Environmental Science study Guide
Secondary consumers:
a. : Organism that feeds only on primary consumers. Compare detritivore, omnivore, primary consumer.
What is the difference between potential and kinetic energy? Give an example of each.
- The difference between potential and kinetic energy, is that with potential energy, energy is stored, while with kinetic energy, energy isn't stored. Example, tissue in cells. Example: ocean floor.
1. Which ecosystem would be more resilient in the face of a disturbance, one with more or less biodiversity?
- The ecosystem that would be more resilient in the face of a disturbance, would be one with less diversity.
What is a biogeochemical cycle or nutrient cycle?
- The elements and compounds that make up nutrients move continually through air, water, soil, rock, and living organisms within ecosystems, in cycles called nutrient cycles, or biogeochemical cycles.
1. Give the three major factors that affect the circulation of air in the lower atmosphere.
- Three major factors that affect the circulation of air in the lower atmosphere, is pollution, acid rain, and plastic bags floating through the air.
1. Define Biome-
1. A entire community of living organisms.
1. Define Resource Partitioning. How can it benefit species?
Resource Partitioning occurs when different species competing for similar scarce resources evolve specialized traits that allow them to "share" the same resources.
What is a peer review and why is this important?
- A peer review is scientists publish details of the methods they used, the results of their experiments, and the reasoning behind their hypotheses, and other scientists working in the same field (their peers) evaluate what they published.
What is a scientific theory vs a scientific law?
- A scientific theory is A well-tested and widely accepted scientific hypothesis or a group of related hypotheses. A scientific law is a well-tested and widely accepted description of observations of what we find always happening in the same way in nature.
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
- A sequence of organisms with each serving as a source of nutrients or energy for the next level of organisms is called a food chain (Figure 3.10). organisms in most ecosystems form a complex network of interconnected food chains called a food web.
What is Natural Capital and how does that relate to Ecosystem Services? Can you list 3 examples of ecosystem services?
- Natural Capital involves natural resources and ecosystem services that keep humans alive. Three examples of ecosystem services include nature centers, hospitals, and parks.
What are the 4 limitations to science?
- The four limitations to science are First, scientific research cannot prove that any scientific theory is absolutely true. A second limitation of science is that scientists are not always free of bias about their own results and hypotheses. A third limitation is that many systems in the natural world involve a huge number of variables with complex interactions. A fourth limitation of science involves the use of statistical tools.
What is a sustainable yield?
- The highest rate at which people can use a renewable resource indefinitely without reducing its available supply is called its sustainable yield.
Summarize the contributions of John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson to modern environmentalism.
- The contributions of John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson all involve using science to prove their theories.
Read the descriptions of three environmental worldviews (human-centered, life-centered, and earth-centered). Which one most closely aligns with your own worldview? Explain.
- The description that most closely aligns with my own worldview is human-centered because we need to protect humans.
What is the difference between environmental science, ecology, and environmentalism?
- The difference between environmental science, ecology, and environmentalism is that environmental science deals with the natural environment. Ecology deals with studying living organism. And environmentalism deals with a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life-support system for humans and other species.
Describe the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics using a light bulb as an example.
- The first two laws tie directly in together. The light bulb is a perfect example of the laws of Thermodynamics.
1. Thought Question: Which interaction listed above best describes the relationship between dogs and humans? Apple trees and humans?
- The interaction that best describes the relationship between dogs and humans is Mutualism.
1. Use the example of overusing insecticides to explain natural selection.
- The overusing of insecticides explains natural selection because animals can live longer in a healthy and clean environment.
1. Thought question: Which nutrient of the cycles above (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) is more likely to be in less supply in nature?
- The phosphorus cycle.
What role does Tragedy of the Commons play in degrading environmental resources? Can you give an example?
- The role that Tragedy of the Commons plays in degrading environmental resources is from the loss of valuable resources. Example: trees being cut down.
1. Thought Question: A rose has thorns on its stem. What type of defense is that? How might a rose have evolved thorns? Use the term "natural selection" in your answer.
- This type of defense is used to keep the flowers alive. This is also because of natural selection.
1. Carbon Cycle - How does carbon move through an ecosystem?
- Through air circulation. a. What emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere vs what removes it from the atmosphere? - Chemical gas. b. How does photosynthesis fit into the carbon cycle? Remember inputs and outputs of photosynthesis? Fits into breaking down bad chemicals in the air. c. How have humans altered the carbon cycle by digging up and burning fossil fuels? What impact might this have on the environment? - By getting rid of the bad carbon.
What are the first and second laws of thermodynamics?
From millions of observations and measurements of energy changing from one form to another in physical and chemical changes, scientists have summarized their results in the first law of thermodynamics. The low-quality energy usually takes the form of heat that flows into the environment.
Tertiary consumers:
a. Animals that feed on animal-eating animals. They feed at high trophic levels in food chains and webs. Examples include hawks, lions, bass, and sharks. Compare detritivore, primary consumer, secondary consumer.
Define the following components of the world's life support system:
a. Atmosphere: The atmosphere is a spherical mass of air surrounding the earth's surface that is held to the earth by gravity. b. Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere contains all of the water on or near the earth's surface. c. Geosphere: The geosphere contains the earth's rocks, minerals, and soil. It consists of an intensely hot core, a thick mantle of very hot rock, and a thin outer crust of rock and soil. d. Biosphere: The biosphere consists of the parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere where life is found.
Define the following:
a. Atom: The smallest unit of an element that can exist and still have the unique characteristics of that element; made of subatomic particles, it is the basic building block of all chemical elements and thus all matter. Compare ion, molecule. Molecule: molecule Combination of two or more atoms of the same chemical element (such as O2) or different chemical elements (such as H2O) held together by chemical bonds. Compare atom, ion. b. Cell: Smallest living unit of an organism. Each cell is encased in an outer membrane or wall and contains genetic material (DNA) and other substances that enable it to perform its life function. Organisms such as bacteria consist of only one cell, but most organisms contain many cells. c. Tissue (look this one up, it's not in the book): d. Organism: Tissue, in physiology, a level of organization in multicellular organisms; it consists of a group of structurally and functionally similar cells and their intercellular material. e. Population: Group of individual organisms of the same species living in a particular area. f. Community: Populations of all species living and interacting in an area at a particular time. Ecosystem: One or more communities of different species interacting with one another and with the chemical and physical factors making up their nonliving environment.
What are the following?
a. Atom: the smallest unit of matter into which an element can be divided and still have its distinctive chemical properties. b. Molecule: A second building block of matter is a molecule, a combination of two or more atoms of the same or different elements held together by forces known as chemical bonds. c. Isotope: The forms of an element having the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called isotopes of that element. d. Ion: A third building block of some types of matter is an ion. It is an atom or a group of atoms with one or more net positive (+) or negative (−) electrical charges resulting from the loss or gain of negatively charged electrons.
1. Define and give examples of the following:
a. Competition: It occurs when members of one or more species interact to use the same limited resources such as food, water, light, and space. Example: light. b. Predation: In predation, a member of one species is the predator that feeds directly on all or part of a member of another species, the prey. Example: zebras. c. Parasitism: Parasitism occurs when one species (the parasite) lives in or on another organism (the host). The parasite benefits by extracting nutrients from the host. Example: Tapeworms. d. Mutualism: In mutualism, two species behave in ways that benefit both by providing each with food, shelter, or some other resource. Example: The pollination of flowering plants. e. Commensalism: Commensalism is an interaction that benefits one species but has little, if any, beneficial or harmful effect on the other. Example: plants called epiphytes.
1. What is a hypothesis?
- A hypothesis is a testable explanation of the data they collected.
What is an ecological footprint? How is it measured?
- A ecological footprint is the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given population or defined area. Ecological footprints are measured by using a life-support system.
1. What is a species? (Are a Labrador retriever and a Chihuahua different species? Why or why not?)
- A species is Under certain circumstances, natural selection can lead to an entirely new species. Through this process, called speciation, one species evolves into two or more different species. I believe that a Labrador retriever and a Chihuahua are different because of the dogs both being a different type of dog.
1. What is a system? What are inputs, throughputs and outputs in a system? Give an example.
- A system is any set of components that function and interact in some regular way. Inputs are inputs of matter, energy, and information from the environment. Throughputs are matter, energy, and information within the system. Outputs are products, wastes, and degraded energy (usually heat) to the environment (Figure 2.11) (Concept 2.4). An example is a food chain.
What is a trophic level?
- All organisms that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy (for example, sunlight) that enters an ecosystem. For example, all producers belong to the first trophic level and all herbivores belong to the second trophic level in a food chain or a food web.
What is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?
- An environmentally sustainable society protects natural capital and lives on its income.
1. What is artificial selection? How is this different from natural selection?
- Artificial selection is For thousands of years, humans have used artificial selection to change the genetic characteristics of populations with similar genes. First, they select one or more desirable genetic traits that already exist in the population of a plant or animal. Then, they use selective breeding, or crossbreeding, to control which members of a population have the opportunity to reproduce to increase the numbers of individuals in a population with the desired traits. This is different from natural selection because the process in which individuals with certain genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a specific set of environmental conditions.
Define Biocapacity. What happens if the total ecological footprint of a defined area is larger than its biocapacity?
- Biocapacity is the ability of an area's ecosystems to regenerate the renewable resources used by a population, city, region, country, or the world in a given time period and to absorb the resulting wastes and pollution.
1. Define biodiversity, and explain the four components of the earth's biodiversity.
- Biodiversity is the variety of life on the earth. The four components of the earth's biodiversity is species diversity, genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity, and functional diversity.
1. What is co-evolution? Can you give an example?
- Co-evolution is a natural selection process in which changes in the gene pool of one species lead to changes in the gene pool of another species. Example: bats.
What are consumers?
- Consumers are Organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it needs and gets its organic nutrients by feeding on the tissues of producers or of other consumers; generally divided into primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), tertiary (higher-level) consumers, omnivores, and detritivores (decomposers and detritus feeders). In economics, one who uses economic goods. Compare producer.
What are decomposers and detritivores? What is the difference?
- Decomposers: Decomposers are consumers that get their nutrients by breaking down (decomposing) the wastes or remains of plants and animals. Detritivores: detritivores, get their nutrients by feeding on the wastes or dead bodies (detritus) of other organisms.
Define ecosystem
- Ecosystem is defined as a biological community of organisms within a defined area of land or volume of water that interact with one another with the nonliving chemical and physical factors in their environment.
1. What is an element vs a compound?
- Element: An element such as gold or mercury (Figure 2.3) is a fundamental type of matter with a unique set of properties and that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means. Compound: Some matter is composed of one element, such as carbon (C) and oxygen gas . However, most matter consists of compounds, which are combinations of two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions.
Define environment.
- Environment is defined as everything around you, including energy from the sun and all living things (such as plants, animals, and bacteria).
Define environmental science.
- Environmental Science is defined as the study of connections in the natural environment.
1. What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? How are they created?
- Genetically modified organisms are an organism with its genetic information modified in a way not found in natural organisms. Genetic engineering enables scientists to transfer genes between different species that would not interbreed in nature.
1. What is a habitat? What is a niche?
- Habitat: Place or type of place where an organism or population of organisms lives. Compare ecological niche. Niche: Total way of life, or role of a species in an ecosystem. It includes all physical, chemical, and biological conditions that a species needs in order to live and reproduce in an ecosystem.
1. Thought Question: If a species has cryptic coloration, is it to its benefit to run or stay still when faced with a predator? Explain.
- If a species has cryptic coloration, it is to its benefit to stay completely still when facing the predator.
1. How much energy on average gets transferred up each trophic level of a food chain on average?
- Lots of energy.
Define matter.
- Matter is defined as anything that has mass and takes up space.
1. What is mimicry?
- Mimicry: Some butterfly species gain protection by looking and acting like other, more dangerous species, a protective device known as mimicry.
What is Natural Capital Degradation (environmental degradation)? How does this relate to sustainability?
- Natural Capital Degradation: Degradation of normally renewable natural resources and ecosystem services (Figure 1.3), caused by growing human ecological footprints mostly as a result of population growth and rising rates of resource use per person.
1. Give a brief definition of the greenhouse effect.
- Natural effect that releases heat in the atmosphere near the earth's surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and other gases in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) absorb some of the infrared radiation (heat) radiated by the earth's surface. Their molecules vibrate and transform the absorbed energy into longer-wavelength infrared radiation in the troposphere. If the atmospheric concentrations of these greenhouse gases increase and other natural processes do not remove them, the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will increase.
1. What is natural selection?
- Natural selection is the process in which individuals with certain genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a specific set of environmental conditions.
1. Is the diagram below a positive or negative feedback loop? Explain.
- Negative feedback loop.
What is net primary productivity? Give an example of one terrestrial ecosystem and one aquatic ecosystem that have high net primary productivity.
- Net primary productivity: Rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem produce net useful chemical energy; it is equal to the difference between the rate at which the plants in an ecosystem produce useful chemical energy (gross primary productivity) and the rate at which they use some of that energy through cellular respiration. Compare gross primary productivity. Aliens. Fish.
1. How are new species formed? What role does geographic isolation play in the formation of new species?
- New species are formed by animals mating with each other and continuing the Circle of Life. The role that geographic isolation plays in the formation of new species is Geographic isolation occurs when different groups of the same population of a species become physically isolated from one another for a long time.
On a roller coaster, where is the highest potential energy? Where is the highest kinetic energy?
