Set: APES Chapter1 & 2

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All 114 Terms

Term Definition
Exponential Growth A quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time. Starts off slowly, but after a few doublings, it grows to enormous numbers.
Environment The sum of all living and nonliving things that affect any living organism.
Natural Capital The natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support our economies. Not fixed.
Solar Capital Energy from the sun that warms the planet and supports photosynthesis.
Four Principles of Sustainability 1. Reliance of solar energy 2. Biodiversity 3. Nutrient recycling 4. Natural Population Control
Causes of Environmental Problems 1. Environmental Ignorance/Apathy 2. Unsustainable Use of Resources 3. Poverty 4. Not Including Final Outcome Prices 5. Population Growth
Sound Science The concepts and ideas that are widely accepted by experts in a particular field of the natural or social sciences.
Living Sustainablely Living off natural income replenished by soils, plants, air, and water, and not depleting or degrading the earth’s natural capital that supplies this income.
Developing Countries Low-income countries.
Environmental Science An interdisciplinary study that integrates information and ideas from the natural sciences that study the natural world and the social sciences that study how humans and their institutions interact with the natural world.
Ecology Biological science that studies the environment.
Environmentalism Social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life support systems for us and other species. Political in nature (working to pass environmental laws, etc.)
Sustainability (durability) Ability of the earth's various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
Environmentally Sustainable Society One that meets the current and future needs of its people for basic resources in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Economic Growth Increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a system.
per capita GDP The GDP divided by the total population at midyear.
Economic Development The improvement of human living standards by economic growth.
Developed Countries Highly industrialized and have a high average per capita GDP.
Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development Goal is to use political and economic to encourage environmentally beneficial and more sustainable forms of economic development.
Perpetual Resource On a human time scale, it is renewed continuously. (Solar Energy)
Renewable Resource Can be replenished fairly rapidly (hours to several decades) through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than it is replaced.
Sustainable Yield Highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply
Environmental Degradation When you exceed a resource's natural replacement rate and the available supply begins to shrink
Common-Property (Free-access resources) Individuals do not own these resources and they are available to users at little or no charge.
Tragedy of the Commons Depletion or degradation of a potentially renewable resource to which people have free and unmanaged access.
Ecological footprint Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply an area with resources and to absorb the wastes and pollution produced by such resource use.
per capita Ecological Footprint Average ecological footprint of an individual in an area.
Nonrenewable resource Pollutants are larger, dispersed, and often difficult to identify,
Recycling Involves collecting waste materials, processing them into new materials, and selling these new products.
Reuse Using a resource over and over in the same form.
Pollution The presence of chemicals at high enough levels in air, water, soil, or food to threaten health, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms.
Point source Pollutants are a single, identifiable sources.
Pollution Prevention (input pollution control) Reduces or eliminates the production of pollutants.
Pollution Cleanup (output pollution control) Involves cleaning up or diluting pollutants after they have been produced.
Poverty Inability to meet one's basic economic needs and is concentrated mostly in the southern hemisphere.
Affluenza The unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism exhibited in the lifestyles of many developed countries.
Frontier Environmental Worldview View by European colonists settling in North America in the 1600s that the continent had vast resources ans was a wilderness to be conquered by settlers clearing and planting land.
Environmental Worldview Set of assumptions and beliefs about how people think the world works, what they
Environmental Wisdom Worldview We are part of and totally dependent on nature and nature exists for all species, not just for us, and we should encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic growth and development and discourage earth-degrading forms.
Social Capital Positive force created when people with different views and values and common ground and work together to building understanding, trust, and informed shared vision of what their communities, states, nations, and the world could and should be.
Science An attempt to discover order in the natural world and to use that knowledge to make predictions about what is likely to happen in nature.
Experiment Procedure a scientist uses to study a phenomenon under known conditions.
Hypothesis Educated guess that attempts to explain a scientific law or certain scientific observations.
Scientific (or natural) Law A description of what we find happening in nature over and over in the same way.
Inductive Reasoning Involves using specific observations and measurements to arrive at a general conclusion or hypothesis.
Deductive Reasoning Involves using logic to arrive at a specific conclusion based on a generalization or premise.
Paradigm Shift Occasionally new information or ideas that disprove and overthrow a well-accepted scientific theory.
Frontier Science Preliminary scientific data, hypothesis, and models that have not yet been widely tested and accepted.
Junk Science Scientific results or hypothesis presented as sound science without having undergone the rigors of the peer review process.
System Set of components that function and interact in some regular and theoretically understandable manner. (human body, a river, an economy)
Input Matter, energy, or information entering a system.
Flows or Throughputs Rate of flow of matter, energy, or information through a system.
Output Matter, energy, or information leaving a system.
Feedback Loop Occurs when an output of matter, energy, or information is fed back into the system as an input and leads to changes in that system.
