AP Environmental Science Vocabulary. Full coverage, latest update. Verified.

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AP Environmental Science Vocabulary. Full coverage, latest update. Verified. air pollution - ✔✔-presence of unwanted substances in air noise pollution - ✔✔-presence of unwanted noise Wate... r pollution - ✔✔-presence of unwanted substance in water Point Source - ✔✔-pollution that can be traced to specific source Non-point Source - ✔✔-source of pollution is many or specific, but can't be traced Sustainable Yield - ✔✔-amount of resources that can be removed/harvested w/o compromising ecosystem/initial natural capital sustainable society - ✔✔-society whose processes/function can continue forever Sustainability - ✔✔-ability to maintain function, state of being, processes Greenwashing - ✔✔-marketing term for practices that suggest sustainability when its not hunter-gather - ✔✔-small, mobile bands of humans that survive on whatever resources they have in territory pastoralism - ✔✔-herding of animals that have been domesticated/partly domesticated Agriculture - ✔✔-process of raising crops & livestock in single, sml area Renewable - ✔✔-Resources that can be replenished at rate =/> rate at which used Non-Renewable - ✔✔-Resources that cannot be replenished at rate they are used Potentially Renewable - ✔✔-Resources that are generally renewable, but can become nonrenewable if not used wisely Reduce - ✔✔-Limiting the consumption of products, decreases amount of trash & resources needed overall Includes producing and buying fewer goods and services, buying long-lasting products that do not need to be replaced frequently, and buying smaller sizes of items Reuse - ✔✔-Taking old products and using them again, keep waste out of landfills •Reusing goods in the way they were intended to be used and repurposing them Recycle - ✔✔-processing used materials into new materials Breaking down the original product by some physical or chemical means, retrieving the materials, and using them as raw materials to make new products Degradable - ✔✔-Resources that break down over shorter amts of time & include biodegradable waste that originates from plants/animals Slowly Degradable - ✔✔-Resources that break down over long periods of time Non-degradable - ✔✔-Resources that virtually never break down & have indefinite life spans Biodiversity - ✔✔-# & variety of species living in area Public Land - ✔✔-any areas controlled by gov (in city, county, state, federal), funded by taxpayers Conservationalists - ✔✔-lobby to preserve/maintain land & natural resources so that they may be cont to be used by humans Preservationists - ✔✔-lobby to preserve lands & resources so they can't be used by humans Theory - ✔✔-explanation that has been tested & supported by wide variety of observations & that new info in unlikely to discredit Data - ✔✔-points that are measurable = quantitative or observations w/o numbers = qualitative Experiment - ✔✔-organic way of testing hypotheses Environmental Science - ✔✔-interdisciplinary field of study of interactions in the environment Peer Review - ✔✔-scientific research is evaluated by experts in same field Technology - ✔✔-application of science to human problems/needs Model - ✔✔-Representation of process or object Scientific Law - ✔✔-statement/math relationship that describes single concept & is widely accepted by science community, but is not modified over time First Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔-In physical & chemical changes, energy cannot be created/destroyed, only transformed Boyle's Law - ✔✔-PV = k where P = pressure, V = volume, K = constant Globalization - ✔✔-process in which countries all over world are related in terms of global market in goods Natural Resources - ✔✔-resources existing in nature Manufactured Capital - ✔✔-resources such as tools/factories Human Capital - ✔✔-human beings w/ skills, talents, abilities Marginal Cost - ✔✔-Cost of producing 1 additional unit of product External costs / externalities - ✔✔-Costs that are incurred in the process but not reflected in cost of product External benefits - ✔✔-benefits that are received by those not immediately involved in economic transaction Cost-benefit analysis - ✔✔-analysis compares potential cost/benefits of product or process Full-cost pricing - ✔✔-products that include external costs, especially negative externalities Economy - ✔✔-system that produces, distributes, & consumes goods/services Centrally Planned - ✔✔-Economy that relies on gov/another central authority to determine allocation of goods & services & to set prices Market - ✔✔-Economy that relies on marketplace where buyers & sellers interact to determine allocation of goods/services & to set prices Mixed - ✔✔-Economy that relies on blend of gov & markets to determine allocation of goods/services & to set prices Arable - ✔✔-Able to be used for agriculture Gross Domestic Product - ✔✔-Value of final goods/services produced over time period in county Gross National Product - ✔✔-value of everything produced by nation's residents, no matter where they live Sustainable Development - ✔✔-concept that sustainable methods for meeting humans needs & wants are possible Endangered - ✔✔-organism at risk for extinction in signif # of habitats Threatened - ✔✔-organism at risk of being endangered in future Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - ✔✔-Required by NEPA (National Environment Policy Act) Is complex prediction of environmental changes filed for proposed federal action Second Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔-when energy is transformed, some useful energy is degraded into a less useful form, like heat Photosynthesis - ✔✔-Converting the energy in sunlight into food; Producers take in carbon dioxide, water and light energy to yield glucose and oxygen Cellular Respiration - ✔✔-process in which cells release energy stored in food Done by ALL organisms 6CO2 + 6H20 + light energy -> C6H12O6 + 6O2 - ✔✔-Chemical Equation for Photosynthesis C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy - ✔✔-Chemical Equation for Cellular Respiration Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) - ✔✔-All energy absorbed by Producers Net Primary Productivity (NPP) - ✔✔-Energy available to the next trophic level Is difference b/t gross primary productivity & cellular respiration Biotic - ✔✔-Living Abiotic - ✔✔-Non-living Producer / Autotroph - ✔✔-Organisms that preform photosynthesis First level of food chain / web Heterotroph / Consumer - ✔✔-Organisms that must eat other organisms for energy Primary Consumer - ✔✔-Eats producers Secondary Consumer - ✔✔-Eats Primary consumers Tertiary Consumer - ✔✔-Eats Secondary consumers Omnivore - ✔✔-Eats both plants and animals Ten Percent Rule - ✔✔-relates to energy flow in food webs and food chains only about 10% of useful energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next Primary Succession - ✔✔-development of communities in a previously lifeless area without soil Individual - ✔✔-Smallest level of organization of living things; A single organism Population - ✔✔-Collection of individuals of same species Community - ✔✔-Group of populations Ecosystem - ✔✔-Organization of living things that consists of all living and nonliving things in the area as well as interactions b/t them Biosphere - ✔✔-Combination of all biomes, highest level of organization of living things Consumer - ✔✔-Organisms that eat other organisms Photosynthesizers - ✔✔-Producers that convert sunlight into own food Chemosynthesizers - ✔✔-Bacteria that have developed the ability to make their own food at deep ocean vents by turning carbon into organic matter using energy from inorganic compounds CO2 + O2 + 4H2S → CH2O + 4S + 3H2O Detrivore - ✔✔-Organism that eat dead matter Decomposer - ✔✔-Organism that breaks down remains of organisms into simpler, inorganic substances Aerobic Respiration - ✔✔-cellular respiration that uses oxygen to release energy C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O Anaerobic Respiration - ✔✔-process where kinds of organisms that can break down dead matter w/o oxygen C6H12O6 + 3NO3 + 3H2O -> 6HCO3 + 3NH4 Watershed - ✔✔-Drainage basin for water Ecosystem Services - ✔✔-services we get from functioning ecosystems like clean water, soil, air, habitat, timber Bioaccumulation - ✔✔-buildup of chemical within bodies of organisms Biomagnification - ✔✔-occurs when toxic substances that are present in small amounts in organisms low in food chain are concentrated in larger amounts in organisms high in the chain Algal Bloom - ✔✔-growing mass of algae within an aquatic ecosystem; sign of pollution in water; will cont to grow until it covers the stream Hydrosphere - ✔✔-Zone that includes all waters on Earth (including oceans, lakes, rivers, stream, water vapor) Atmosphere - ✔✔-zone includes all gases (mostly nitrogen & oxygen) that exists above Earth's surface Lithosphere - ✔✔-zone includes Earth's crust & upper mantle Trophic Level - ✔✔-Feeding position in food chain Biomass - ✔✔-Dry weight of all living things on earth Entropy - ✔✔-Uncertainty or randomness Hydrologic Cycle - ✔✔-cont cycle that moves water through atmosphere, on surface of earth, below surface Evaporation & transpiration (evotranspiration) & sublimation -> Condensation -> Precipitation -> Runoff & infiltration Closed system - ✔✔-system that cannot exchange matter w/ environment Open System - ✔✔-system that can exchange matter w/ environment Evaporation - ✔✔-liquid changes to gas at temp below boiling Transpiration - ✔✔-process through which plants give off water through leaves Evapotranspiration - ✔✔-combo of transpiration & evaporation Sublimation - ✔✔-solid changes directly to gas; water moves from solid form (ice) on surface to gaseous form in atmosphere Condensation - ✔✔-process where gas changes to liquid Precipitation - ✔✔-water that falls from clouds in form of rain, snow, sleet, hail Runoff - ✔✔-water that falls as precipitation on surface & flows over surface to water bodies; surface movement of water Infiltration - ✔✔-movement of water through soil Law of Conservation of Matter - ✔✔-matter cannot be created or destroyed during chemical/physical processes Carbon Cycle - ✔✔-pathway through which carbon travels b/t living things & nonliving environment Environmental Phase - ✔✔-parts of nutrient cycle in which nutrients exist in soil, water, air Organismic Phase - ✔✔-parts of nutrient cycle in which nutrients are found in organisms Weathering - ✔✔-physical, chemical, biological processes through which Earth materials are exposed to atmosphere & change in color, texture, composition, form Erosion - ✔✔-physical movement of materials that are weathered Sink - ✔✔-process & location that acts to remove/absorb substance in system Combustion - ✔✔-process in which organic substance (fuels) combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water DNA - ✔✔-Deoxyribonucleic acid; found in nucleus of cell, and essential for transmission of genetic info RNA - ✔✔-Ribonucleic acid; found mostly in cytoplasm of cell & responsible for transmitting generic information w/ DNA to cytoplasm Amino Acids - ✔✔-essential component of proteins Nitrogen Cycle - ✔✔-Cycling of nitrogen through the biosphere Nitrogen fixation -> nitrificaiton -> assimilation -> ammonification or denitrification Nitrogen Fixation - ✔✔-process that converts nitrogen gas to usable form through lightning fixation or biological fixation; Most converts N2 to ammonia (NH3) at plant nodules of legumes 2N2 + 6H2O → 4NH3 + 3O2 Legumes - ✔✔-Plants with seed pods Nitrification - ✔✔-process of which bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites & nitrates o 2NH3 + 3O2 → 2NO2- + 2H+ + 2 H2O o 2NO2- + O2 → 2NO3- Assimilation - ✔✔-process through which plants absorb nitrate/ammonium ions from soil Ammonification - ✔✔-process through which bacteria/fungi convert nitrogen within dead organisms into ammonium (NH4) Denitrification - ✔✔-process by which anaerobic bacteria turn nitrate ions into nitrogen gas 4NO3 + 2H20 -> 2N2 + 5O2 + 4OH Eutrophication - ✔✔-Rapid algal growth (algal bloom) caused by an excess of nitrogen & phosphorus, blocks sunlight, causing the death/decomposition of aquatic plants, decreasing dissolved oxygen (DO), suffocating fish Condition in which bodies of water contain excess nutrients, usually as result of sewage/fertilizers ATP - ✔✔-Primary source of energy in cellular reactions Acid Precipitation - ✔✔-rain, snow, fog that has low pH (acidic) due to presence of transformed sulfur & nitrogen compounds Humidity - ✔✔-Amount of Water vapor in air Biological Community - ✔✔-group of populations living in certain area, which consists of plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms, other living things Wetlands - ✔✔-areas that are completely saturated w/ water during at least part of the year; may have standing water or saturated soil Includes: marshes, swamps, bogs, fens