Unit 1 Quiz Study Guide Concepts
Unit 1 Quiz Study Guide –Concepts
- Tragedy of the Commons (textbook pages 262-264)
- What is environmental science and how is it different from environmentalism?
- Environmental Indicators (know the 5 main ones)
- Growth Trends: Linear growth vs. exponential growth
- Rule of 70
- What is the scientific method and why do we use it?
- What’s the difference between accuracy and precision?
- Ecological Footprint – what is it?
- Howcan environmental scientists determine if a country is “living sustainably”? (Use the termsbiocapacity& ecological footprint in your answer)
- Perpetual vs. renewable vs. nonrenewable vs. potentially renewable resources
- What’s the difference between GDP and per capita GDP?
- Developed vs. less-developed countries – what trends/patterns do we see?
- What’s an “ecological tipping point”?
- Distinguish between an open system and a closed system. Compare the flow of matter and the flow of energy through the biosphere.
- What is the difference between low and high quality matter? Give examples
- Energy doesn't recycle, but does matter?
- How does energy efficiency relate to the 2ndlaw of thermodynamics?
- What is system analysis?Why does the scale of the system matter? Why are system boundaries important?
- What’s a synergistic interaction?
- Explain the differences and similarities between positive and negative feedback loops. Give an environmental example of each.
- Know all the biogeochemical cycles – use the additional review resources to study them! (at least one third of the quiz will be on biogeochemical cycles)
Vocabulary List
resource(s)
“commons”
consumption
overexploited
environmental Indicators
hypothesis
null hypothesis
accuracy
precision
uncertainty
theory
natural law
control group
independent variable
dependent variable
Controlled variables (constants)
sample size/replication
Ecosystem/environment/ecology
Rule of 70
biodiversity (Genetic, Species, Ecological)
per capita
anthropogenic
sustainability
ecological footprint
global hectare
biologically productive land and water
biological capacity (biocapacity)
hectare
nutrient (chemical) cycling
Kinetic Energy
Potential Energy
1stlaw of thermodynamics
2ndlaw of thermodynamics
Open system v closed system
Inputs & outputs
Positive Feedback Loop
Negative Feedback Loop