Concept Review Sheet - Chapters 1 and 2

Question 1

Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability

Answer 1

Solar Energy, Biodiversity, Chemical or Nutrient Cycling

Question 2

Solar Energy – (Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 2

sun warms the planet, gives plants nutrients, + therefore gives animals the plant nutrients they need, etc.

Question 3

Biodiversity – (Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 3

the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes. Provides ways for species to adapt + prevents them from getting too large.

Question 4

Chemical or Nutrient Cycling – (Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 4

the circulation of chemicals or nutrients needed to sustain life in the environment (mostly from water and soil) through various organisms and back to the environment. We recieve energy constantly from the sun, but nothing new is produced chemically, so it must be cycled.

Question 5

Tragedy of the Commons

Answer 5

a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource (also called a common) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource

Question 6

Three Social Science Principles of Sustainability

Answer 6

Full-Cost Pricing (Economics), Win-win solutions (politics), Responsibility (Ethics)

Question 7

Full-Cost Pricing (Economics) – (Three Social Science Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 7

includes the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services in their market prices.

Question 8

Win-win Solutions (Politics) – (Three Social Science Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 8

political scientists look for compromises that will benefit the largest amount of people and the environment

Question 9

Responsibility (Ethics) – (Three Social Science Principles of Sustainability)

Answer 9

it is our responsibility a people to treat the planet in ways that will leave it healthy for future generations.

Question 10

Independent Variable

Answer 10

this variable does not depend on that of another.

Question 11

Dependent Variable

Answer 11

this variable relies on the independent variable.

Question 12

Control

Answer 12

something used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of an experiment –

EX : A control in this experiment would be a plant that was left out in the sun, under normal conditions, so that you know how much a regular plant would be expected to grow.

Question 13

Constants

Answer 13

values that should not change either during or between experiments

EX : Many natural forces and properties, such as the speed of light and the atomic weight of gold, are experimental constants.

Question 14

Hypothesis

Answer 14

an assumption, an idea that is proposed for the sake of argument so that it can be tested to see if it might be true

Question 15

Sample Size

Answer 15

the number of participants or observations included in a study

Question 16

1st Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 16

No energy is created or destroyed

Question 17

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 17

We end up with the lower quality or less-usable energy than we started with

Question 18

System

Answer 18

Set of components that interact in a regular way
Ex: human body, a cell, a TV set, and an economy

Question 19

Inputs (system)

Answer 19

whatever you put into a system. For example, the body’s circulatory system requires energy from food and oxygen from breathing in order to work. Those are the inputs.

Question 20

throughputs (system)

Answer 20

the volume of work or information flowing through a system

Question 21

outputs (systems)

Answer 21

whatever comes out of a system

Question 22

Positive feedback loop

Answer 22

causes system to change further in the same direction

Question 23

Negative feedback loop

Answer 23

causes system to change in opposite directions. think - homeostasis

EX : Blood sugar regulation (insulin lowers blood glucose when levels are high ;

Question 24

Ecological tipping point -

Answer 24

Natural system stuck in positive feedback loop can reach this point
Beyond this point, system changes so drastically that it suffers from severe degradation or collapse.