Studying the state of our earth

Question 1

abiotic

Answer 1

nonliving

Question 2

accuracy

Answer 2

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

Question 3

anthropogenic

Answer 3

derived from human activities

Question 4

background extinction rate

Answer 4

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

Question 5

biodiversity

Answer 5

The diversity of life forms in an environment

Question 6

biophilila

Answer 6

Love of life

Question 7

biotic

Answer 7

living

Question 8

control group

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Development

Answer 9

improvement in human well-being through economic advancement

Question 10

ecological footprint

Answer 10

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

Question 11

ecosystem

Answer 11

a particular location on Earth with interacting biotic and abiotic components

Question 12

ecosystem services

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Environmental Science

Answer 13

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

Question 14

enviromentalist

Answer 14

A person who participates in environmentalism, a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, economics, literature, and ethics

Question 15

(Hydraulic) fracking

Answer 15

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

Question 16

genetic diversity

Answer 16

a measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population

Question 17

greenhouse gases

Answer 17

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

Question 18

hypothesis

Answer 18

a testable conjecture about how something works

Question 19

natural experiment

Answer 19

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

Question 20

null hypothesis

Answer 20

a prediction that there is no difference between groups or conditions, or a statement or an idea
that can be falsified, or proved wrong

Question 21

precision

Answer 21

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

Question 22

replication

Answer 22

The data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements

Question 23

sample size

Answer 23

the number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection

Question 24

scientific method

Answer 24

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

Question 25

speciation

Answer 25

The evolution of new species

Question 26

species

Answer 26

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

Question 27

species diversity

Answer 27

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

Question 28

sustainability

Answer 28

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

Question 29

sustainable development

Answer 29

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

Question 30

theory

Answer 30

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

Question 31

environmental indicator

Answer 31

an indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system

Question 32

uncertainty

Answer 32

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