Vocabulary

Question 1

fossil fuel

Answer 1

a fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago

Question 2

fracking

Answer 2

hydraulic fracturing, a method of oil and gas extraction that uses high-pressure fluids to force open cracks in rocks deep underground

Question 3

environment

Answer 3

the sum of all conditions surrounding us that influence life

Question 4

environmental science

Answer 4

the field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature

Question 5

ecosystem

Answer 5

a particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components

Question 6

biotic

Answer 6

living

Question 7

abiotic

Answer 7

nonliving

Question 8

environmentalism

Answer 8

a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education

Question 9

environmental studies

Answer 9

the field of study that includes environmental science and additional subjects such as environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics

Question 10

ecosystem services

Answer 10

the process by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced

Question 11

environmental indicators

Answer 11

an indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system

Question 12

biodiversity

Answer 12

the diversity of life forms in an environment

Question 13

genetic diversity

Answer 13

a measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population

Question 14

species

Answer 14

a group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology (body form and structure), behavior, or biochemical properties

Question 15

species diversity

Answer 15

the number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat

Question 16

speciation

Answer 16

the evolution of new species

Question 17

background extinction rate

Answer 17

the average rate at which species become extinct over the long term

Question 18

per capita

Answer 18

amount per each person in a country or unit of population

Question 19

sustainable development

Answer 19

development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future geneartions

Question 20

biophilia

Answer 20

love of life

Question 21

ecological footprint

Answer 21

a measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land

Question 22

anthropogenic

Answer 22

derived from human activities

Question 23

scientific method

Answer 23

an objective method to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes

Question 24

hypothesis

Answer 24

a testable conjecture about how something works

Question 25

variables

Answer 25

any categories, conditions, factors, or traits that differ in the natural world or in experimental situations

Question 26

independent variable

Answer 26

a variable that is not dependent on other factors

Question 27

dependent variable

Answer 27

a variable that is dependent on other factors

Question 28

null hypothesis

Answer 28

a prediction that there is no difference between the groups or conditions that are being compared

Question 29

replication

Answer 29

the data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements

Question 30

sample size

Answer 30

the number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection

Question 31

accuracy

Answer 31

how close a measured value is to the actual or true value

Question 32

precision

Answer 32

how close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another

Question 33

uncertainty

Answer 33

an estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value

Question 34

theory

Answer 34

a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance

Question 35

control group

Answer 35

in a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study

Question 36

natural experiment

Answer 36

a natural event that acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem

Question 37

development

Answer 37

improvement in human well-being through technological advancement

Question 38

sustainability

Answer 38

living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources

Question 39

greenhouse gases

Answer 39

gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface