Environmental Science

• What are the elements in living organisms

  Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Hydrogen
• What are the elements in living organisms

  Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Phosphorus, Hydrogen
• Matter


  Substance that takes up space and has a mass
• Elements


  Forms of matter that have specific chemical and physical properties and cannot be broken down into smaller pieces by chemical reactions
• Atomic Structure


  NUCLEUS : proton, neutron; 2 ELECTRONS
• Molecules


  formed when two or more atoms join together through chemical bonds to form a unit of matter
• Isotopes


  are different forms of an element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.
• Radioactive Isotopes

  Unstable isotopes, called radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes, release particles like neutrons, protons, or electrons to become more stable, a process known as radioactivity. radioactive decay
• macromolecules and carbon

  Carbon, with its unique ability to form covalent bonds with up to four different atoms, serves as the fundamental component of macromolecules, making it the ideal structural backbone.
• hydrocarbons

  So basically, hydrocarbons are simple molecules made of carbon and hydrogen, often used as fuels because they store a lot of energy, and methane is a common example.
• ecosystem services

  air and water purification, climate regulation, and plant pollination
• Environmental science


  is a field that studies all aspects of the environment, using knowledge from many subjects like biology, chemistry, and economics. It's relatively new and combines different disciplines to understand the environment better.
• Environmental engineering


  is a type of engineering focused on solving environmental problems. Engineers use knowledge of environmental concepts and ecology to design systems that address issues like pollution.
• Environmentalism

  is a social movement where people work to protect the environment and natural resources. It involves activism to promote conservation and sustainability, although it's not a scientific field itself.
• The precautionary principle 


  if there's a chance something could harm people or nature, we shouldn't wait for absolute proof before taking action to protect them.
• The IPAT Equation

  impact, population, affluence, tech
• The precautionary principle


  It wiges being cautious and taking action to protect health and the environment when there's a potential risk. Oversue of the precautionary principle can have negative consequences as well.
• Proteins

  structural regulatory contractile protective
• Carbohydrates


  provide energy to the body through glucose, a simple sugar that is a component of starch; During cellular respiration, energy is released from glucose and that energy is used to help make adenosine triphosphate
• respiration

  transforming biomass into carbon dioxide and water
• biomes


  On the global scale, ecosystems with similar climatic conditions in different parts of the world
• FLOWS


  Movement of energy or matter within a system. The flows are processes that may be either transfers (a change in location) or transformations (a change in the chemical nature, a change in state or a change in energy).
• Systems

  system is made up of individual parts the parts all work together parts work to perform a particular function
• Storages


  serve as a location where matter or energy maintained
• Thermodynamics


  is the study about energy.
• Strengths of models

  simplification of complex systems to observe outcomes after changing inputs to understand detailed information about the whole system
• Weaknesses of models

  impossible to take all variables into account different models may show different effects using the same data when models are oversimplified they may become less accurate because of many assumptions some models mау not ве accurate different models use slightly different data to calculate predictions any model is only as good as the data used models rely on the expertise of the people making them and this can lead to impartially as models predict further into the future, they become more uncertain
• steady-state equilibrium

  Maintains a stable system due to constant flow of inputs and outputs Refers to an ecological system because such a system requires inputs and outputs in order to function.
• static equilib.

  Doesn’t apply to natural systems as there are no inputs or outputs, so no change occurs. Always in balance
• Negative feedback

  dampens effects and promotes return to stability predator-prey relationships
• Positive feedback


  amplifies change and leads to deviation from stability temperature and greenhouse grass
• species

  is a group of organisms sharing common characteristics that can interbreed and produce offspring that can also interbreed and produce young. Sometimes, two species breed together to produce a hybrid offspring, which may survive to adulthood but cannot produce viable gametes and so is sterile. For example, a horse (Equus caballus) can breed with a donkey (Equus asinus) to produce a mule.
• 1. If some animals or plants are living far away from each other, it's hard to tell if they're still the same species or not.
  2. When we're looking at animals or plants that don't exist anymore (like dinosaurs), it's tough to say what species they belonged to.
  3. Some creatures don't reproduce in the usual way, like by laying eggs or having babies. So, the usual rules for identifying species might not apply to them.
  4. Sometimes, animals or plants can still mate even if they're technically different species. This makes it tricky to define exactly what a species is.
• habitat is the environment in which a species normally lives. The habitat of the African elephant, for example, includes savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes.


  habitat
• niche

  is best described as where, when, and how an organism lives. An organism’s niche depends not only on where it lives (its habitat) but also on what it does.
• fundamental niche

  The theoretical niche, which describes the full potential of where, when, and how a species can exist, is known as its
• realised niche


  Where the species actually exists
• The fundamental niche can, therefore, be simply defined as where and how an organism could live, and the realized niche as where and how an organism does live
• Abiotic factors

  are non-living parts of the environment. Such factors determine the fundamental and realized niche of species.
• Tolerance limits

  There are upper and lower levels of environmental factors beyond which a population cannot survive, and there is an optimum range within which species can thrive