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AP Environmental Science > Chapter 3 - Vocabulary > Flashcards

Chapter 3 - Vocabulary Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Species

A

The entirety of a population that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

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2
Q

Population

A

A certain number of individuals that make up the interbreeding, reproducing group

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3
Q

Biotic community / Biota (living)

A

The grouping or assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes

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4
Q

Abiotic

A

The nonliving, chemical, and physical factors, such as the amount of water or moisture present, the climate, the salinity, or the type of soil in the area

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5
Q

Ecosystems

A

A grouping of plants, animals, and microbes occupying an explicit unit of space and interacting with each other and their environment. Ecosystems are functional units of sustainable life on Earth

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6
Q

Ecotone

A

A transitional area between two adjacent ecosystems that has characteristics of both

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7
Q

Landscapes

A

A group of interacting ecosystems. Landscape ecology is the science that studies the interactions among ecosystems

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8
Q

Biomes

A

Similar or related ecosystems or landscapes that are often grouped together (Ex: desert, tropical rain forest, tundra, etc.)

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9
Q

Biosphere

A

All species and physical factors on Earth functioning as one unified ecosystem

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10
Q

Conditions

A

Abiotic factors that vary in space and time but are not used up or made unavailable to other species
(Ex. temperature, wind, pH (acidity), salinity (saltiness), and fire)

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11
Q

Resources

A

Any factors (biotic or abiotic) that are consumed by organisms

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12
Q

Optimum

A

A certain level at which the organisms do best (best response occurs)

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13
Q

Range of tolerance

A

The entire span that allows any growth at all

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14
Q

Limits of tolerance

A

The points at the high and low ends of the range of tolerance

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15
Q

Zones of stress

A

Region between the optimal range and the high or low limits of tolerance

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16
Q

Limiting factor

A

A factor that limits growth

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17
Q

Ecology

A

The study of all processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions between living things and their environment

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18
Q

Law of Limiting Factors

A

“Every species (both plant and animal) has an optimal range, zones of stress, and limits of tolerance with respect to every abiotic factor.”

(or Liebig’s law of minimums, 1840)

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19
Q

Synergistic effects / synergism

A

Two or more factors interacting in a way that causes an effect much greater than one would anticipate from the effects of each of the two acting separately

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20
Q

Habitat

A

Refers to the kind of place where a species is biologically adapted to live

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21
Q

Ecological niche

A

What the animal feeds on, where it feeds, when it feeds, where it finds shelter, where it nests, and how it responds to abiotic factors

22
Q

Matter

A

Anything that has mass and occupies space

23
Q

States of Matter

A

Solid, liquid, and gas

24
Q

Atoms

A

The basic building blocks of all matter (94 natural / 21 synthetic)

25
Q

Law of Conservation of Matter

A

Atoms are neither created nor destroyed during chemical reactions. The same number and kind of different atoms exist before and after any reaction

26
Q

Molecule

A

Consists of two or more atoms bonded together in a specific way

27
Q

Compound

A

Consists of two or more different kinds of atoms bonded together

28
Q

Biosphere

A

All life on Earth

29
Q

Atmosphere

A

The thin layer of gases separating Earth from outer space

30
Q

Hydrosphere

A

Water (oceans, rivers, ice, and groundwater)

31
Q

Lithosphere

A

Earth’s crust (made up of rocks, soil, and minerals)

32
Q

Mineral

A

Any hard, crystalline, inorganic material of a given chemical composition

33
Q

CHNOPS

A

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulfur

34
Q

Organic

A

The chemical compounds making up the tissues of living organisms (carbon-based molecules)

35
Q

Inorganic

A

All other molecules or compounds (those with neither carbon-carbon nor carbon-hydrogen bonds)

36
Q

Energy

A

Anything that has the ability to move matter, has no mass and does not occupy space

37
Q

Calorie

A

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram (1 mL) of water 1 degree Celsius

38
Q

Kinetic Energy

A

Energy in action or motion (light, heat energy, physical motion, and electrical current)

39
Q

Potential Energy

A

Energy in storage. Has the capacity, or potential, to release one or more forms of kinetic energy (gasoline and other fuels)

40
Q

Chemical Energy

A

The potential energy contained in such chemicals and fuels

41
Q

Temperature

A

Measures the molecular motion in a substance caused by the kinetic energy present in it

42
Q

1st Law of Thermodynamics / Law of Conservation of Energy (CHANGE)

A

Energy is neither created nor destroyed but may be
converted from one form to another

43
Q

2nd Law of Thermodynamics / Law of Entropy (LOSS)

A

In any energy conversion, you will end up with less usable energy than you started with

44
Q

Entropy

A

A measure of the degree of disorder in a system (the loss of usable energy to heat is the principle of increasing entropy)

45
Q

Heat Energy

A

The lowest (most disordered) form of energy

46
Q

Photosynthesis

A

6CO2 + 6H2O —> C6H12O6 + 6O2

47
Q

Cellular Respiration

A

C6H12O6 + 6O2 —> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy

48
Q

Oxidation

A

Breakdown of molecules (a loss of electrons)

49
Q

Cellulose

A

Material of plant cell walls (fiber, bulk, or roughage)

50
Q

Fermentation

A

Anaerobic process (oxygen-free) - results in such end products as ethyl alcohol: (C2H6O), methane gas (CH4), and acetic acid (C2H4O2)

AP Environmental Science (1 decks)

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