Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

Enviroment

Answer 1

The sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life

Question 2

Enviromental Science

Answer 2

The field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature

Question 3

Ecosystem

Answer 3

Particular locations on Earth whose interacting components include biotic and abiotic components

Question 4

Biotic

Answer 4

Living

Question 5

Abiotic

Answer 5

Nonliving

Question 6

Enviromentalist

Answer 6

Person who participates in enviromentalism

Question 7

Environmental Studies

Answer 7

Environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics

Question 8

Ecosystem Services

Answer 8

The process by which life-supporting resources are produced

Question 9

Enviromental Indicators

Answer 9

Describe the current state of an environmental system

Question 10

Biodiversity

Answer 10

Diversity of life forms in an environment

Question 11

Species

Answer 11

Group of organisms that are distinct from others in its morphology, behavior, or biochemical properties

Question 12

Speciation

Answer 12

Evolution of a new species

Question 13

Backgrounds Extinction Rate

Answer 13

The average rate at which species go extinct over the long term

Question 14

Greenhouse Gases

Answer 14

Heat trapping gas that acts as a blanket in Earth’s atmosphere

Question 15

Anthropogenic

Answer 15

Derived from human activities

Question 16

Development

Answer 16

Improvement in human wellbeing through economic advancement

Question 17

Sustainable Development

Answer 17

Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

Question 18

Ecological Footprint

Answer 18

Measure of how much that person consumes, expressed in land area

Question 19

Scientific Method

Answer 19

Objective way to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes

Question 20

Null Hypothesis

Answer 20

Statement or idea that can be falsified (proved wrong)

Question 21

Replication

Answer 21

Taking several sets of measurements

Question 22

Sample Size

Answer 22

Number of times a measurement is replicated

Question 23

Accuracy

Answer 23

How close a measured value is to the actual or true value

Question 24

Precision

Answer 24

how close to one another the repeated measurements of the same sample are

Question 25

Uncertainty

Answer 25

An estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value

Question 26

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 26

Process of making general statements from specific facts or examples

Question 27

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 27

The process of applying a general statement from specific facts or examples

Question 28

Critical Thinking

Answer 28

Questioning the source of the information, considering the methods or processes that were used to get the information, and draw your own conclusions.

Question 29

Theory

Answer 29

Hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researches and has reached a wide acceptance

Question 30

Control group

Answer 30

Group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, expect for a single variable under study

Question 31

Natural Experiment

Answer 31

Occurs when a natural event acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem

Question 32

Enviromental Justice

Answer 32

Social movement and field of study that works toward equal enforcement of environmental laws and the elimination of disparities, whether intended or unintended in how pollutants and other environmental harms are distributed among the various ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society.