Week 2

Question 1

What is science?

Answer 1

Study through observation and experiments.

Question 2

What are matter and energy?

Answer 2

Different forms of matter and energy
Physical, chemical, or nuclear changes
Laws of Conservation of Matter & Thermodynamics

Question 3

What is a scientific theory?

Answer 3

A well-tested and widely accepted hypothesis

Question 4

What is a scientific law?

Answer 4

Well-accepted pattern in data.

Question 5

What is scientific method?

Answer 5

Experimental design
Control experiments
Control groups
Single vs. multi-variable

Question 6

How valid are scientific results?

Answer 6

Proof vs overwhelming evidence
Frontier vs consensus science (Tentative proposal vs supported and peer-reviewed)
Distinguishing junk science (Reliability and objectivity of sources, verification by peers and experts, logically consistent conclusions)

Question 7

What is positive feedback?

Answer 7

Decreased vegetation, leads to erosion and nutrient loss, which causes more vegetation to die.

Question 8

What is negative feedback?

Answer 8

House warms, Temperature reaches desired setting and furnace goes off, furnace off, house cools, when temperature drops below desired setting, furnace goes on.

Question 9

What are Nature’s building blocks?

Answer 9

Matter has mass and takes up space
Elements — Compounds
Atoms — Molecules

Question 10

What type of compounds are there?

Answer 10

Organic
(Hydrocarbons, Simple sugars, polymers)
Inorganic
(Salts, Water, Nitrous oxide, Sulfur dioxide)

Question 11

How useful is this form of matter as a resource?

Answer 11

Availability, Concentration. (Material efficiency, or resource productivity.)

Question 12

What is electromagnetic radiation?

Answer 12

Oscillating waves of electric and magnetic fields carry energy.

Question 13

What is heat and how is it transferred?

Answer 13

Heat: Total kinetic energy of the molecules and atoms in a substance.

Temperature: average speed of the molecules in a substance.

Question 14

What is the law of conservation of matter?

Answer 14

Atoms cannot be created or destroyed.
Matter only changes form
There is no “throwaway”

Question 15

What is the 1st law of thermodynamic?

Answer 15

Energy can change form but cannot be created or destroyed.

Question 16

What is the 2nd law of thermodynamics?

Answer 16

As energy is transformed, some is always lost as lower quality energy, heat.

Question 17

Display 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Answer 17

Solar energy - chemical energy - chemical energy - mechanical energy.

Question 18

What is a high-throughput economy?

Answer 18

Input - Large amounts of new energy.
Large amounts of new matter.

Throughput – unsustainable high-waste economy.

Output – Large amounts of heat energy and entropy.
Large amounts of pollution, garbage, and entropy.

Question 19

What is a low-throughput economy?

Answer 19

Input - Small amounts of new energy.
Small amounts of new matter.

Throughput – Sustainable low-waste economy.
Matter being cycled.

Output – Small amounts of heat energy and entropy.

Small amounts of pollution, garbage, and entropy.

Question 20

What is Ecology? (Chapter 4)

Answer 20

The study of connections in the nature.

Question 21

How do organisms interact with each other? (Table)

Answer 21

Biosphere - Parts of air, water and soil where life is found.

Ecosystem - A community of different species that interacts with each other, and with the nonliving environment, matter and energy.

Community - Populations of different species living on a particular place and potentially interacting with each other.

Population - A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular place.

Question 22

How many known species are there?

Answer 22

About 1 450 000

Question 23

What organism has the most species?

Answer 23

Insects (751 000)

Question 24

What does atmosphere contain?

Answer 24

Troposphere and Stratosphere

Question 25

What does geosphere contain?

Answer 25

Crust, Athenosphere, Lower Mantle, Core.

Question 26

What sustains life on earth?

Answer 26

One-way flow of high quality energy. Cycling of matter. Gravity.

Question 27

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 27

The trapping of the sun's warmth.

Question 28

What are biomes and aquatic life zones?

Answer 28

Biomes, are terrestial component, distinct climate and specific species. Aquatic life zones, are freshwater life zones, marine life zones.

Question 29

What factors limit population growth?

Answer 29

Limiting factor principle, too much or little of a single abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a population.

Question 30

Describe the components of the circle of life.

Answer 30

Abiotic chemical nutrients, Producers (Autotrophs) Consumers (Heterotrophs) Decomposers (bacteria, fungi)

Question 31

What is biodiversity?

Answer 31

It is the variety of all the living things.

Question 32

What is the Genetic Diversity?

Answer 32

It is the variety of genes within a habitat or a region.

Question 33

What is the Species Diversity?

Answer 33

It is the variety of species within a habitat or a region.

Question 34

What is the Ecological diversity?

Answer 34

It is the variety of ecosystems.

Question 35

What is the Functional diversity?

Answer 35

It is the variety of biological and chemical processes.

Question 36

What is Structural diversity?

Answer 36

It is the variety of physical characteristics of a habitat.

Question 37

How does the energy flow in ecosystems?

Answer 37

``` Producers (plants), make food. Primary Consumers (herbivores), eat the plants. Secondary Consumers (Carnivores), consume the herbivores. Tertiary Consumers (top carnivores), consume carnivores. ```

Question 38

What is a trophic level?

Answer 38

It is the hierarchical level in an ecosystem.

Question 39

What does NPP do?

Answer 39

Limits population of all consumers. | Humans consume, majority of NPP 27%.

Question 40

What does NPP stand for?

Answer 40

Net Primary Productivity.

Question 41

What are the biogeochemical cycles of nutrients?

Answer 41

``` Water Carbon Nitrogen Phosphorus Sulfur ```