Environmental Science

Explain the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

-first law of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved; that is, it is neither created nor destroyed under normal conditions -second law of thermodynamics states that with each successive energy transfer or transformation in a system, less energy is available to do work

Environmental challenges facing us over our own lifespans include all of these except:

Running out of oxygen

Our environment is considered to:

include the social and cultural aspects of our lives as well as our physical and biological surroundings.

Most of the living species still undiscovered on Earth are probably:

insects and other invertebrates.

What makes up an environment? Are societal/cultural values considered part of an environment?

ecosystem, population, sustainable living, Societal values placed by environmental activists are important.

Photosynthesis produces sugars from:

water, carbon dioxide, and energy from the sun.

What can a rigorous scientific study do?

Demonstrate that a high probability exists that a hypothesis is (or is not) true

What has proven to be the most effective way of reducing population growth in underdeveloped countries? Why?

Education for Woman. If women are more educated then they are less likely to have unplanned children.

___ are characteristics of an entire system that are greater than the sum of its parts.

Emergent properties

is the place or set of environmental conditions in which a particular organism lives.

Habitat

List off the scientific method.

Identify a question Form a testifibale hypothesis Develop a test of the hypothesis Collect data Interpret the results Report for peer review

if two habitats have the same acreage but different shapes (one long and narrow, the other more compact), the long and narrow habitat will have:

Less core area.

What are the waste products of respiration? Of photosynthesis? Explain the processes.

Respiration: Carbon dioxide Photosynthesis:oxygen Respiration and photosynthesis filter through each other.

Where in the food web is the most energy obtained through consumption?

The most energy consumed is from the primary to the tertiary consumers.

A graph of a population which is growing exponentially is also termed

a "J" curve

Environmental science is:

a systematic and highly interdisciplinary study of the environment, interrelationships that exist, and humans' place in it.

'Family planning" means enabling people to:

decide in advance how many children they should have.

Philosophers Thomas Malthus and Karl Marx:

disagreed about the root causes of overpopulation, poverty, and social upheaval.

Ecologists say there is no "away" to, and that everything in the universe tends to slow down and fall apart. What do they mean?

everything is made out of matter and so nothing is really gone its just a different form of matter.

Allopatric speciation is

geographically isolated species developing different traits

Primary consumers are also known as:

herbivores.

Demographic transition" refers to a country's change from:

high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.

Sea otters are considered ____ species in a Pacific kelp forest.

keystone

The motion of a rock rolling downhill is an example of _____ energy.

kinetic

In a biological community where biodiversity is high (e.g. tropical rainforest), any single species is likely to have a ________ compared to the total number of living organisms in that community.

low relative abundance

A dieback, or population crash, often occurs after a species ____ its environmental carrying capacity (K).

overshoots

What is the difference between positive and negative feedback?

positive feedback:"A signal or factor that tends to increase a process or component." Negative feedback: "The diminution or counteraction of an effect by its own influence on the process giving rise to it"

You can predict the location of specific terrestrial biomes based on:

precipitation and temperature.

The best definition of a hypothesis is a(n):

proposed explanation based on observation.

Potential energy is ____ energy.

stored

The primary source of energy driving most living processes on Earth is:

sunlight

Feeding a giraffe 75 lbs. of Acacia tree leaves transfers energy from one trophic level to another but produces a giraffe which is only 5 (not 75) lbs. heavier. This is an example of:

the second law of thermodynamics

The number of children born to an average woman in a population during her entire reproductive life is: ___.

total fertility rate

When does a hypothesis become a theory?

when it is supported by a large body of scientific evidence--tested and confirmed often enough that it is unlikely to be disproved by future tests