Positive Feedback Loop Causes a system to change further in the same direction.
Negative (corrective) Feedback Loop Causes a system to change in the opposite direction.
Time Delay Amount of time in a feedback loop between the input of a stimulus and the response to it.
Synergistic Interaction (Synergy) Occurs when two or more processes interact so that the combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate effects.
Matter Anything that has mass and takes up space.
Element Chemical whose distinctly different atoms serve as the basic building blocks of all matter.
Compound Two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions by attractive forces called chemical bonds.
Atom Basic building blocks of matter.
Proton Positively charged particle in the nuclei of all atoms.
Neutron Elementary particle in the nuclei of all atoms.
Electron Tiny particle moving around the outside of the nucleus of an atom.
Atomic Number Equal to the number of protons in the nucleus of each of its atoms.
Isotopes Two or more forms of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but different mass numbers because they have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.
pH Measures the acidity of a solution based on its concentration of hydrogen ions.
Neutral Solution Equal number of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions, pH of 7.
Acidic Solution Has more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions and has a pH of less than 7.
Basic Solution Has more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions and has a pH greater than 7.
Molecule A combination of two or more atoms of the same or different elements held together by chemical bonds.
Chemical Formula Shows the number of atoms or ions of each type in a compound.
Organic Compound Contain at least two carbon atoms combined with each other and with atoms of one or more other elements.
Inorganic Compound All other compounds not classified as organic compounds.
Eukaryotic (Organism) Surrounded by a membrane and has a distinct nucleus and several other internal parts called organisms.
Prokaryotic (Organism) A membrane surrounds the cell, but the cell contains no distinct nucleus or organelles enclosed by membranes.
Macromolecule Larger and more complex organic compounds that make up the basic molecular units found in living organisms.
Genes Coded units of information about specific traits that are passed from parents to offspring during reproduction.
Chromosomes Combinations of genes that make up a single DNA molecule, together with a number of proteins.
Matter Quality A measure of how useful a form of matter is to humans as a resource, based on its availability and concentration.
High-quality Matter Concentrated, typically found at the earth's surface, and has great potential for use as a matter resource.
Low-quality Matter Dilute, often located deep underground or dispersed in the ocean or atmosphere, and usually has little potential for use as a material resource.
Material Efficiency (Resource Productivity) Total amount of material needed to produce each unit of goods or services.
Physical Change Process that alters one or more physical properties of an element or a compound without changing its chemical composition.
Chemical Change (Chemical Reaction) There is a change in the chemical compositions of the elements or compounds involved.
Law of Conservation of Matter In any physical or chemical change, matter is neither created nor destroyed but merely changed form one form to another.
Persistence Measure of how long the pollutant stays in the air, water, soil, or body.
Nuclear Change Occurs when nuclei of certain isotopes spontaneously change or are made to change into nuclei of different isotopes.
Degradable Pollutants Are broken down completely or reduced to acceptable levels by natural physical, chemical, or biological processes.
Biodegradable Pollutants Are complex chemical pollutants that living organisms break down into simpler chemicals.
Slowly Degradable Pollutants Takes decades or longer to degrade.
Nondegradable Pollutants Are chemicals that natural processes cannot break down.
Natural Radioactive Decay A nuclear change in which unstable isotopes spontaneously emit fast-moving chunks of matter (alpha or beta particles), high-energy radiation (gamma rays), or both at a fixed rate.
Radioactive Isotopes (Radioisotopes) Unstable isotopes.
Nuclear Fission Nuclear change in which the nuclei of certain isotopes with large mass numbers are split apart into lighter nuclei when struck by nuetrons.
Half-life The time needed for one-half of the nuclei in a given quantity of a radioisotope to decay and emit their radiation to form a different isotope.
Critical Mass Amount of fissionable nuclei needed to sustain a nuclear fission chain reaction.
Nuclear Fusion A nuclear change in which two isotopes of light elements, such as hydrogen, are forced together at extremely high temperatures until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus.
Energy The ability to do work and transfer heat.
Kinetic Energy Energy that matter has because of its mass and speed or velocity.
Heat The total kinetic energy of all moving atoms, ions, or molecules within a given substance, excluding the overall motion of the whole object.
Electromagnetic Radiation Energy travels in the form of a wave as a result of the changes in electric and magnetic fields. (Another type of kinetic energy)
Potential Energy Energy that is stored and potentially available for use.
Energy Quality A measure of an energy's source's ability to do useful work.
High-quality Energy Energy that is concentrated and can perform much useful work.
Low-quality Energy Energy that is dispersed and has little ability to do useful work.
Law of Conservation of Energy or First Law of Thermodynamics In all physical and chemical changes, energy is neither created nor destroyed, although it may be converted from one form to another.
Second Law of Thermodynamics When energy changes from one from to another, some of the useful enegry is always degraded to lower-quality, more dispered, less useful energy.
Energy Efficiency (Energy Productivity) A measure of how much useful work is accomplished by a particular input of energy to a system.
High-throughput (high waste) Economy Attempt to boost economic growth by increasing the one-way flow of matter and energy resources through their economic systems.
Matter-recycling-and-reuse Economy Mimics nature by recycling and reusing most of our matter outputs instead of dumping them into the environment.
Low-throughput (low-waste) Economy Economy based on working with nature by recycling and reusing discarded matter; preventing pollution; conserving matter and energy resources by reducing unnecessary waste and use; not degrading renewable resource; etc.

Set Information

Terms 114
Creator kmaattytern
Created May 7, 2008
Groups None
Tags ap, environmental science
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Description

Vocab words from Living in the Environment, Chapter 1 & 2.

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kmaattytern : Changed Electrons → Tiny particle moving around the outside of the nucleus of an atom. to Electron → Tiny particle moving around the outside of the nucleus of an atom.
kmaattytern : Changed Second Law of Thermodynamics → When energy changes from one from to another, some of the useful enegry to Second Law of Thermodynamics → When energy changes from one from to another, some of the useful enegry is always degraded to lower-quality, more dispered, less useful energy.
kmaattytern : Changed Neutrons → Elementary particle in the nuclei of all atoms. to Neutron → Elementary particle in the nuclei of all atoms.
kmaattytern : Changed Experiments → Procedure a scientist uses to study a phenomenon under known conditions. to Experiment → Procedure a scientist uses to study a phenomenon under known conditions.
kmaattytern : Changed Time Delays → Amount of time in a feedback loop between the input of a stimulus and the response to it. to Time Delay → Amount of time in a feedback loop between the input of a stimulus and the response to it.
kmaattytern : Changed Organic Compounds → Contain at least two carbon atoms combined with each other and with atoms of one or more other elements. to Organic Compound → Contain at least two carbon atoms combined with each other and with atoms of one or more other elements.
kmaattytern : Changed Paradigm Shifts → Occasionally new information or ideas that disprove and overthrow a well-accepted scientific theory. to Paradigm Shift → Occasionally new information or ideas that disprove and overthrow a well-accepted scientific theory.
kmaattytern : Changed High-throughput (high waste) Economies → Attempt to boost economic growth by increasing the one-way flow of matter and energy resources through their economic systems. to High-throughput (high waste) Economy → Attempt to boost economic growth by increasing the one-way flow of matter and energy resources through their economic systems.
kmaattytern : Changed Compounds → Two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions by attractive forces called chemical bonds. to Compound → Two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions by attractive forces called chemical bonds.
kmaattytern : Changed Macromolecules → Larger and more complex organic compounds that make up the basic molecular units found in living organisms. to Macromolecule → Larger and more complex organic compounds that make up the basic molecular units found in living organisms.
kmaattytern : Changed Nuclear Changes → Occurs when nuclei of certain isotopes spontaneously change or are made to change into nuclei of different isotopes. to Nuclear Change → Occurs when nuclei of certain isotopes spontaneously change or are made to change into nuclei of different isotopes.
kmaattytern : Changed Scientific Hypothesis → Educated guess that attempts to explain a scientific law or certain scientific observations. to Hypothesis → Educated guess that attempts to explain a scientific law or certain scientific observations.
kmaattytern : Changed Nonrenewable resources → Pollutants are larger, dispersed, and often difficult to identify, to Nonrenewable resource → Pollutants are larger, dispersed, and often difficult to identify,
kmaattytern : Changed Atoms → Basic building blocks of matter. to Atom → Basic building blocks of matter.
kmaattytern : Changed Inorganic Compounds → All other compounds not classified as organic compounds. to Inorganic Compound → All other compounds not classified as organic compounds.
kmaattytern : Changed Point sources → Pollutants are a single, identifiable sources. to Point source → Pollutants are a single, identifiable sources.
kmaattytern : Changed Outputs → Matter, energy, or information leaving a system. to Output → Matter, energy, or information leaving a system.
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Most Missed Words

  1. Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development → Goal is to use political and economic to encourage environmentally beneficial and more sustainable forms of economic development. - 6 misses
  2. Sustainable Yield → Highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply - 6 misses
  3. Nonrenewable resource → Pollutants are larger, dispersed, and often difficult to identify, - 6 misses
  4. Heat → The total kinetic energy of all moving atoms, ions, or molecules within a given substance, excluding the overall motion of the whole object. - 6 misses
  5. Living Sustainablely → Living off natural income replenished by soils, plants, air, and water, and not depleting or degrading the earth’s natural capital that supplies this income. - 5 misses
  6. Sustainability (durability) → Ability of the earth's various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely. - 5 misses
  7. Economic Growth → Increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services. - 5 misses