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61 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Atom |
The smallest unit of an element that can exist and still have the unique characteristics of that element; Is the basic building block of all chemical elements and matter |
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Biodiversity |
The Earth's variety of species, the genes they contain, and the natural ecosystems in which they live |
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Biosphere |
The zone of the Earth where life is found consists of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and crust |
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Carbon cycle |
The cyclic movement of carbon and different chemical forms within the environment and the Earth's life support systems |
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Chemical change |
Process by which the chemical composition of an element or compound changes |
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Chemical cycling |
The circulation of chemicals from the environment through organisms and back to the environment |
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Chemical element |
A type of matter that has a unique set of properties and cannot be broken down into a smaller simpler substance |
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Chemical formula |
Shorthand way to show the number of atoms in the basic structural unit of a compound example H20 |
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Chemical reaction |
Another term for chemical change |
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Climate |
General pattern of atmospheric conditions from at least 30 years to thousands of years. Based on the area's average annual temperature and precipitation |
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Compound |
Combination of 2 or more elements held together in a fixed proportion |
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Consumers |
Organism that gets its nutrients by feeding on the tissues of producers or other consumers |
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Decomposers |
Organisms that This break down complex organic molecules from dead organisms and waste into simpler and organic compounds |
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Ecological footprint |
A way to measure the average environmental impact of a population |
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Ecology |
This biological science that studies the structure and functions of nature in terms of the relationships between living organisms and their environment |
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Ecosystem |
One or more communities of different species interacting with 1 another and with their environment |
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Ecosystem services |
Natural services that support life on Earth and are essential to a quality human life and the functioning of the world's economies |
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Electromagnetic radiation |
Forms of kinetic energy that travel as electromagnetic waves |
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Energy |
Is the capacity to do work or transfer heat; can involve mechanical, physical, chemical, or electrical |
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Energy quality |
Measure of the ability of a form of energy to do useful work can be high quality or low quality |
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Environment |
All external conditions, factors, matter, and energy, living and non living that affect any living organism or specified system |
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Environmental degradation |
Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource; examples include soil grassland forest or wildlife; caused by using it faster than it is naturally replenished |
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Environmental science |
Enter disciplinary study that uses information and ideas from the physical sciences as well as social sciences and humanity; purpose is to learn how nature works how we interact with the environment and how it can deal with environmental problems |
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Evaporation |
Conversion of a liquid into a gas to my coin in the water cycle, the conversion of liquid water and ocean's, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and soils into water vapor in the atmosphere |
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1st law of thermodynamics/law of conservation of energy |
Whenever energy is converted from one form to another no energy is created or destroyed. This law does not apply to nuclear changes |
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Food chain |
A sequence of organisms in which energy is transferred from producers to various consumers; also known as a food web |
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Greenhouse effect |
Is the ability of the lower atmosphere to temporarily store there to temporarily store the energy received from the sun as heat. |
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Greenhouse gases |
Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone |
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High-consumption, high-waste economy |
Is an economic system that attempts to stimulate the economic growth by using more matter and energy resources to produce more goods and services for more people suck this period such economies convert high quality matter and energy into waste, pollution, and low quality heat that flows into the environment. |
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Is high quality energy |
energy that is concentrated and has great ability to perform useful work |
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Hydrologic cycle |
Also known as the water cycle |
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Ion |
Atom or group of atoms with one or more positive or negative electrical charge |
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Kenetic energy |
Energy that matter has because of its mass and speed, or velocity |
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Law of conservation of matter |
In any physical or chemical change, matter as neither created nor destroyed but changes from one form to another; and physical and chemical changes, existing atoms are rearranged into different spatial patterns or different combinations |
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Low quality energy |
Energy that is dispersed and has little ability to do useful work |
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Matter |
Anything that has mass and takes up space |
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Molecule |
Combination of 2 or more atoms of the same chemical element or different chemical elements held together by chemical bonds |
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Natural capital |
Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support economies |
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Natural resources |
Resources such as air, water, and soil, and various forms of energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans |
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Natural services |
Processes of nature, such as pest control and the purification of Aaron water, that support life and human economies |
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Nonrenewable resources |
Resources that exist in a fixed amount (stock) in the Earth's crust and has potential for renewal by geological, physical, and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years |
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Nutrients |
Any chemical that an organism must ingest in order to live, grow, or reproduce |
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Organism |
Any form of life |
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Peer review |
Is the process of scientists reporting details of the methods and models they use to test the hypothesis, the results of the experiments, and the reasoning behind their hypothesis for other scientists to Examine and criticize |
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Per capita ecological footprint |
The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply each person in a population with a renewable resources they use And to dispose or absorb wastes from that use. |
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Photosynthesis |
Is chemical process used by green plants to make their own nutrients and chemicals necessary to survival by converting solar energy to chemical energy that is stored in their tissues |
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Physical change |
Process that alters one or more physical properties of an element or compound without changing its chemical composition |
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Potential energy |
Energy stored in an object because of its position, the position of its part, or its chemical content |
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Precipitation |
Water in the form of rain, sleep, hail, and snow that falls from the atmosphere onto land and bodies of water |
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Producers |
Organism that uses solar energy or chemical energy to manufacture the organic compounds needed for nutrients from simple and organic compounds obtained from the environment |
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Renewable resources |
This resources that can be replenished rapidly in hours to several decades through natural processes as long as it is not used faster than it can be replaced |
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Science |
Methodological effort to discover order in nature and use that knowledge to make projections about what is likely to happen in nature |
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Scientific data |
Factual information, including observations and measurements that scientists gather during the process of conducting an experiment |
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Scientific hypothesis |
An educated guess that attempts to explain a set of scientific observations |
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Scientific law |
Description of what scientists find happening in nature repeatedly in the same way, without known exception |
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Scientific model |
Approximate representation or simulation of a system being studied |
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Scientific principles of sustainability |
Principles by which life on the Earth has sustained itself for billions of years through its reliance on solar energy, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling |
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Species |
Group of organisms sharing key distinguishing characteristics in characteristics and, for sexually reproducing organisms, a set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring |
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Sustainability |
Ability of Earth's various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions over an indefinite period of time |
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Transpiration |
Process in which water is absorbed by the root system of plants, moves up through the plants, passes through pours and the leaves or other parts, and evaporates into the atmosphere as water vapor |
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Water cycle |
Biogeochemical cycle that purifies and distributes the Earth's fixed supply of water within the environment and the Earth's life support systems |