Chapter 1 Key Terms

Question 1

Environmental science


Answer 1

the branch of science concerned with the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the environment and their effect on organisms.

Question 2

ecology


Answer 2

the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.

Question 3

agriculture


Answer 3

the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming.

Question 4

Natural resource


Answer 4

materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Question 5

pollution


Answer 5

the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

Question 6

biodiversity

Answer 6

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Question 7

Law of supply and demand


Answer 7

a theory that explains the interaction between the sellers of a resource and the buyers for that resource.

Question 8

ecological footprint


Answer 8

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Question 9

sustainability

Answer 9

avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.