Chapter 1 AP Flashcards
fracking
injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks; as to force open existing fissures and extra oil or gas
theory
a hypothesis that is consistently supported by experiments and rigorous testing
abiotic
non living
species
group of organisms That is distant from other groups in its morphology, behavior, bio chemical properties; all the organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offsprings
Species diversity
variety a species in ecosystem
Background extinction rate
The ongoing low level extinction of individual species over very long periods of time due to naturally occurring environmental or ecological factors
Greenhouse gases
gases in earths atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect; include carbon dioxide, methane, and GFC’s
anthropogenic
( chiefly of environmental pollution and pollutants ) Originating in human activity
hypothesis
A testable explanation for a question or a problem
Ecological footprint
impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources
biodiversity
The diversity of life forms in the environment
Control group
Group that does not get anything or is being compared to
genetic diversity
variety of genes Among individuals of species
environmental indicator
Describes the current state of an environmental system
speciation
The formation of new species
Natural Experiment
A study in which individuals exposed to the experimental and control conditions are determined by nature or other factors outside the control of the investigators
uncertainty
quantitative measurement of variability in the data
biotic
living
Ecosystem services
process by which life supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries and agriculture crops are produce
Scientific method
The common steps scientist use to research and answer questions
Identify problem, research problem, develop hypothesis, conduct a controlled experiment, collect data, and draw conclusion
Development
Series of changes which animal and vegetable organisms undergo in their passage from the embryonic stage to maturity
Null hypothesis
The hypothesis that there is no significant difference between specify populations, and he observed difference do the sampling or experimental error
accuracy
how close he measured value is the actual value
Stainable development
economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources
Percision
how close the measured values are to each other
ecosystem
particular location on earth with interacting components that include biotic and abiotic factors
sample size (n)
population size
Sustainability
avoidance of natural depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance
replication
The repetition of a test or complete experiment
environmental science
The field that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature
