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AP Environmental Science > Vocab > Flashcards

Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

Tragedy of the Commons

A

People with access to public resource (commons) act in their own interest & end up depleting the resource
Ex: deforestation for agricultural expansion

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2
Q

Ecological Footprint

A

Measures how much resources from the environment are needed to support a specific way of life / business. Indicates the amount of pressure humans put on the natural resources available to them

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3
Q

Sustainability

A

Ways in which we use resources from our environment while also conserving them for future generations

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4
Q

Primary Succession

A

Happens when a new patch of land is created or exposed for the first time
Ex: when lava cools & creates new rocks

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5
Q

Secondary Succession

A

The reestablishment of an ecosystem following disturbances
Ex: development after floods

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6
Q

Pioneer Species

A

The first species to colonize newly created environments
Ex: bacteria, phytoplankton, algae

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7
Q

Climax Community

A

The last stage in succession where an ecosystem reaches a stable state
Ex: a mature forest

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8
Q

Biodiversity

A

The range of all livings things in a specific ecosystem

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9
Q

Species Evenness

A

Describes the abundance of species within a community

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10
Q

Species Richness

A

The number of species present within a community or area

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11
Q

Island Biodiversity

A

The variety of species on an island

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12
Q

Edge Effect

A

Changes in population / community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats

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13
Q

Ecotourism

A

Tourism that centers around awareness of the environment
Ex: hiking, camping, birdwatching

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14
Q

Types of Ecosystem Services

A

Provisioning: Things directly provided to us from nature (ex: wood that can be sold)

Regulating: Benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes (ex: pollination, pest control)

Supporting: Processes done by ecosystems that support a valuable human action (ex: bees pollinate a farmer’s crops, increasing the amount of produce they can sell)

Cultural: Recreational / intellectual benefits we get from nature

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15
Q

Tectonic Plate

A

Gigantic pieces of the Earth’s crust & uppermost mantle

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16
Q

Convergent Plate Boundary

A

Where two tectonic plates moving toward each other

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17
Q

Divergent Plate Boundary

A

Where two tectonic plates move away from each other
Earthquakes are common & magma rises from Earth’s mantle to the surface

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18
Q

Transform Fault

A

When two tectonic plates scrape past each other horizontally

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19
Q

Subduction

A

Occurs when two tectonic plates collide & one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth’s interior

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20
Q

Lithosphere

A

The solid outer part of Earth
Consists of the crust and upper mantle

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21
Q

Inner Core

A

Innermost layer of Earth

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22
Q

Outer Core

A

The third layer of Earth
Above the Earth’s inner core and below its Mantle

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23
Q

Trench

A

Long narrow depressions on the seafloor

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24
Q

Rift Valley

A

A lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart

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25
Q

Mantle

A

The mostly solid bulk of Earth’s interior
Between Earth’s core & its crust

26
Q

Asthenosphere

A

Upper layer of the Earth’s mantle
Below the lithosphere

27
Q

Oceanic Plate

A

Plates located beneath the ocean

28
Q

Continental Plate

A

Tectonic plate made of continental crust

29
Q

Crust

A

The outermost shell of a terrestrial planet

30
Q

Convection Cell

A

An area within a fluid where warm material is rising in the center & cold material is sinking at the edges
Ex: found in boiling water, in clouds, & on the surface of the sun

31
Q

Permeability

A

The ability of a substance to allow another substance to pass through it
Ex: a sponge is permeable to water

32
Q

Porosity

A

Full of tiny holes. Liquids go right through things that have porosity
Ex: a sponge

33
Q

Soil Profile

A

The layers of soil on top of the Earth
Called O, A, B, C & R Horizons

34
Q

Horizon O (Humus)

A

Surface litter like leaves & other decaying matter

35
Q

Horizon A (Topsoil)

A

Organic material, most root growth found here, majority of soil nutrients

36
Q

Horizon E (Eluviated)

A

Porous layer where minerals filter down to the next horizon

37
Q

Horizon B (Subsoil)

A

Zone of accumulation where minerals such as iron & other nutrients accumulate

38
Q

Horizon C (Parent Material)

A

Weathered parent material, determines soil characteristics

39
Q

Horizon R (Bedrock)

A

Bedrock layer
Below Horizon C

40
Q

CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity)

A

The total capacity of a soil to hold exchangeable cations. Useful indicator of soil fertility because it shows the soil’s ability to supply three important plant nutrients: calcium, magnesium & potassium

41
Q

pH

A

Measure of how acidic / basic water is

42
Q

Troposphere

A

Lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Most of the mass of the atmosphere is here
(Most clouds are found here & almost all weather occurs here)

43
Q

Tropopause

A

Thin layer of air that’s the boundary between the Troposphere and the Stratosphere

44
Q

Stratosphere

A

Second layer of Earth’s atmosphere as you go upward
Above the Troposphere, below the Mesosphere

45
Q

Stratopause

A

Boundary which separates the mesospheres & the stratosphere

46
Q

Mesosphere

A

Third layer of the atmosphere. Characterized by falling temperature with height
Above the stratosphere, below the thermosphere

47
Q

Mesopause

A

The boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere

48
Q

Thermosphere

A

Fourth layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Characterized by steadily increasing temperature with height.
Above the mesosphere, below the exosphere

49
Q

Exosphere

A

Outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Has extremely thin air.

50
Q

ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation)

A

Periodic fluctuation in sea surface temperature & the air pressure of the overlying atmosphere across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Affects the climate of much of the tropics and subtropics.
Warming phase of the sea is called El Niño and the cooling phase is La Niña

51
Q

Upwelling

A

A process in which deep cold water rises toward the surface
Positive, provides food for marine life

52
Q

Pycnocline

A

When water becomes much denser with depth

53
Q

Independent variable

A

A variable that stands alone and isn’t changed by the other variables you are trying to measure
Ex: someone’s age. Other factors like what they eat or how much tv they watch wont change their age

54
Q

Dependent variable

A

A variable that changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation
Ex: a test score because it could change depending on various factors like how much you studies of how much sleep you got

55
Q

Constant

A

The part that doesn’t change during an experiment

56
Q

Control group

A

A group separated from the rest of the experiment, does not receive experimental treatment
Ex: in a study about drugs, the group that is not given the drug is the control group

57
Q

Experimental group

A

The group that is given experimental treatment
Ex: the group that’s given drugs when the other isn’t

58
Q

Ecosystem Services

A

Things natural ecosystems do that have financial value to humans

59
Q

El Niño & its impacts

A

An unusual warming of the surface of the Pacific Ocean caused by weakening trade winds
Impacts: Ocean temperatures, floods, no food for fish because the thick warm water doesn’t allow for upwelling, crop failure

60
Q

La Niña & its impacts

A

An unusual cooling of the surface of the Pacific Ocean caused by stronger trade winds
Impacts: Drought, floods & hurricanes, temperature changes

AP Environmental Science (13 decks)

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