ones mix and get worse (ozone, smog).

  • Photochemical Smog = Sunlight + cars = dirty air soup.

  • Thermal Inversion = Pollution gets trapped

  • Indoor Air Hazards = Radon, asbestos, smoke – your house could be attacking you.

  • Clean Air Act = The gov said “stop poisoning the air pls.”

  • Scrubbers/Catalytic Converters = Tech that makes emissions less trashy.

💧 Unit 8 – Water & Land Pollution: Trash Island IRL

  • Point vs Nonpoint Pollution = One pipe vs many sneaky sources.

  • Eutrophication = Fertilizer overload → algae party → fish suffocate.

  • Wastewater Treatment = Poop water glow-up before going back to nature.

  • Solid Waste = Landfills stacking

  • Leachate = Nasty juice from landfills – can mess with groundwater.

  • Composting = Nature’s recycling – turn trash into treasure (soil).

  • Biomagnification = Toxins get stronger up the food chain – top predators get wrecked.

  • E-waste = Dead phones = toxic dumpsites unless recycled.

🌍 Unit 9 – Global Change: Climate's in Shambles

  • Greenhouse Effect = Like a cozy blanket, but we OD’ed and now we’re sweating.

  • CO₂, CH₄, N₂O = The big parts of global warming.

  • Sea Level Rise = Polar ice is gone and now the coasts are stressed.

  • Ocean Acidification = CO₂ dissolves in water, shells and coral get wrecked.

  • Coral Bleaching = Reef drama – algae is gone and corals die

  • Ozone Hole = UV rays slipping through because of CFCs (we kinda fixed it tho – go us).

  • Paris Agreement = Countries agreed to chill on emissions (somewhat).

  • Mitigation vs Adaptation = Stop the cause vs deal with the effects.

  • Biodiversity Loss = Extinctions are more casual – not good