Ecosystem Services: Habitat, Filters water, recharge aquifers, provide flood & erosion control Niche - ✔✔-roll organism play in environment Fundamental Niche - ✔✔-Theoretical role that organism can occupy w/o limiting factors Realized Niche - ✔✔-actual niche that organism occupies Competitive Exclusion Principle - ✔✔-biological principle that states that specific niche in environment can be occupied by only 1 species at time Trophic Cascade - ✔✔-relationship b/t populations of predators & resources consumed by predators' prey Predation - ✔✔-relationship b/t 2 species in which one hunts other for food Symbiotic Relationship - ✔✔-close, long term interaction b/t species Parasitism - ✔✔-one species benefits, other is harmed Commensalism - ✔✔-one species benefits & other is unaffected Mutualism - ✔✔-Both species benefit Competition - ✔✔-Neither species benefits Neutralism - ✔✔-Neither species benefits or is harmed Succession - ✔✔-changes in community over time in terms of numbers & distribution of species Pioneer - ✔✔-1st community in succession Climax - ✔✔-natural & stable community that is the endpoint of succession Carrying capacity - ✔✔-community that given ecosystem can sustain over long term; can be calculated by averaging high & low of population Primary Succession - ✔✔-changes in community beginning with new/barren habitat; must begin with bare rock Secondary Succession - ✔✔-changes in community begging w/ disturbance; soil is already present in the beginning Invasive species - ✔✔-Species not native to ecosystem, but can thrive & displace native species Evolution - ✔✔-change in allele frequencies (genetic material) over time Natural selection - ✔✔-The process in which organisms with adaptive characteristics are more likely to survive and pass on their traits to their offspring; a primary mechanism of evolution Coevolution - ✔✔-The process in which changes in the traits of one population lead to changes in another species Biological Species Concept - ✔✔-organisms are members of same species if they can mate & produce fertile offspring Speciation - ✔✔-process in which new species arise from other species Gene flow - ✔✔-addition/subtraction of genetic info from group b/c of movements of breeding individuals b/t groups Reproductively isolated - ✔✔-unable to interbreed under normal circumstances to produce fertile offspring Alleles - ✔✔-Different versions of genes Genetic drift - ✔✔-Change in allele frequency in pop due to chance event Genetic bottleneck - ✔✔-Extreme reduction in genetic variation in pop due to breeding of closely related individuals Extinction - ✔✔-Death of all members of species and speciation Background extinction - ✔✔-normal, low-level rate of extinction of species b/c of naturally changing environment conditions Hotspot - ✔✔-area of high levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human activities Endemic species - ✔✔-native species found in 1 particular place Ecotones - ✔✔-transitional areas b/t ecosystems Species richness - ✔✔-total number of species in area Species evenness - ✔✔-relative abundance of each species Weather - ✔✔-Current, daily conditions of atmosphere Climate - ✔✔-Weather averaged over long term (usually 30 years) Topography - ✔✔-Surface features Orographic Effect - ✔✔-result of air ascending 1 side of mountain, cooling, condensing, & bringing precipitation to other side of mountain as it descends Rainshadow - ✔✔-dry region on side of mountain that is sheltered from wind Karst Topography - ✔✔-landscape influenced by dissolution of underlying carbonate rocks w/ water, results in caves & sinkholes Latitude - ✔✔-Distance from equator Altitude - ✔✔-How high something is Cells - ✔✔-Made of hot air that rises and cold air that cools and descends; Control the flow of air, which contributes to overall climate Hadley Cell - ✔✔-Cell that drives air around tropical regions Ferrel Cell - ✔✔-Cell that moves air form 30 degrees to 60 degrees latitude Coriolis Effect - ✔✔-Deflection on moving objects due to Earth's rotation In Northern Hemisphere, objects are deflected to the right In Southern Hemisphere, objects are deflected to the left Biome - ✔✔-Large area with specific climate and characteristic plants/animals that have adaptations for conditions [Show More]

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