Environmental Science - the study of how humans
interact with the environment.
Ecology - is the study of how living things interact
with each other and with their nonliving
environment.
Zoology - is the study of animals.
Botany - is the study of plants.
Microbiology - is the study of microorganisms.
Ecology - is the study of how organisms interact
with their environment and each other
Geology - is the study of the Earth’s surface,
interior processes, and history.
Paleontology - is the study of fossils and ancient
life.
Climatology - is the study of the Earth’s
atmosphere and climate.
Hydrology - is the study of Earth’s water resources.
Biochemistry - is the study of the chemistry of
living things.
Geochemistry - a branch of geology, is the study of
the chemistry of materials such as rocks, soil, and
water
Geography - is the study of the relationship
between human populations and Earth’s features.
Anthropology - is the study of the interactions of
the biological, cultural, geographical, and historical
aspects of humankind.
Sociology - is the study of human population
dynamics and statistics.
hunter-gatherers - people who obtain food by
collecting plants and by hunting wild animals or
scavenging their remains
Natural Resources - Any natural material that is
used by humans
nonrenewable resource - is a resource that forms at
a much slower rate than the rate that it is
consumed.
Pollution - is an undesired change in air, water, or
soil that adversely affects the health, survival, or
activities of humans or other organisms.
Biodegradable pollutants are pollutants that can be
broken down by natural processes.
nondegradable pollutants - Pollutants that cannot
be broken down by natural processes, such as
mercury, lead, and some types of plastic.
Biodiversity - refers to the number and variety of
species that live in an area
Extinction - is a natural process, and several large-
scale extinctions, or mass extinctions, have
occurred throughout Earth’s history.
Sustainability - is the condition in which human
needs are met in such a way that a human
population can survive indefinitely.
Ecological Footprints - shows the productive area
of Earth needed to support one person in a
particular country.
Developed countries - have higher average
incomes, slower population growth, diverse
industrial economies, and stronger social support
systems
Developing countries - have lower average
incomes, simple and agriculturebased economies,
and rapid population growth.
Law of supply and demand - which states that the
greater the demand for a limited supply of
something, the more that thing is worth.
A cost-benefit analysis - balances the cost of the
action against the benefits one expects from it
Experimental method - This method consists of a
series of steps that scientists worldwide use to
identify and answer questions.
Observation - is a piece of information we gather
using our senses— our sight, hearing, smell, and
touch.
Hyphothesis - is a testable explanation for an
observation.
Prediction - a logical statement about what will
happen if the hypothesis is correct
Experiment - is a procedure designed to test a
hypothesis under controlled conditions
Experimental Group - The group that receives the
experimental treatment.
Control - The group that does not receive the
experimental treatment.
Data - The information that a scientist gathers
during an experiment, which is often in numeric
form.
Statistics - is the collection and classification of
data that are in the form of numbers.
statistical population - is a group of similar things
that a scientist is interested in learning about.
Mean - is the number obtained by adding up the
data for a given characteristic and dividing this
sum by the number of individuals.
Distribution - is the relative arrangement of the
members of a statistical population
Probability -The chance that something will
happen.
Sample - is the group of individuals or events
selected to represent the population.
Models - are representations of objects or systems
Conceptual Model - is a verbal or graphical
explanation for how a system works or is
organized.
Mathematical Model - is one or more equations
that represents the way a system or process works.
Geosphere - The solid part of the Earth that
consists of all rock, and the soils and sediments on
Earth’s surface
Tectonic plates - the rigid, outermost layer of the
Earth—is divided into pieces.
Fault - is a break in the Earth’s crust along which
blocks of the crust slide relative to one another.
Magnitude - The measure of the energy released by
an earthquake
Volcano - is a mountain built from magma—melted
rock—that rises from the Earth’s interior to the
surface.
Erosion - The removal and transport of surface
material
Ozone - is a molecule that is made up of three
oxygen atoms
Radiation - is the transfer of energy across space
and in the atmosphere
Conduction - is the flow of heat from a warmer
object to a colder object when the objects are
placed in direct physical contact.
Convection - is the transfer of heat by air currents.
Convection Current - The continual process of
warm air rising and cool air sinking moves air in a
circular motion
greenhouse gases - The gases in our atmosphere
that trap and radiate heat.
Greenhouse effect - the process, in which gases
trap heat near the Earth
Water Cycle - The continuous movement of water
into the air, onto land, and then back to water
sources.
Evaporation - is the process by which liquid water
is heated by the sun and then rises into the
atmosphere as water vapor.
Condensation - the process of water vapor forms
water droplets on dust particles.
Precipitation - The process in which larger droplets
fall from clouds as rain
surface currents - stream like movements of water
that occur at or near the surface of the ocean.
tributaries - are smaller streams or rivers that flow
into larger ones.