- On a roller coaster, the highest potential energy is at the top of the peak of the hill. The highest kinetic energy is at the bottom of the roller coaster.
What is photosynthesis? What are the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis?
- Photosynthesis is Process taking place in cells of green plants in which radiant energy from the sun is used to combine carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) to produce oxygen (O2), carbohydrates (such as glucose, C6H12O6), and other nutrient molecules. Compare aerobic respiration. The inputs of photosynthesis is lots of sun intake. The outputs include crop growth.
a. Primary consumers
- Primary consumers are Organism that feeds on some or all parts of plants (herbivore) or on other producers. Compare detritivore, omnivore, secondary consumer.
1. What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
- Primary succession: . Primary ecological succession involves the gradual establishment of communities of different species in lifeless areas where there is no soil in a terrestrial ecosystem or no bottom sediment in an aquatic ecosystem. Secondary succession: in which a community or ecosystem develops on the site of an existing community or system, replacing or adding to the existing set of resident species.
1. What is the difference between primary and secondary ecological succession? Give an example of when each would occur.
- Primary succession: involves the gradual establishment of communities of different species in lifeless areas where there is no soil in a terrestrial ecosystem or no bottom sediment in an aquatic ecosystem. Example: bare rock being exposed to the open air. Secondary ecological succession: The other, more common type of ecological succession is called secondary ecological succession, in which a community or ecosystem develops on the site of an existing community or system, replacing or adding to the existing set of resident species. Example: ecosystem areas of land destroyed.
What are producers? Why are they called that?
- Producers are Organism that uses solar energy (green plants) or chemical energy (some bacteria) to manufacture the organic compounds it needs as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from its environment. Compare consumer, decomposer.
What is the difference between reliable science, unreliable science and tentative science?
- Reliable science: consists of data, hypotheses, models, theories, and laws that are accepted by most of the scientists who are considered experts in the field under study. Unreliable science: Scientific results and hypotheses that are presented as reliable without having undergone peer review, or are discarded as a result of peer review or additional research, are considered to be unreliable science. Tentative science: Preliminary scientific results that have not undergone adequate testing and peer review are viewed as tentative science.
What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources?
- Renewable sources deal with a resource that can be used repeatedly because it is replenished through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than nature can renew it. Nonrenewable or exhaustible resources are those that exist in a fixed amount, or stock, in the earth's crust.
What is science?
- Science is a field of study focused on discovering how nature works and using that knowledge to describe what is likely to happen in nature.
1. Thought Question: Extinction is a natural process. Why are scientists so worried about extinction rates?
- Scientists are worried about extinction rates, because they want to protect the animals.
1. What is sustainability?
- Sustainability is the capacity of the earth's natural systems that support life and human economic systems to survive or adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
What is the Law of Conservation of Matter?
- The Law of Conservation of matter: This finding, based on many thousands of measurements, describes an unbreakable scientific law known as the law of conservation of matter: Whenever matter undergoes a physical or chemical change, no atoms are created or destroyed (Concept 2.2B).
What are the basic steps of the scientific method?
- The basic steps of the scientific method include asking a question, make a hypothesis, and run the experiment.
Explain the competing philosophies of conservation and preservation, and then explain your own philosophy:
- The competing philosophies of conservation and preservation is they are very similar. My philosophy includes using conservation.
1. Phosphorus Cycle - how does phosphorus cycle through the environment?
- Through living creatures. a. Where does phosphorus come from and how does it move through the cycle? - The oil in the ground. b. How does the phosphorus cycle differ from the nitrogen cycle? (Hint: does the phosphorus cycle have an atmospheric component?) - Yes, the phosphorus cycle has an atmospheric component. c. How have humans altered the phosphorus cycle? - Through taking all the oil.
What are two reasons photosynthesis is important to consumers?
- Two reasons why photosynthesis is important to consumers is because of sunlight and the ability to grow.
Summarize the Hubbard Brook experiment in 3-5 sentences. What was the scientific hypothesis for this experiment? (core case study CH2)
- Very confusing. Interesting. Fascinating. The scientific hypothesis or this experiment is how much land will change over a time span of one year.
1. Describe the difference between warning coloration and camouflage.
- Warning coloration: warning coloration to warn others that eating them is risky. Examples are the brilliantly colored, foul-tasting monarch butterflies (Figure 5.3d) and poisonous frogs (Figure 5.3e). When a bird eats a monarch butterfly, it usually vomits and learns to avoid monarchs. Camouflage: Other predators use camouflage to hide in plain sight and ambush their prey. For example, praying mantises
What is biomimicry and how does it relate to sustainability? (Hint: check out CH1 case study)
- biomimicry to describe the rapidly growing scientific effort to understand, mimic, and catalog the ingenious ways in which nature has sustained life on the earth for 3.8 billion years.
