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AP Environmental Science > Unit 1 Vocab > Flashcards

Unit 1 Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

Environment

A

surroundings and conditions of the natural world where an organism resides

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2
Q

environmental science

A

objective unbiased knowledge of the environment and interactions

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3
Q

environmentalism

A

social movement to protect the natural world

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4
Q

sustainability

A

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

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5
Q

ecosystem

A

the living and nonliving interactions in an environment

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6
Q

abiotic

A

nonliving factors

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7
Q

biotic

A

living factors

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8
Q

anthropogenic

A

environmental pollutants originating from human activity

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9
Q

biophilia

A

innate human instinct to connect with nature and life

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10
Q

ecological footprint

A

measured impact of human activity and the toll it takes on the environment

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11
Q

community ecology

A

subfield of ecology where biodiversity, community structure, and distribution of species is studied and their interactions with abiotic factors

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12
Q

symbiotic relationships

A

long term relationships between 2 species

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13
Q

competition

A

shared use of a limited resource between diff or same species

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14
Q

competitive exclusion principle

A

2 species competing for the same resources cannot coexist

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15
Q

resource partitioning

A

diff species compete for similar resources and evolve their traits to make that possible, by change in time, space, or physical changes

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16
Q

predation

A

when one species feeds on another through herbivory or predator-prey relationships

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17
Q

parasitoid

A

an insect whose larvae live as parasites that kill their hosts

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18
Q

parasitism

A

one organisms benefits while the other is harmed

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19
Q

herbivory

A

when an organisms feeds on plants

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20
Q

mutualism

A

when both organisms benefit

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21
Q

commensalism

A

when one species benefits and the other is unaffected

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22
Q

habitat

A

natural home/environment of an organism

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23
Q

permafrost

A

frozen top subsoil

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24
Q

biome

A

large earth region characterized by similar climate, plants, and animals

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25
Q

climatogram

A

graph that shows changes in climate conditions by time, precipitation, and temperature

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26
Q

land biome characteristics

A

temp, precip, plant/animal communities

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27
Q

water biome characteristics

A

light availability, depth, temp, currents/tides, available nutrients, DO2

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28
Q

littoral zone

A

shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom which increases biodiversity

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29
Q

limnetic zone

A

zone of open water in freshwater where lots of oxygen is produced from the large numbers of phytoplankton

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30
Q

phytoplankton

A

plankton that consist of small plants that photosynthesize on the surface of water

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31
Q

profundal zone

A

region of freshwater where sunlight does not reach, but is important for nutrient storage in decomposition

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32
Q

benthic zone

A

bottom of freshwater ecosystems, consists of sand and sediments

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33
Q

oligotrophic

A

a deep part of a lake with low plant nutrients and a lot of oxygen

34
Q

mesotrophic

A

lake with a nutrient amount between oligotrophic and eutrophic

35
Q

eutrophic

A

lake with lower amounts of algae, but plant overgrowth with low levels of oxygen

36
Q

coral bleaching

A

when water temp increases, corals release algae, which turns them white

37
Q

photic zone

A

top layer nearest to the surface that gets the most sunlight

38
Q

aphotic zone

A

zone of a body of water that does not receive sunlight

39
Q

chemosynthesis

A

conversion of a carbon compound into organic matter using energy w/o sunlight

40
Q

transpiration

A

evaporation of water from plants through leaves, stems, and flowers

41
Q

evapotranspiration

A

evaporation of water from plants or soil

42
Q

runoff

A

flow of water on the ground from floodwater, rain, and more

43
Q

macronutrient

A

a chemical element required in large amounts for plants to grow and develop (ex. carbs, fat, protein)

44
Q

limiting nutrient

A

an important nutrient needed for organism growth that is low in quantity

45
Q

nitrogen fixation

A

when bacteria or lightning converts nitrogen gas into ammonia and ammonium or nitrates

46
Q

nitrification

A

when ammonium is converted to nitrite and then nitrate by bacteria

47
Q

assimilation

A

when producers use ammonium or nitrates

48
Q

mineralization

A

the decomposition of the chemical compounds in organic matter, and the compounds are released in an inorganic form for plants

49
Q

ammonification

A

when fungal and bacterial decomposers excrete ammonium by breaking down nitrogen compounds

50
Q

denitrification

A

when denitrifying bacteria converts nitrate into nitrous oxide and then nitrogen gas back into the atmosphere

51
Q

leaching

A

when a solute becomes extracted from the soil, usually from rainwater

52
Q

algal bloom

A

rapid increase in algae in a body of water

53
Q

hypoxic

A

low or depleted oxygen in a body of water usually from algae overgrowth

54
Q

dead zone

A

areas of water where organisms cannot survive because of the lack of oxygen usually from pollution

55
Q

watershed

A

drainage basin area of land where flowing water goes to a single point, usually the mouth of a river or another body of water

56
Q

biomass

A

how the energy in an ecosystem is measured in plants and animals

57
Q

standing crop

A

the amount of biomass that is present in an ecosystem at a particular time that is above ground plant growth

58
Q

ecological efficiency

A

the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

59
Q

trophic pyramid

A

the representation of the distribution of biomass among trophic levels

60
Q

photosynthesis

A

when plants turn solar energy, water, and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen

61
Q

cellular respiration

A

when organisms turn energy and oxygen into water and carbon dioxide

62
Q

aerobic respiration

A

cellular respiration when oxygen is present

63
Q

anaerobic respiration

A

when sugar is broken down without the presence of oxygen

64
Q

consumer

A

a heterotroph that obtains energy by consuming other organisms

65
Q

heterotroph

A

an organism that cannot create its own food

66
Q

herbivore

A

an organism that only consumes producers

67
Q

primary consumer

A

herbivores that eat plants

68
Q

carnivore

A

consumers that eat other consumers

69
Q

secondary consumer

A

carnivores and omnivores that obtain their energy by eating primary consumers

70
Q

tertiary consumer

A

carnivores and omnivores that eat secondary consumers

71
Q

trophic levels

A

hierarchial levels in an ecosystem that represent energy present in an ecosystem and how organisms consume their energy

72
Q

food chain

A

the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

73
Q

food web

A

made of several food chains that shows the complexity of nature

74
Q

scavenger

A

a carnivore that consumes dead animals

75
Q

detritivore

A

an organism that breaks down dead tissues and waste products into smaller pieces

76
Q

decomposer

A

fungi or bacteria that recycles nutrients from dead tissues and wastes and puts it back into an ecosystem

77
Q

biosphere

A

sum of all ecosystems and biomes on earth

78
Q

producer

A

organisms that make their own energy from the sun

79
Q

autotroph

A

an organism that forms organic substances from inorganic substances

80
Q

primary productivity

A

the rate at which solar energy is converted into organic compounds through photosynthesis in a certain amount of time or the amount of plant matter in a certain area

81
Q

1st law of thermodynamics

A

aka the law of conservation of energy that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it changes forms… also the total amount of energy available in the universe is constant

82
Q

2nd law of thermodynamics

A

energy flows irreversibly and becomes less useful and cannot be recycled or reused.. when energy is transferred, most is lost as heat… entropy is the measure of disorder in a system and it always increases

AP Environmental Science (4 decks)

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