Chapter 10 Flashcards
What is a system?
A collection of components interacting with each other to produce outcomes that each component could. not achieve on its own
Earth is what type of system?
Open System powered entirely by the rays of the sun
Open System
a system that is affected by outside influences
What type of system is Earth in regards to matter?
Closed System
Closed System
A system that is self contained, neither receiving inputs nor sending outputs beyond the systems border
How does space debris enter Earth?
Collisions with meteorites & comets
What is a Emergent Properties?
outcomes arising from the function the system as a whole
What is a Model?
simplified concepts or representations of complex processes to focus on the way certain aspects of a system function and interact
What is a Stock?
A supply of something that we want to observe and measure over time
What is a Flow?
Flows are the mechanisms and rate by which a stock changes over time, inflows increase the stock and outflows decrease the stock
Photosynthesis
a series of chemical reactions that uses water and CO2 through which plants and some other organisms store the Suns energy in simple sugars
What is Feedback?
is a loop in the system that responds to changes in level of stocks by affecting the inflows or outflows of that stock
What is a reinforcing feedback?
a loop that responds to the direction of change in the stock by enhancing that same direction of change
What is a Balancing Feedback?
Counteracts the direction in which a particular stock is changing
