ENVI 101 Unit 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Environmental Studies
A
Examines scientific, social, and cultural aspects of the environment
2
Q
Ecology
A
Study of the relationship of organisms with their environment
3
Q
Ecosystem
A
The defined place where living and nonliving things interact
4
Q
Abiotic factors
A
Non-living factors in an environment ex. water, sun, soil
5
Q
Biotic factors
A
Living factors in an environment ex. fish, plants, humans
6
Q
Human impacts on the environment
A
Agriculture, fossil fuels, land development, fires
7
Q
Tragedy of the commons
A
Overuse of resources
8
Q
What causes population growth?
A
Revolutions in farming, medicine, industry, information-globalization
9
Q
Preservation
A
Nature should be left alone
10
Q
Advocate for preservation
A
John Muir
11
Q
Conservation
A
Nature should be taken care of and managed wisely
12
Q
Advocates of conservation
A
Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot
13
Q
Aldo Leopold
A
Founder of the US Wilderness Society in 1935, author of the Sand County Almanac
14
Q
Rachel Carson
A
Author of Silent Spring, book about DDT pollution
15
Q
Date of the first Earth Day
A
April 22nd, 1970
16
Q
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
A
US Agency founded in 1970 with the goal of environmental protection
17
Q
Backlash to environmental protection started during the…
A
1980s
18
Q
Environmental Impact of Humans Equation
A
I=PAT
Impact
Population
Affluence (Power use per capita or carbon emissions)
Technology Development
19
Q
Three E’s of Sustainability
A
Environment
Economy
Equity
20
Q
Sustainability
A
Capacity for Earth’s natural systems to support life
21
Q
Natural resources
A
Materials provided by nature that are essential to human life
22
Q
Ecosystem services
A
Natural services provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and human economies at no cost
23
Q
Natural capital
A
Natural resources and ecosystem services that support human life
ex. resource - tree, services - lumber, air purification, habitat, food
24
Q
Sustainable development
A
Development of an economic system that uses natural resources in a way that does not permanently impact nature
25
Science
A way of knowing and discovering how nature works
26
Scientific Method
Observation, Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Conclusion, Report
27
Standard deviation
How much the actual measurements deviate from the average
28
Peer review
Peers in a field review your process and determine if a study is valid / orchestrated correctly
29
Matter
Anything that has mass and takes up space
30
Element
Substance that cannot be broken down into smaller substances by chemical reactions, made of atoms
31
Compound
Binding of two or more elements
32
Atoms
Building blocks of elements
33
Atomic Number
Number of protons in an element
34
Mass Number
Total number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom
35
Average atomic mass
Average weight of atoms across forms
36
Isotopes
Elements with a different number of neutrons than normal
37
Ions
Atoms or molecules that are electrically charged as a result of gaining or losing an electron
38
Molecule
Two or more elements joined by chemical bonds
39
Organic molecules
Molecules that contain two or more carbon atoms
40
Macromolecule
Large biological molecules
41
Four main macromolecules
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
42
Carbohydrates
Sugar, source of energy
43
Monosaccharides
Simple sugars ex. glucose
44
Disaccharides
Made of two monosaccharaides ex. lactose, sucrose
45
Polysaccharides
Long chains of monosaccharides ex cellulose
46
Lipids
Store large amounts of energy, hydrophobic, monomer - glycerol and fatty acids
47
Proteins
Carry out tasks for the body, monomer - amino acids
48
Nucleic acids
Store information on how to make proteins, monomer - nucleotides, polynucleotides - RNA, DNA
49
Energy
Ability to do work
50
Kinetic energy
Energy in use
51
Potential energy
Energy being stored
52
First law of thermodynamics / Law of conservation of energy
When the form of energy is changed, no energy is created or lost
53
Trophic structure
Feeding level based on source of nutrients
54
Producers / autotrophs
Green plants, make energy from compounds and the environment via photosynthesis
55
Consumers
Obtain nutrients from other organisms
56
Primary consumer
Herbivores
57
Secondary Consumers
Carnivores / omnivores
58
Tertiary consumers
Carnivores eating other carnivores
59
Detritus feeders
Feed on dead bodies ex. earthworms, vultures
60
Decomposers
Break down remains ex. bacteria, fungi
61
Aerobic respiration
Turns stored chemical energy from food into energy
62
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
The rate at which an ecosystem producers convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in their compounds found in their tissues (rate of photosynthesis)
63
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
Rate of photosynthesis minus use of aerobic respiration (NPP=GPP-R)
64
Standing biomass
Amount of accumulated matter found in a plant
65
Geology
The study of dynamic processes taking place on the Earth's surface and its interior
66
Three major concentric zones
Core, mantle, crust
67
The Earth's crust is mostly composed of...
