BIO-108: Exam 1

• environment


  a sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life
• environmental science


  the field that looks at interactions among humans and nature
• The environment may be divided into two parts:

  (1) The biotic - the living part of the Earth (e.g., animals, plants, and microorganisms).

  (2) The abiotic - the non-living part of the Earth (e.g., soil, air, water, and sunlight).
• system


  a set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials
• eco


  from the Greek, oikos, house + system
• ecosystem


  the living and non-living components of a particular place that contribute to a flow of energy
• ecosystem services


  the services environments provide that are life-supporting services such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and crops
• environmental indicators


  measures that describe the current state of the environment
• Five global environmental indicators are:

  (1) Biological diversity

  (2) Food production

  (3) Average global surface temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere

  (4) Human population

  (5) Resource depletion
• Biological diversity/biodiversity includes:

  (1) Genetic diversity - a measure of the genetic variation found among individuals in a population.

  (2) Species diversity - the number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat.

  (3) Ecosystem diversity - a measure of the variety of ecosystems or habitats that exist in a particular region.
• species


  a group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in form, behavior, or biochemical properties
• greenhouse gas pollution


  gases in the atmosphere that act like a blanket, trapping heat near Earth's surface
• carbon dioxide


  the most important greenhouse gas
• anthropogenic


  caused by human activities
• What are certain waves, such as microwaves, transformed into?

  infrared waves
• How many people are added to the Earth every five days?

  over one million
• What percent of the world is considered developing?

  80%
• development


  improvement in human well-being through economic advancement
• sustainability


  the practice of living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use resources without depriving future generations of those resources
• sustainable development


  development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations
• In order to live sustainably:

  (1) Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover.

  (2) Renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate.

  (3) Nonrenewable resources must be used sparingly.
• ecological footprint


  > a measure of how much a person consumes, expressed in area of land

  > can be made up of energy, settlements, timber and paper, food and fibers, seafood, carbon footprint, built-up land, forests, cropland and pastures, and fisheries
• World Overshoot Day


  the day each year that the Earth passes its allotted consumption
• The scientific method:

  (1) Observations and questions

  (2) Hypothesis

  (3) Collecting data

  (4) Interpreting results

  (5) Disseminating findings
• theory


  > a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and is widely accepted

  > ex. theory of relativity
• natural law


  > when a theory has been tested multiple times and there are no known exceptions

  > ex. law of gravity and laws of thermodynamics
• All environmental systems consist of...

  matter.
• matter


  > anything that has volume (occupies space) and has mass

  > the "stuff" that makes up the universe
• mass


  a measure of the amount of matter an object contains
• weight


  the force that results from the action of gravity on mass
• atom


  > the smallest particle that can contain the chemical properties of an element

  > literally means "unable to cut"
• element


  > a substance composed of atoms which are all of one type

  > ex. copper, oxygen, carbon, and iron
• Elements can exist as:

  (1) Solids

  (2) Liquids

  (3) Gases
• periodic table


  a table that lists in an organized fashion all the elements currently known
• molecules


  > particles containing more than one atom

  > ex. oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen
• compounds


  molecules that contain more than one element
• atomic number


  the number of protons in the nucleus of a particular element
• mass number


  the total number of protons and neutrons in an element
• isotopes

  atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons and, therefore, different atomic masses
• electrons


  have a negative charge and orbit the nucleus