Environmental Science Quiz 1

Question 1

What is environmental science?

Answer 1

the interdisciplinary study of the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components of the environment with a specific focus on the impact of humans on the environment

Question 2

define biotic

Answer 2

living

Question 3

define abiotic

Answer 3

non-living

Question 4

What is sustainability?

Answer 4

1.) able to maintain and support a process continuously over time
2.) if it meets the needs of the present with out compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 5

What are the 3 pillars of sustainability?

Answer 5

social, environment and economic

Question 6

What is an example of how the 3 pillars of sustainability work together?

Answer 6

-logger head turtle at Tybee island
-they come and lay eggs on the beach however Tybee island is a tourist destination
-how can scientists protect the turtles?
-solution: close the beaches, do nothing which would value social and Economic above everything and the turtles die or protect the turtle nests (this solution compromises all three).
-

Question 7

What is a tragedy of the commons?

Answer 7

tragedy: a bad thing
commons: a shared resource
ex: park, river etc
a tragedy of the commons is a situation which individuals with access to a shared resource (commons) act in their own best interest and in doing so deplete the resource
ex: overfishing in shared waters

Question 8

define what sustainable means

Answer 8

acting below the carrying capacity

Question 9

define science

Answer 9

a way of understanding the natural world based on method of seeking answers to questions through observation and expermintation

Question 10

What are the attributes of science?

Answer 10

observable, measurable, testable, objective, repeatable (able to be replicated), and falsifiable (able to be proven false)

Question 11

Can science explain everything?

Answer 11

no there are limitations, supernatural vs natural.
science is limited to organisms and processes that can be observed or measured

Question 12

What is anecdotal evidence?

Answer 12

using your personal experiences and stories to illustrate your point. it has a sample size of 1 or fewer, it often discusses a statistical outlier and It can be difficult to replicate

Question 13

What is empirical evidence?

Answer 13

it is measured, unbiased and obtained through the scientific method

Question 14

what is causation?

Answer 14

thing A happened so thing B happened. a change in 1 variable causes a change in the other variable.

Question 15

What is correlation?

Answer 15

a statistical relationship between 2 variables. 2 things that exist at the same time

Question 16

What is a scientific law?

Answer 16

a description of an observed phenominon

Question 17

What is a scientific theory?

Answer 17

a possible explanation for why

Question 18

What is an example of a scientific law?

Answer 18

the law of gravity: I observe an apple falling from a tree, the law doesn’t say why it fell, it just says that it will happen

Question 19

Can a theory ever become a law?

Answer 19

no

Question 20

What is a scientific theory?

Answer 20

it is more that just an educated guess, they can be proven false, but they can never be proven true. A theory is either currently acceptable based on the sum of human science knowledge or it is false

Question 21

What is the scientific method?

Answer 21

a method for gathering new evidence, it takes the scientist and human out of the equation. in the scientific method what matters is what the data shows

Question 22

To observe science an idea must be what two things?

Answer 22

observable and measurable

Question 23

What is step 1 of the scientific method?

Answer 23

1.) Make an observation and ask a question

Question 24

What is step 2 of the scientific method?

Answer 24

2.) do background research

Question 25

What is step 3 of the scientific method?

Answer 25

Form a hypothesis: a testable answer to a scientific question, it must be falsifiable. It is written as a statement that works if the words if/ then are added

Question 26

define alternative hypothesis?

Answer 26

Unlike the null hypothesis, however, the alternative hypothesis states that a statistically significant relationship occurs between two or more variables or study groups.

Question 27

What is the 4th step of the scientific method?

Answer 27

test with an experiment, an experiment must have variables: controlled and independent

Question 28

Define controlled variables:

Answer 28

the same for everything you are testing

Question 29

Independent variables:

Answer 29

the things you manipulate

Question 30

dependent variables

Answer 30

the thing being tested and measured

Question 31

What is a control group?

Answer 31

a group that maintains the status quo

Question 32

What is the experimental group?

Answer 32

a group I am experimenting with

Question 33

What is step 5 of the scientific method?

Answer 33

run the experiment and collect the data

Question 34

What is step 6 of the scientific method?

Answer 34

analyze the data P-value less/ equal to 0.05 means that there is a significant difference P-value greater than .05 means there is not a significant difference

Question 35

What is step 7 of the scientific method?

Answer 35

Draw conclusions: we can reject the null hypothesis or fail to reject the null: we never accept the alternative hypothesis

Question 36

Can a hypothesis ever be proven true?

Answer 36

nope

Question 37

Can you guarantee the behavior of an entire population only by sampling a small group?

Answer 37

yes

Question 38

what is replication

Answer 38

-the idea that all scientific experiments must be able to be repeated, sometimes weird things happen that effect the result, if you can replicate the result its not valid

Question 39

What is step 8 of the scientific method?

Answer 39

Peer review: other scientists who are experts in the field review their work. Revisions reinforce the data and conclusions that are presented, making it more reliable.

Question 40

What is the null hypothesis?

Answer 40

nothing is effected

Question 41

What is a primary source?

Answer 41

an original record of an event created by someone who experienced it Ex: a peer reviewed article published in a scientific journal, the person who wrote the article preformed the event

Question 42

What is a secondary source?

Answer 42

a work that was created after the events it describes, and that does not provide firsthand experience or participation

Question 43

What is a tertiary source?

Answer 43

Material that summarizes information from primary or secondary resources

Question 44

What is a beyond tertiary source?

Answer 44

not good sources for citing, but can be used as a jumping point to get ideas

Question 45

How can you recognize inaccurate information?

Answer 45

check the source, use the CRAAP test, check claims in the article, question everything, check any links in the article

Question 46

What is the CRAAP test?

Answer 46

C- currency R- relevance: how the information fits into your needs A- authority: source of the info A- accuracy: reliability and correctness of the information P- purpose: reason the article exists

Question 47

What are resources:

Answer 47

biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems which provide benefits to humanity

Question 48

What are renewable resources?

Answer 48

can be renewed in a relatively short period of time

Question 49

What is an ecological footprint?

Answer 49

the measure of the impact of human activities in terms of the area of land and water required to produce the goods and waste

Question 50

What is Earth overshoot day?

Answer 50

the date when humanity has used all the ecological resources that Earth regenerates in the entire year

Question 51

What do biocapacity creditors do?

Answer 51

they have ecological reserves and have excess resources that they can lend. If a countries ecological footprint is larger than its biocapacity then it must import some of its resources

Question 52

I= P x A x T

Answer 52

total impact= populations x affluence (a measure of consumption) x technology