APES Exam Study Guide Questions
and Answers27
Stewardship Worldview - ANSWERS-Worldview holding that we can manage the earth for our
benefit but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers, or
stewards, of the earth. It calls for encouraging environmentally beneficial forms of economic
growth and discouraging environmentally harmful forms.
Sustainability - ANSWERS-Ability of earth's various systems, including human cultural systems
and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
scientific principles of sustainability - ANSWERS-To live more sustainably we need to rely on
solar energy, preserve biodiversity, and recycle the chemicals that we use. These three
principles of sustainability are scientific lessons from nature based on observing how life on the
earth has survived and thrived for 3.5 billion years
First Law of Thermodynamics - ANSWERS-Whenever energy is converted from one form to
another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed, but energy can be
changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something than you put
in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing. This law does not apply
to nuclear changes, in which large amounts of energy can be produced from small amounts of
matter.
Second Law of Thermodynamics - ANSWERS-Whenever energy is converted from one form to
another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed, but energy can be
changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something than you put
in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing. This law does not apply
to nuclear changes, in which large amounts of energy can be produced from small amounts of
matter. It asserts that a natural process runs only in one sense, and is not reversible.
,Negative Feedback Loop - ANSWERS-Feedback loop that causes a system to change in the
opposite direction from which is it moving.
Positive Feedback Loop - ANSWERS-Feedback loop that causes a system to change further in the
same direction
Law of Conservation of Matter - ANSWERS-In any physical or chemical change, matter is neither
created nor destroyed but merely changed from one form to another; in physical and chemical
changes, existing atoms are rearranged into different spatial patterns (physical changes) or
different combinations (chemical changes).
Electromagnetic Radiation - ANSWERS-Forms of kinetic energy traveling as electromagnetic
waves. Examples include radio waves, TV waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light,
ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Ph - ANSWERS-Numeric value that indicates the relative acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a
scale of 0 to 14, with the neutral point at 7. Acid solutions have pH values lower than 7; basic or
alkaline solutions have pH values greater than 7.
Ecological Footprint - ANSWERS-Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to
supply a population with the renewable resources it uses and to absorb or dispose of the
wastes from such resource use. It is a measure of the average environmental impact of
populations in different countries and areas
Ecological Tipping Point - ANSWERS-Threshold level at which an environmental problem causes
a fundamental and irreversible shift in the behavior of a system.
Ecology - ANSWERS-Biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms
and their environment; study of the structure and functions of nature.
, Natural Capital - ANSWERS-Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other
species alive and support our economies.
Per Capita - ANSWERS-Annual gross domestic product (GDP) of a country divided by its total
population at midyear. It gives the average slice of the economic (or environmental) pie per
person.
Ecosystem Services - ANSWERS-Natural services or natural capital that support life on the earth
and are essential to the quality of human life and the functioning of the world's economies.
Perpetual Resource - ANSWERS-has a never-ending supply. Some examples of perpetual
resources include solar energy, tidal energy, and wind energy
Environmental Wisdom Worldview - ANSWERS-Set of assumptions and beliefs about how
people think the world works, what they think their role in the world should be, and what they
believe is right and wrong environmental behavior (environmental ethics).
Planetary Management Worldview - ANSWERS-Worldview holding that humans are separate
from nature, that nature exists mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants, and that we can
use our ingenuity and technology to manage the earth's life-support systems, mostly for our
benefit. It assumes that economic growth is unlimited.
High-Quality energy - ANSWERS-energy that is concentrated and has great ability to perform
useful work; e.g. heat and energy in electricity, coal, oil, gasoline, sunlight, nuclei of uranium-
235
low quality energy - ANSWERS-energy that is dispersed and has little ability to do useful work;
e.g. low-temperature heat
Ions - ANSWERS-Atom or group of atoms with one or more positive (+) or negative (−) electrical
charges. Examples are Na+ and Cl-.
and Answers27
Stewardship Worldview - ANSWERS-Worldview holding that we can manage the earth for our
benefit but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers, or
stewards, of the earth. It calls for encouraging environmentally beneficial forms of economic
growth and discouraging environmentally harmful forms.
Sustainability - ANSWERS-Ability of earth's various systems, including human cultural systems
and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
scientific principles of sustainability - ANSWERS-To live more sustainably we need to rely on
solar energy, preserve biodiversity, and recycle the chemicals that we use. These three
principles of sustainability are scientific lessons from nature based on observing how life on the
earth has survived and thrived for 3.5 billion years
First Law of Thermodynamics - ANSWERS-Whenever energy is converted from one form to
another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed, but energy can be
changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something than you put
in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing. This law does not apply
to nuclear changes, in which large amounts of energy can be produced from small amounts of
matter.
Second Law of Thermodynamics - ANSWERS-Whenever energy is converted from one form to
another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed, but energy can be
changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something than you put
in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing. This law does not apply
to nuclear changes, in which large amounts of energy can be produced from small amounts of
matter. It asserts that a natural process runs only in one sense, and is not reversible.
,Negative Feedback Loop - ANSWERS-Feedback loop that causes a system to change in the
opposite direction from which is it moving.
Positive Feedback Loop - ANSWERS-Feedback loop that causes a system to change further in the
same direction
Law of Conservation of Matter - ANSWERS-In any physical or chemical change, matter is neither
created nor destroyed but merely changed from one form to another; in physical and chemical
changes, existing atoms are rearranged into different spatial patterns (physical changes) or
different combinations (chemical changes).
Electromagnetic Radiation - ANSWERS-Forms of kinetic energy traveling as electromagnetic
waves. Examples include radio waves, TV waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light,
ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Ph - ANSWERS-Numeric value that indicates the relative acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a
scale of 0 to 14, with the neutral point at 7. Acid solutions have pH values lower than 7; basic or
alkaline solutions have pH values greater than 7.
Ecological Footprint - ANSWERS-Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to
supply a population with the renewable resources it uses and to absorb or dispose of the
wastes from such resource use. It is a measure of the average environmental impact of
populations in different countries and areas
Ecological Tipping Point - ANSWERS-Threshold level at which an environmental problem causes
a fundamental and irreversible shift in the behavior of a system.
Ecology - ANSWERS-Biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms
and their environment; study of the structure and functions of nature.
, Natural Capital - ANSWERS-Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other
species alive and support our economies.
Per Capita - ANSWERS-Annual gross domestic product (GDP) of a country divided by its total
population at midyear. It gives the average slice of the economic (or environmental) pie per
person.
Ecosystem Services - ANSWERS-Natural services or natural capital that support life on the earth
and are essential to the quality of human life and the functioning of the world's economies.
Perpetual Resource - ANSWERS-has a never-ending supply. Some examples of perpetual
resources include solar energy, tidal energy, and wind energy
Environmental Wisdom Worldview - ANSWERS-Set of assumptions and beliefs about how
people think the world works, what they think their role in the world should be, and what they
believe is right and wrong environmental behavior (environmental ethics).
Planetary Management Worldview - ANSWERS-Worldview holding that humans are separate
from nature, that nature exists mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants, and that we can
use our ingenuity and technology to manage the earth's life-support systems, mostly for our
benefit. It assumes that economic growth is unlimited.
High-Quality energy - ANSWERS-energy that is concentrated and has great ability to perform
useful work; e.g. heat and energy in electricity, coal, oil, gasoline, sunlight, nuclei of uranium-
235
low quality energy - ANSWERS-energy that is dispersed and has little ability to do useful work;
e.g. low-temperature heat
Ions - ANSWERS-Atom or group of atoms with one or more positive (+) or negative (−) electrical
charges. Examples are Na+ and Cl-.
