1.2 Systems & Models Flashcards
Define Systems Approach
A way of visualizing a complex set of interactions in ecology, society or another system.
Define System
An assemblage of parts and the relationships between them that enable them to work together to form a functioning whole.
Define Biomes
Groups of ecosystems with similar climates.
Define Emergent Properties
Features of a system that cannot be present in the individual component parts.
Define Biosphere
The part of the Earth inhabited by organisms, and it extends from the upper atmosphere to the depths of the Earth’s crust.
Define Reductionist Approach
A system reduces the complex interactions within it to their constituent parts, in order to study them; whereas a systems approach considers the whole system and the interactions between the various components.
Define Open System
Exchanges both matterand energy within its surroundings across the boundaries of the system.
Define Closed System
Exchanges energy but not matter across the boundaries of the system.
Define Isolated System
Exchanges neither energy nor matter with its environment.
Define Transfers
Involve flow through a system and involve a change in location.
Define Transformations
Lead to an interaction within a system and the formation of a new end product, or they may involve a change of state.
Define Flow
What flows into, within, and out of the system (shown as arrows).
Define Storage
Stores of matter or energy (shown as boxes).
Define Model
A diagram that uses different symbols to represent each part of the system. Models enable environmental scientists to draw comparisons between different ecosystems by representing the different inputs, outputs, and storages as boxes or arrows that are in proportion to their sizes.
Define Intrinsic Value
A characteristic of a natural system that has an inherent worth, irrespective of economic consideration. For example, the belief that all life on Earth has a right to exist.