Aquifers - A rock layer that stores and allows the
flow of groundwater.
recharge zone - The surface of the land where Fungus - is an organism whose cells have nuclei,
water enters an aquifer cell walls, and no chlorophyll (the pigment that
makes plants green).
In a closed system energy enters the environment,
but matter does not. Protists - are a diverse group of organisms that
belong to the kingdom Protista.
In an open system both matter and energy are
exchanged between a system and the surrounding Gymnosperms - are woody plants whose seeds are
environment. not enclosed in fruits.
Ecosystem - is all of the organisms living in an Angiosperms - flowering plants that produce seeds
area together with their physical environment. in fruit.
Biotic Factors - are the living and once living parts Invertebrates - Animals that lack backbones
of an ecosystem, including all of the plants and
Vertebrates - Animals that have backbones
animals.
Mammals - are warm-blooded vertebrates that have
Abiotic factors - the nonliving parts of the
fur and feed their young milk.
ecosystem.
Photosynthesis - a process to where the energy
Organism - is an individual living thing.
from the sun enters an ecosystem when a plant uses
Species - is a group of organisms that are closely sunlight to make sugar molecules
related and that can mate to produce fertile
Carbohydrates - The result of photosynthesis is the
offspring.
production of sugar molecules
Population- is all the members of the same species
Producer - is an organism that makes its own food
that live in the same place at the same time.
also called autotrophs, self-feeders.
Community - a group of various species that live in
Consumers - organisms that get their energy by
the same place and interact with each other.
eating other organisms also called heterotrophs,
Habitat - The place an organism lives other-feeders.
Natural selection - the unequal survival and Herbivores - Consumers that eat only producers
reproduction that results from the presence or
Carnivores – Consumers that eat only other
absence of particular traits.
consumers
Evolution - A change in the genetic characteristics
Omnivores - eaters of all.
of a population from one generation to the next
Decomposers - Some consumers get their food by
Coevolution - The process of two species evolving
breaking down dead organisms
in response to long-term interactions with each
other Cellular respiration - The process of breaking down
food to yield energy
Artificial Selection - The selective breeding of
organisms by humans for specific characteristics Food Chain - is a sequence in which energy is
transferred from one organism to the next as each
Resistance - is the ability of one or more organisms
organism eats another organism
to tolerate a particular chemical designed to kill it.
Food Web - shows many feeding relationships that
Bacteria - are microscopic, single-celled organisms
are possible in an ecosystem.
that usually have cell walls and reproduce by
dividing in half.
Trophic Levels - Each step in the transfer of energy
through a food chain or food web in an ecosystem
Carbon - is an essential component of proteins,
fats, and carbohydrates, which make up all
organism
Nitrogen – fixing bacteria - The only organisms
that can fix atmospheric nitrogen into chemical
compounds are a few species of bacteria.
Nitrogen Cycle - a process in which nitrogen is
cycled between the atmosphere, bacteria, and other
organisms.
Phosphorus Cycle - is the movement of phosphorus
from the environment to organisms and then back
to the environment.
An algal bloom - is a dense, visible patch of algae
that occurs near the surface of water.
Ecological Succession - is a gradual process of
change and replacement of the types of species in a
community. In nature, the process of ecological
succession may take hundreds or thousands of
years.
Primary succession - is a type of succession that
occurs on a surface where no ecosystem existed
before.
Secondary succession - the more common type of
succession, occurs on a surface where an
ecosystem has previously existed.
Pioneer species—the first organisms to colonize
any newly available area and begin the process of
ecological succession
Climax Community - a final and stable community.
Biome - is a large region characterized by a
specific type of climate and certain types of plants
and animal communities.
Climate - refers to the weather conditions, such as
temperature, precipitation, humidity, and winds, in
an area over a long period of time.
Latitude - is the distance north or south of the
equator and is measured in degrees
Altitude - is the height of an object above sea level
Tropical Rain Forest - are located in a belt around
the Earth near the equator
Emergent Layer – the layer of rain forest that
consists of the tallest trees, which reach heights of
60 to 70 m.
Canopy - considered the primary layer of the rain
forest
Understory - Below the canopy very little light
reaches the next layer.
Temperate rain forests - have large amounts of
precipitation, high humidity, and moderate
temperatures.
In temperate deciduous forests trees drop their
broad, flat leaves each fall.
Taiga - is the northern coniferous forest that
stretches in a broad band across the Northern
Hemisphere just below the Arctic Circle
Conifer - is a tree that has seeds that develop in
cones.
Savannas - are located in tropical and subtropical
areas near the equator and between tropical rain
forest and desert biomes.
Temperate Grassland - is a biome that is dominated
by grasses and that has very few trees.