1. What is a heritable trait and why is it relevant to natural selection?
A heritable trait is Characteristic passed on from parents to offspring during reproduction in an animal or plant
Why can't trophic levels go on forever (which law)?
Because of the law of thermodynamics.
1. Compare a generalist to a specialist.
Generalist: Generalists can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and often tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Other generalist species are cockroaches, rats, coyotes, and white-tailed deer. Specialist: In contrast, a specialist species, such as the giant panda, occupies a narrow niche (Figure 4.5, left curve). Such species may be able to live in only one type of habitat, eat only one or a few types of food, or tolerate a narrow range of environmental conditions.
What is an herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore?
Herbivore: herbivores (plant eaters), are animals that eat mostly green plants or algae. Omnivore: Some of these relationships are shown in Figure 3.6. Omnivores such as pigs, rats, and humans eat both plants and animals. Carnivore: Carnivores (meat eaters) are animals that feed on the flesh of other animals.
Are any resources inexhaustible? Give an example.
Yes, Forests.
Does the fact that science can never prove anything absolutely mean that its results are not valid or useful? Explain.
Yes, I believe that science can prove anything. This is valid mainly because of the hypothesis.
Explain the 3 scientific principles of sustainability:
a. Dependence on solar energy: Solar energy: The sun's energy warms the planet and provides energy that plants use to produce nutrients, the chemicals that plants and animals need to survive. b. Biodiversity: Biodiversity: The variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes are referred to as biodiversity (short for biological diversity). c. Chemical cycling: Chemical cycling: The circulation of nutrients from the environment (mostly from soil and water) through various organisms and back to the environment is called chemical cycling, or nutrient cycling.
1. Describe the climate, vegetation, location, and relative biodiversity of the following biomes:
a. Desert: Hot and dry. Not a lot of vegetation. Egypt. b. Grassland: Lush and full of life. Lots of vegetation. Woods. c. Tundra: Cold. Not lots of life. Antarctica. d. Coniferous forest: Full of wildlife. Lots of vegetation. Mexico. e. Temperate deciduous forest: Cold. Lots of trees. Lots of vegetation. Italy. f. Tropical rainforest: Lush. Lots of wildlife. Lots of vegetation. Rio.
Explain the 3 social science principles of sustainability:
a. Full cost pricing: include in market prices the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services. b. Win-win solutions: Political scientists urge us to look for win-win solutions to environmental problems, based on cooperation and compromise, that will benefit the largest number of people as well as the environment. c. A responsibility to future generations: Ethics is a branch of philosophy devoted to studying ideas about what is right and what is wrong.
1. Nitrogen Cycle - Describe the major process in the nitrogen cycle.
a. How do consumers obtain nitrogen? Through photosynthesis b. Why must nitrogen in the atmosphere be fixed before it can be used by plants? - So the plants don't die off. c. Fixation - what are the ways nitrogen can be fixed - Through planting more plants d. Legumes - why are plants in this family important in the nitrogen cycle? - They are important due to them giving back co2. e. How have humans altered the nitrogen cycle? - Through polluting the air.
1. Define the following:
a. Native species: Native species are those that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem. b. Non-native species: Other species that migrate into or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into a new ecosystem are called nonnative species. c. Indicator species: Species that provide early warnings of environmental change in a community or an ecosystem are called indicator species. d. Keystone species: A keystone species has a large effect on the types and abundance of other species in an ecosystem.
Describe the 5 underlying causes of environmental problems:
a. Population growth: More pollution in the air, water contaminated. b. Unsustainable resource use: Death and chaos. c. Poverty: Fight between poor and wealthy. d. Excluding environmental costs: More expensive. e. Increasing isolation from nature: Animals don't mate due to being separated.
Hydrologic Cycle - how does water cycle through our planet? Why is the Earth sometimes called the "Water Planet?"
a. Precipitation: water from the air b. Transpiration: Water from the ground c. Condensation: Water that freezes d. Runoff: Most precipitation falling on terrestrial ecosystems becomes surface runoff. This water flows over land surfaces into streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the ocean from which some of the water evaporates.
What are the 3 Steps to Critical Thinking?
· The three steps to Critical Thinking include · Be skeptical about everything you read or hear. · Evaluate evidence and hypotheses using inputs and opinions from a variety of reliable sources. · Identify and evaluate your personal assumptions, biases, and beliefs and distinguish between facts and opinions before coming to a conclusion.