minerals and rocks
68
Mineral
Naturally occurring chemical element or inorganic compound that exists as a crystalline solid
69
Rock
Solid combination of one or more minerals
70
Sedimentary rocks
Rocks formed by combination and compaction ex. shale, sandstone
71
Metamorphic Rocks
Existing rocks subjected to high pressure or high temperature ex. slate
72
Igneous Rocks
Rocks formed under intense heat /pressure and cooling ex. obsidian
73
Meteorites
Giant rocks that enter the Earth's atmosphere
74
Tectonic Plates
Crust plates
75
Divergent boundary
Plates moving away from each other
76
Convergent boundary
Plates moving together
77
Transform plate boundary
Plates grind together
78
Volcano
Magma rising through the lithosphere reaches the Earth's surface
79
Eruption
Release of magma, hot ash, and gases into the environment
80
Earthquake
Breakage and shifting of rocks, occurs at a fault
81
Focus
Origin of the earthquake
82
Magnitude
Security of the earthquake
83
Richter Scale
Measures the magnitude of an Earthquake
84
Largest earthquake in recorded history
Chile, 9.2 on Richter Scale
85
Tsunamis
Giant waves caused by undersea earthquakes happening on the oceanic crust
86
Glaciers
Sheets of ice formed by deep snowpack - compressed into ice
87
Oceans make up...
97% of Earth's water
88
Hydrologic cycle
Movement of water, distributed unevenly
89
Zone of saturation
Spaces in soil below a certain depth, filled with water
90
Aquifers
A body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater, recharged naturally by precipitation or nearby streams, and rivers
91
Hydrologic cycle steps
Evaporation, precipitation, surface runoff
92
Surface runoff
Precipitation runs off into bodies of water, or into the ground
93
Atmosphere
Thin blanket of gases surrounding Earth 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen
94
Troposphere
Innermost layer of the atmosphere, 20km up, supports life
95
Stratosphere
20-50km up, contains protective ozone layer, filter ~95% of harmful UV radiation
96
Weather is made up of
Temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, cloudiness (at a specific time)
97
Climate
Long term average weather patterns, different scales - local, regional, global
98
Earth rotates around ___ and revolves around ___
Its axis; the Sun
99
Earth's poles are ____ degrees off the perpendicular
23.5
100
Hadley Cells
Large atmospheric cells where air rises at the equator then sinks at medium latitudes
101
Rain shadow effect
Mountains affect rainfall; leeway side of mountains unable to have growths due to mountains causing precipitation on windward side
102
Urban heat island
Higher temperature in cities than in surrounding countryside, caused by black pavement
103
Albedo effect
How much sunlight is reflected by the Earth's surface
104
Evapotranspiration
Tree releases water in hot weather
105
Soil
Mixture of dirt, minerals, water, decomposing organic material, and more
106
Soil formation begins with....
Mechanical weathering
107
Mechanical weathering
Breaking up of rock due to water, wind, temperature
108
Chemical weathering
Chemical reactions decompose rocks
109
Parent material
Original material from which soil develops
110
When organisms die, they decompose and are incorporated in the soil as _____ by fungi and bacteria
Organic matter
111
Soil texture
Determined by weight (%) of sand, silt, and clay
112
Loam
Well suited soil for plant growth, 40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay
113
Particle sizes of sand, silt, and clay
Sand - .05mm-2mm
Silt - .002mm-.05mm
Clay - <.002mm
114
Fine soils drain _____ than course soils
slower
115
Soil order
"Age" of soil
116
NY Soils
Inceptisols, Altisols, Spodisols
117
Soil erosion is a threat to...
Agricultural sustainability
118
Dust Bowl / The Dirty Thirties
Severe drought and dust storms in the midwestern US during the Great Depression
119
Dust Bowl led to the creation of the ____ and the ____
Soil Erosion Service (later became the Natural Resources Conservation Service), Prairie States Forestry Project
120
Carbon cycle
Photosynthesis and aerobic respiration
121
Nitrogen gas in the atmosphere
78% of atmosphere, cannot be absorbed by plants naturally; requires lightning or nitrogen fixing bacteria
122
Fertilizers impact on the environment
Fertilizers add too much nitrogen and phosphate to the soils, carried via runoff into oceans and lakes, suffocating animals by promoting excessive plant growth
123
Eutrophication
suffocation of sea life caused by excess nitrogen promoting plant growth