Chaparral - is a type of temperate woodland biome
that is dominated by more broad-leafed evergreen
shrubs than by evergreen trees
Desert - are areas that receive less than 25 cm of
precipitation a year and have little or no vegetation.
Tundra - is a biome that is dominated by grasses,
lichens, and herbs and that is located primarily
north of the Arctic Circle
Salinity—the amount of dissolved salts the water
contains.
Plankton - are the organisms that float near the
surface of the water.
Nekton - are free-swimming organisms, such as
fish, turtles, and whales.
Benthos - are bottom-dwelling organisms, such as
mussels, worms, and barnacles
Benthic Zone - the bottom of a pond or lake, which
is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and
clams.
Eutrophication is an increase in the amount of
nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem.
Freshwater wetlands - are areas of land that are
covered with fresh water for at least part of the
year
Marshes - contain nonwoody plants, such as
cattails
swamps - are dominated by woody plants, such as
trees and shrubs.
coastal wetlands - Coastal land areas that are
covered by salt water for all or part of the time
Estuary - is an area in which fresh water from a
river mixes with salt water from the ocean.
Salt marshes - develop in estuaries where rivers
deposit their load of mineral-rich mud
Mangrove swamps - Swamps located along coastal
areas of tropical and subtropical zones
Coral Reefs - are limestone ridges built by tiny
coral animals called coral polyps
biotic potential - is the fastest rate at which its
populations can grow
Exponential Growth - Populations grow faster and
faster
Carrying Capacity - the maximum population that
the ecosystem can support indefinitely.
Territory - is an area defended by one or more
individuals against other individuals.
density dependent - deaths occur more quickly in a
crowded population than in a sparse population
density independent - a certain proportion of a
population may die regardless of the population’s
density
niche - includes the species’ physical home, the
environmental factors necessary for the species’
survival, and all of the species’ interactions with
other organisms
habitat - is a location
Competition - is a relationship in which different
individuals or populations attempt to use the same
limited resource
Niche restriction - is when each species uses less of
the niche than they are capable of using.
Prediction – an interaction to where an organism
feeds on another organism
Parasites - An organism that lives in or on another
organism and feeds on the other organism
Parasitism - The relationship between the parasite
and its host
Mutualism - A close relationship between two
species in which each species provides a benefit to
the other.
Commensalism - A relationship in which one
species benefits and the other species is neither
harmed nor helped
Symbiosis - A relationship in which two organisms
live in close association.
Demography - is the study of populations, but most
often refers to the study of human populations.
infant mortality - the death rate of infants less than
a year old
Developed countries - have higher average
incomes, slower population growth, diverse
industrial economies, and stronger social support
systems
Developing countries - have lower average
incomes, simple and agriculture-based economies,
and rapid population growth
Age structures - the distribution of ages in a
specific population at a certain time.
Survivorship -is the percentage of members of a
group that are likely to survive to any given age.
Fertility Rate - The number of babies born each
year per 1,000 women in a population
total fertility rate - the average number of children
a woman gives birth to in her lifetime.
Replacement level - is the average number of
children each parent must have in order to
“replace” themselves in the population.
Migration - The movement of individuals between
areas
Immigration - Movement into an area
Emigration - movement out of an area
Life Expectancy - The average number of years a
person is likely to live.
Demographic transition - is a model that describes
how these changes can occur
Infrastructure - is the basic facilities and services
that support a community, such as public water
supplies, sewer lines, power plants, roads,
subways, schools, and hospitals.
Gene - a piece of DNA that codes for a specific
trait that can be inherited by an organism’s
offspring.
Mass Extinction - The extinction of many species
in a relatively short period of time
Endangerered species - is a species that is likely to
become extinct if protective measures are not taken
immediately
Threatened species - is a species that has a
declining population and that is likely to become
endangered if it is not protected
Exotic Species - is a species that is not native to a
particular region
Endemic species - meaning species that are native
to and found only within a limited area
Captive Breeding Programs - These programs
involve breeding species in captivity, with the hope
of reintroducing populations to their natural
habitats.
Germ plasm - any form of genetic material, such
as that contained within the reproductive, or germ,
cells of plants and animals.
Endangered Species Act - is designed to protect
plant and animal species in danger of extinction.

Urbanization - more people are living in cities than Habitat Conservation Plan - a plan that attempts to
in rural areas. protect one or more species across large areas of
land through trade-offs or cooperative agreements
Biodiversity - short for “biological diversity,”
usually refers to the number and variety of Biodiversity Treaty - The goal is to preserve
different species in a given area. biodiversity and ensure the sustainable and fair use
of genetic resources in all countries.
Species diversity - refers to all the differences
between populations of species, as well as between
different species
Ecosystem diversity - refers to the variety of
habitats, communities, and ecological processes
within and between ecosystems.
Genetic diversity - refers to all the different genes
contained within all members of a population.