Vocab 1 Flashcards
The idea that the environment can meet the needs of the current generation without sacrificing the needs of future generations
Sustainability
Any material or substance provided by the environment for humans to use
Natural Resource
The individual will sacrifice the long-term good of the society to satisfy their immediate, short-term needs
Tragedy of the Commons
Management of a finite resource in order to reach sustainable conditions for current and future generations
Conservation
Study of how people use their limited resources to satisfy their needs
Economics
Resources provided by the environment for production and consumption of goods and services
Natural capital
Includes all living organisms and the physical environment they occupy
Ecosystem
Resources and processes supplied by natural ecosystems as a result of the cycling of energy and matter
Ecosystem services
Anything that has mass and occupies space
Matter
Matter with constant volume and constant shape (does not deform under pressure)
Solid
Matter with constant volume but has no definite shape (assumes the shape of its container)
Liquid
Matter with indefinite volume and shape (assumes both the size and shape of its container)
Gas
Smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of that element
Atom
Pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom that makes up all matter
Element
Positively charged elements
Cations
Negatively charged elements
Anions
Group of atoms held together by covalent bonds
Molecules
Capacity or ability to do work; two main forms: potential and kinetic
Energy
Done when force is applied to an object and that object moves a given distance in the direction of the force
Work
Any influence that causes an object to undergo a certain change
Force
Stored energy
Potential energy
Energy of motion
Kinetic energy
Description of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance
Temperature
Energy transfer from one body to another
Heat
Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of any substance by 1 degree Celsius
Heat capacity
Consists of multiple interacting parts with defined boundaries
System
Everything outside of the system
Surroundings
Isolated system that doesn’t exchange energy with its surroundings
Closed system
Exchanges energy with surroundings (all natural systems are this)
Open system
Measure of randomness of a system (amount of energy lost)
Entropy
Production of organic molecules from inorganic substances
Photosynthesis
Occurs when organisms use stored sugars to perform work and release energy
Cell respiration
Manufacture organic molecules from simple inorganic substances using energy of sunlight
Producer (autotrophs)
Organisms that use the bodies of other organisms as a food source
Consumer (heterotroph)
Break down dead organic material for energy
Decomposer
Describes close and often long-term interactions between different biological species
Symbiosis
Any interaction between two species that benefits both
Mutualism
Relation between two different kinds of organisms when one receives benefits from the other without damaging it
Commensalism
Relationship between two different kinds or organisms in which the parasite receives benefits from the other by causing damage to its host
Parasitism
Process by which organisms vie for environment resources
Competition
All interactions in which one organism consumes all or part of another
Predation
Position or role of an organism in its ecosystem: how an organism makes a living and how it in turn affects other organisms
Ecological niche
Ecological change in an area where no biological organisms previously existed
Primary succession
Ecological change in an area after a disturbance (natural disaster)
Secondary succession
Amount of sunlight striking the Earth’s surface
Insolation
Reflectivity of materials
Albedo
Process by which deep water currents are produced due to density and temperature differences of the water
Thermohaline circulation
Solidify and crystallize from magma either deep within the Earth or at the Earth’s surface
Igneous rock
Occur when changes in pressure and temperature alter pre-existing rocks to produce new ones
Metamorphic rock
Form when pieces of other rocks are cemented together or from biochemical processes
Sedimentary rock
Outer, rocky portion of the Earth that contains the oceanic crust, continental crust, and the upper area of the mantle; it is brittle and rigid
Lithosphere
Mid-layer of the mantle; due to great pressure and heat, rocks here behave like semi-plastic: they can be bent and stretched
Asthenosphere
Plates move apart from each other; new molten rock upwells here to create new crust
Divergent plate boundaries
Plates collide into each other - different densities create subduction zones
Convergent plate boundaries
Plates move horizontally past each other
Transform plate boundaries
Movement of heat in the mantle; determines direction and speed of plates
Mantle convection
Areas where rocks fracture and one side moves relative to the other
Faults
Vibration caused by the sudden release of energy within the subsurface
Earthquake
Force applied to an object that results in strain
Stress
Deformation in rocks; can be either brittle or ductile
Strain
Results in rupture in the Earth (faults)
Brittle deformation
Plastic deformation; results in folds
Ductile deformation
Opening in the Earth’s crust which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface
Volcano
Areas where magma from the mantle upwells to the surface
Hot spots
Steep-sided volcanoes that erupt explosively but infrequently
Stratovolcanoes
Large, low-profile cones built from basaltic lava
Shield volcanoes
Study of matter and the transformations of matter
Chemistry
Study of energy and its transformations
Thermodynamics
Study of relationships between organisms and how organisms interact with their environment
Ecology
Movement of water from the atmosphere down to the Earth’s surface
Precipitation
Movement of water from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere
Evaporation
Movement of water across the Earth’s surface
Runoff
Movement of water from the Earth’s surface to its sub-surface
Infiltration
Involve the transport and transformation of pure chemical substances throughout the Earth
Biogeochemical Cycles
Invisible layer of gases that surround the Earth held in place by gravity
Atmosphere
Earth’s four spheres
- atmosphere
- hydrosphere
- biosphere
- lithosphere
