SCX 010 Flashcards
deals with the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. It also focuses on identifying and giving solutions to environmental problems that may arise.
Environmental Science
The Five Branches of Environmental Science
Atmospheric Sciences
Ecology
Environmental Chemistry
Geosciences
Social Sciences
Environmental science has grown in importance as the ___________________ has increased.
awareness of globalization
__________ changes in climate are also of concern, with ____________ potentially melting the ice caps and subsequently raising sea levels. Virtually anything that humans interact with has an impact on the world at large.
Man-made, global warming
The massive use of fossil fuels is obviously the first source of global warming, as burning coal, oil and gas produces carbon dioxide - the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - as well as nitrous oxide.
Fossil fuel
The exploitation of forests has a major role in climate change. Trees help regulate the climate by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. When they are cut down, this positive effect is lost and
the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere.
Deforestation
Another cause of global warming is intensive farming, not only with the ever-increasing livestock, but also with plant protection products and fertilizers. In fact, cattle and sheep produce large amounts of methane when digesting their food, while fertilizers produce nitrous oxide emissions.
Intense farming
like landfills and incineration emit greenhouse and toxic gases - including methane - that are released into the atmosphere, soil and waterways, contributing to the increase of the greenhouse effect.
Waste management methods
Modern life is highly dependent on the mining and metallurgical industry. Metals and minerals
are the raw materials used in the construction, transportation and manufacturing of goods. From
extraction to delivery, this market accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Mining
also plays a major role in climate change. In fact, it is responsible for the overexploitation of natural resources and emissions from international freight transport, which both contribute to global warming.
Overconsumption
_____________The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment is known as Human Ecology. (True or False)
False
_____________Geosciences include environmental geology, environmental soil sciences, volcanic
phenomenon and the evolution of the Earth’s crust. (True or False)
True
_____________ The main focus of Earth Science is on earth’s atmosphere with an emphasis upon its interrelationships to other systems. (True or False)
False
_____________The study of the chemical composition and alterations in the environment is termed as Biochemistry. (True or False)
False
_____________Ecologically, global warming is the most alarming environmental threat. (True or False)
True
is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature.
Global warming
study the Earth’s atmosphere and how it relates to other systems,
Atmospheric Sciences
is defined as the study of how living organisms on our planet interact with each other
Ecology
explores the various chemical processes and the changes they make to the
environment.
Environmental Chemistry
are also known as earth sciences and are a field that deals with and connects all scientific
disciplines that explore our planet directly
Geosciences
in the context of environmental science are most easily defined as specific fields that
deal with the relationship between humans and nature
Social sciences
refers to all non-living things in the ecosystem
ABIOTIC
refers to living things in the ecosystem such as plants, animals and microorganisms
BIOTIC
living things exhibit a high level of organization. All multicellular organisms are
composed of cell and cell products. (cells – tissues – organ – system – organism)
Cellular organization
It is the maintenance of a constant but dynamic internal environment within the body of
organism.
Homeostasis
It is the ability of the organism to adjust to become fit to the changes in the environmental
condition.
Adaptation
is necessary to perpetuate life
Reproduction
all living things increase in size due to cell division
Growth and development
living things need energy to sustain life, hence energy is very essential to
life
Constant energy requirement
the ability of the organisms to respond to the various stimuli from the environment
Responsiveness/ Irritability
is a way where water moves all around the Earth.
water cycle
is constantly being used and created by different processes on planet Earth.
Oxygen
There is abundance of nitrogen in the atmosphere. It
makes up _______ of the total volume of air.
78- 80%
nitrogen from the atmosphere is changed into nitrate (NO4)
Nitrogen fixation
decaying organic matter is converted into ammonia.
Ammonification
The conversion of ammonia to nitrate, soil bacteria convert the ammonia to nitrite (NO2) and
finally to Nitrate (NO3)
Nitrification
is the process by which nitrogen is converted into protein molecules by plant. Their waste returns nitrogen to soil as urea (fertilizer) and other compounds that are converted to ammonia.
Assimilation
some bacteria cause nitrogen to return to the atmosphere by breaking down ammonia
into soil
Denitrification
refers to the biogeochemical cycle by
which phosphorous moves through the biosphere, hydrosphere, and
lithosphere.
phosphorus cycle
is essential to life. It is a minor constituent of
fats, body fluids, and skeletal minerals.
Sulfur
also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on,
above, and below the surface of the Earth.
Water cycle
circulation of oxygen in various forms through nature. Free in the air and dissolved in
water, oxygen is second only to nitrogen in abundance among uncombined elements in the
atmosphere
Oxygen Cycle
is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere,
pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
Carbon Cycle
is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical
forms as it circulates among atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems.
Nitrogen Cycle
is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through
the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
Phosphorus Cycle
is biogeochemical cycle in which the sulfur moves between rocks, waterways and living
systems.
Sulfur Cycle
refers to the production of individuals over a given period of time. For example, if there are 120 births
in a population, the birth rate is 120 per year or 10 individuals per month.
Birth Rate (Natality)
refers to the loss of individuals over a given period of time It can also be expressed in the same way
as in birth rate If the birth and death rates are equal, then the population size is stable
Death Rate (Mortality)
Under ideal conditions, unlimited food, absence of diseases, lack of predators, and so on, the size of the
population would increase indefinitely.
Biotic potential or Intrinsic Rate of Natural Increase
the number of organisms per unit of space.
Population Density
It refers to the position of members of a population relative to their neighbors.
Spacing or pattern
refers to the production of individuals through the union of two opposite gametes.
Mating Systems
The three mating
systems
monogamy, polygamy and promiscuity.
is defined as a group of individuals of the same species living and interbreeding within a
given area.
population
an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals or prey.
True Predator
refers to an insect that lays its egg on a host (usually insect or spiders)
Parasitoidism
spend most of its life living on another organism.
Parasite
animal that eats plant ( grazers)
Herbivore
where one species benefits while the other is unaffected.
Commensalism
both species benefit.
Mutualism
is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species.
Symbiosis
– one species benefits while one is harmed.
Parasitism
– neither benefit
Competition
one species benefits while the other dies, and
Predation
both species unaffected.
Neutralism
