ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 101 EXAM 1 VERIFIED
STUDY GUIDE
Sustainability - Answers - the ability of ecosystems and human cultural systems to
survive, flourish, and adapt to constantly changing environments over long periods of
time
Ecosystem - Answers - group of organisms in a defined geographic area interacting with
each other and with their environment
Organisms - Answers - living things
Species - Answers - group of organisms that has a unique set of characteristics that
distinguish it from other groups of organisms
Environment - Answers - everything around us (living & nonliving)
Environmental Science - Answers - study of our interactions with the world and
connections in nature
3 Scientific Principles of Sustainability - Answers - 1. Life Depends on Solar Energy
2. Biodiversity
3. Chemical Cycling (Nutrient Cycling)
Natural Capital - Answers - Natural Resources + Ecosystem Services. Life depends on
it.
Natural Resources - Answers - materials and energy in nature that are essential or
useful to humans
Ecosystem Services - Answers - Processes provided by healthy ecosystems support life
at no monetary cost. Ex: Soil renewal, climate control
What degrades natural capital? - Answers - Climate change, Air Pollution, Soil Erosion,
Water Pollution
Pollution - Answers - contamination of environment by any chemical or other agent
(noise, heat) to a level that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or
other organisms
Point Source - Answers - Single, identifiable
Non-point Source - Answers - dispersed, often difficult to identify
, Ecological Footprint - Answers - amount of land and water needed to supply an
individual, population, or area with resources and absorb/recycle the wastes and
pollution produced by such resource use
Why do we have environmental problems? - Answers - Population growth,
unsustainable resource use, poverty, isolation from nature
Environmental Ethics - Answers - study varying beliefs about what is right and wrong
with how we treat the environment
Steps for the Scientific Method - Answers - 1. Question
2. Research
3. Hypothesis
4. Experiment/Study
5. Facts + Observations
6. Analysis
7. Conclusion
Scientific Theory - Answers - Well tested and widely accepted hypothesis
Scientific Law - Answers - Well accepted pattern in data
Peer Review - Answers - Data/Hypothesis checked by other scientists
Tentative Science - Answers - Preliminary results not widely tested or accepted by peer
review
Matter - Answers - Anything that has mass & takes up space
Element - Answers - Type of matter with unique properties
Atom - Answers - basic building block of matter
Atomic Number - Answers - Number of protons in nucleus
Mass Number - Answers - Total number of neutrons + protons in nucleus
Ion - Answers - Charged atom
Compound - Answers - combinations of 2 or more different elements
pH Scale - Answers - Measure of acidity. Lower pH is acidic. Higher pH is alkaline.
7=Neutral
STUDY GUIDE
Sustainability - Answers - the ability of ecosystems and human cultural systems to
survive, flourish, and adapt to constantly changing environments over long periods of
time
Ecosystem - Answers - group of organisms in a defined geographic area interacting with
each other and with their environment
Organisms - Answers - living things
Species - Answers - group of organisms that has a unique set of characteristics that
distinguish it from other groups of organisms
Environment - Answers - everything around us (living & nonliving)
Environmental Science - Answers - study of our interactions with the world and
connections in nature
3 Scientific Principles of Sustainability - Answers - 1. Life Depends on Solar Energy
2. Biodiversity
3. Chemical Cycling (Nutrient Cycling)
Natural Capital - Answers - Natural Resources + Ecosystem Services. Life depends on
it.
Natural Resources - Answers - materials and energy in nature that are essential or
useful to humans
Ecosystem Services - Answers - Processes provided by healthy ecosystems support life
at no monetary cost. Ex: Soil renewal, climate control
What degrades natural capital? - Answers - Climate change, Air Pollution, Soil Erosion,
Water Pollution
Pollution - Answers - contamination of environment by any chemical or other agent
(noise, heat) to a level that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or
other organisms
Point Source - Answers - Single, identifiable
Non-point Source - Answers - dispersed, often difficult to identify
, Ecological Footprint - Answers - amount of land and water needed to supply an
individual, population, or area with resources and absorb/recycle the wastes and
pollution produced by such resource use
Why do we have environmental problems? - Answers - Population growth,
unsustainable resource use, poverty, isolation from nature
Environmental Ethics - Answers - study varying beliefs about what is right and wrong
with how we treat the environment
Steps for the Scientific Method - Answers - 1. Question
2. Research
3. Hypothesis
4. Experiment/Study
5. Facts + Observations
6. Analysis
7. Conclusion
Scientific Theory - Answers - Well tested and widely accepted hypothesis
Scientific Law - Answers - Well accepted pattern in data
Peer Review - Answers - Data/Hypothesis checked by other scientists
Tentative Science - Answers - Preliminary results not widely tested or accepted by peer
review
Matter - Answers - Anything that has mass & takes up space
Element - Answers - Type of matter with unique properties
Atom - Answers - basic building block of matter
Atomic Number - Answers - Number of protons in nucleus
Mass Number - Answers - Total number of neutrons + protons in nucleus
Ion - Answers - Charged atom
Compound - Answers - combinations of 2 or more different elements
pH Scale - Answers - Measure of acidity. Lower pH is acidic. Higher pH is alkaline.
7=Neutral
