EVR2001- EXAM 1 REVIEW (MODULES 1-4)
Environmental Science - Answers :Broad & interdisciplinary academic field...
Importance & range of scales in Enviro Sci - Answers :spatial, temporal, taxonomic,
including cascading interactions.
Population - Answers :A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in
the same area
Community - Answers :All the different populations that live together in an area
Mutualism - Answers :A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
Emergent properties - Answers :New properties that emerge with each step upward in
the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity
increases.
Cascading interactions - Answers :Ex: Mad cow disease caused market impact
Enviro scientists in practice - Answers :field work, lab work, modeling work, data entry,
data analysis (stats), Academic papers, presenting work, conducting applied work,
organizing events, reading academic lit
Major environmental problems - Answers :Habitat loss, Freshwater loss, Soil
degradation, Water & Air Pollution, Solid waste accumulation, climate change,
biodiversity loss, loss of enviro functions, poverty, starvation. (CHIPPO)
I=PxAxT - Answers :Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Sustainable development - Answers :Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Second law of thermodynamics - Answers :Every energy transfer or transformation
increases the entropy of the universe. (less useful energy, the lost ability to do work)
Earth's energy budget - Answers :Amount of solar energy coming in is equal to amount
leaving earth
Plate tectonics - Answers :A theory stating that the earth's surface (crust/lithosphere) is
broken into plates that move along the upper mantle (asthenosphere).
Geological Hotspots - Answers :Areas in the asthenosphere that push up heat and
magma through the plate over the top of it (Hawaii, Iceland, Yellowstone, Galapagos)
, Plate boundaries - Answers :Divergent (valleys), Convergent (mountains), Transform
(Earth quakes)
Rock Cycle - Answers :Starts with magma/Lava which cools to form igneous rock (ex:
granite), igneous can be weathered into sediments which can be compacted into
sedimentary (ex: limestone) or be changed under heat and pressure to form
metamorphic rock (ex: marble/slate). The cycle is completed when any of the rock types
are melted into magma.
Effects of geological processes - Answers :They (Landslides, earthquakes, floods,
chemical weathering) transform biomass into fossil fuels, reshape landscapes, cause
costly geological hazards, create caves and sinkholes.
Nitrogen Cycle - Answers :N2 in the atmosphere goes through nitrogen fixation with
bacteria (or lighting), then consumed and excreted by organisms (also decomposition),
more bacteria then completes the cycle through denitrification which converts it back to
N2.
Phosphorus Cycle - Answers :(no gaseous phase), Fast cycle: soil phosphorus is
consumed by plants (and animals) who die and decompose (or excrete), returning the
phosphorus to the soil. Aquatic is similar, more movement from land to aquatic but the
return is longer as you must wait for plate tectonics to bring it back up to the surface.
Carbon Cycle - Answers :The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into
organisms and back again
Human impacts on biogeochemical cycles - Answers :Fertilizer, mining, eutrophication,
etc.
Levels of Organization in ecology - Answers :organism, population, community,
ecosystem, biosphere
Population vs community vs ecosystem - Answers :Population: same species,
Community: Interacting populations, Ecosystem: considers physical environment
Biomes - Answers :Large areas dominated by similar ecosystems
Biosphere - Answers :Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life
exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.
Ecotones - Answers :A region of transition between two biological communities (ex:
marshlands, mangrove forests, wetlands, estuaries, grasslands).
Fragmentation and edge effects - Answers :Humans can fragment ecosystems,
resulting edge effects reduce available core habitat.
Environmental Science - Answers :Broad & interdisciplinary academic field...
Importance & range of scales in Enviro Sci - Answers :spatial, temporal, taxonomic,
including cascading interactions.
Population - Answers :A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in
the same area
Community - Answers :All the different populations that live together in an area
Mutualism - Answers :A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
Emergent properties - Answers :New properties that emerge with each step upward in
the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity
increases.
Cascading interactions - Answers :Ex: Mad cow disease caused market impact
Enviro scientists in practice - Answers :field work, lab work, modeling work, data entry,
data analysis (stats), Academic papers, presenting work, conducting applied work,
organizing events, reading academic lit
Major environmental problems - Answers :Habitat loss, Freshwater loss, Soil
degradation, Water & Air Pollution, Solid waste accumulation, climate change,
biodiversity loss, loss of enviro functions, poverty, starvation. (CHIPPO)
I=PxAxT - Answers :Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Sustainable development - Answers :Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Second law of thermodynamics - Answers :Every energy transfer or transformation
increases the entropy of the universe. (less useful energy, the lost ability to do work)
Earth's energy budget - Answers :Amount of solar energy coming in is equal to amount
leaving earth
Plate tectonics - Answers :A theory stating that the earth's surface (crust/lithosphere) is
broken into plates that move along the upper mantle (asthenosphere).
Geological Hotspots - Answers :Areas in the asthenosphere that push up heat and
magma through the plate over the top of it (Hawaii, Iceland, Yellowstone, Galapagos)
, Plate boundaries - Answers :Divergent (valleys), Convergent (mountains), Transform
(Earth quakes)
Rock Cycle - Answers :Starts with magma/Lava which cools to form igneous rock (ex:
granite), igneous can be weathered into sediments which can be compacted into
sedimentary (ex: limestone) or be changed under heat and pressure to form
metamorphic rock (ex: marble/slate). The cycle is completed when any of the rock types
are melted into magma.
Effects of geological processes - Answers :They (Landslides, earthquakes, floods,
chemical weathering) transform biomass into fossil fuels, reshape landscapes, cause
costly geological hazards, create caves and sinkholes.
Nitrogen Cycle - Answers :N2 in the atmosphere goes through nitrogen fixation with
bacteria (or lighting), then consumed and excreted by organisms (also decomposition),
more bacteria then completes the cycle through denitrification which converts it back to
N2.
Phosphorus Cycle - Answers :(no gaseous phase), Fast cycle: soil phosphorus is
consumed by plants (and animals) who die and decompose (or excrete), returning the
phosphorus to the soil. Aquatic is similar, more movement from land to aquatic but the
return is longer as you must wait for plate tectonics to bring it back up to the surface.
Carbon Cycle - Answers :The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into
organisms and back again
Human impacts on biogeochemical cycles - Answers :Fertilizer, mining, eutrophication,
etc.
Levels of Organization in ecology - Answers :organism, population, community,
ecosystem, biosphere
Population vs community vs ecosystem - Answers :Population: same species,
Community: Interacting populations, Ecosystem: considers physical environment
Biomes - Answers :Large areas dominated by similar ecosystems
Biosphere - Answers :Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life
exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.
Ecotones - Answers :A region of transition between two biological communities (ex:
marshlands, mangrove forests, wetlands, estuaries, grasslands).
Fragmentation and edge effects - Answers :Humans can fragment ecosystems,
resulting edge effects reduce available core habitat.
