AP Environmental Science Study Guide – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
Abiotic
answer
Non-living
question
Abyssal Zone
answer
The portion of the ocean floor where light does not penetrate and where temperatures are cold and pressures intense.
question
Age Structure Graph
answer
proportion of people in different age groups in a population
question
Ammonia
answer
A small, very toxic molecule (NH3) produced by nitrogen fixation or as a metabolic waste product of protein and nucleic acid metabolism.
question
Atmosphere
answer
Layers of air surrounding the earth.
question
Autotrophs
answer
Organisms that are able to make their own food
question
Background Extinction
answer
Normal extinction of various species as a result of changes in local environmental conditions.
question
Bathyal Zone
answer
the steep descent of the seabed from the continental shelf to the abyssal zone
question
Benthic Zone
answer
bottom of an aquatic ecosystem; consists of sand and sediment and supports its own community of organisms
question
Benthos
answer
organisms (plants and animals) that live at or near the bottom of a sea
question
Biogeochemical Cycles
answer
carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, water cycles, process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another
question
Biomass
answer
Plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel.
question
Biomes
answer
a broad, regional type of ecosystem characterized by distinctive climate and soil conditions and a distinctive kind of biological community adapted to those conditions.
question
Biosphere
answer
Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.
question
Biotic
answer
Living
question
Biotic Potential
answer
Maximum rate at which the population of a given species can increase when there are no limits on its rate of growth.
question
Birth Rate
answer
the number of births in a population in a certain amount of time
question
Broadleaf Evergreen
answer
Plants that keep most of their broad leaves year-round. Examples are the trees found in the canopies of tropical rain forests.
question
Carnivores
answer
Consumers that eat only animals
question
Carrying Capacity
answer
Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support
question
Climate
answer
Overall weather in an area over a long period of time
question
Commensalism
answer
A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited
question
Competitive Exclusion Principal
answer
Ecological rule that states that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time
question
Coniferous Evergreen
answer
Cone-bearing plants (such as spruces, pines, and firs) that keep some of their narrow, pointed leaves (needles) all year.
question
Convergent Boundary
answer
A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
question
Cultural Carrying Capacity
answer
the maximum number of people who could live in reasonable freedom and comfort indefinitely, without decreasing the ability of the earth to sustain future generations.
question
Cultural Eutrophication
answer
an increase in biological productivity and ecosystem succession caused by human activities
question
Currents
answer
Mass movements of surface water produced by prevailing winds blowing over the oceans.
question
Death Rate
answer
The number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time
question
Decomposers
answer
Bacteria that break down nutrients in dead matter into simpler substances
question
Demographic Transition
answer
Change in a population from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates
question
Desertification
answer
Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.
question
Detritivore
answer
organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
question
Dieback
answer
A sudden population decline; also called a population crash
question
Divergent Boundary
answer
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
question
Ecological Efficency
answer
percent of biomass in one trophic levelthat is converted into biomass in the next highest level
question
Ecology
answer
Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
question
Ecosystems
answer
...
question
El Nino
answer
A periodic change in the pattern of ocean currents and water temperature in the mid-pacific region
question
Emigration
answer
Migration from a location
question
Endangered Species
answer
A species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction
question
Endemic Species
answer
species that are native to and found only within a limited area
question
Environmental Resistance
answer
All the limiting factors that tend to reduce population growth rates and set the maximum allowable population size or carrying capacity of an ecosystem
question
Euphotic Zone
answer
Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis.
question
Eutrophic Lake
answer
Lake with a large or excessive supply of plant nutrients, mostly nitrates and phosphates.
question
eutrophication
answer
A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.
question
Evolution
answer
Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.
question
Exotic Species
answer
organisms that are not native to a particular area
question
Exponential Growth
answer
Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate
question
Famine
answer
a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death
question
First Law of Thermodynamics
answer
Heat is a form of energy which can be neither created nor destroyed but can be changed in form
question
Foundation Species
answer
Species that plays a major role in shaping communities by creating and enhancing a habitat that benefits other species.
question
Gausse's Principle
answer
...
question
Generalist Species
answer
Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings. Compare specialist species.
question
Genetic Drift
answer
A change in the allele frequency of a population as a result of chance events rather than natural selection.
question
Genetic Engineering
answer
Process of making changes in the DNA code of living organisms
question
Geographic Isolation
answer
form of reproductive isolation in which two populations are separated physically by geographic barriers such as rivers, mountains, or stretches of water
question
Global Warming
answer
An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes)
question
Greenhouse Effect
answer
Natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases
question
Habitat
answer
Place where an organism lives
question
Herbivores
answer
An organism that eats only plants.
question
Heterotrophs
answer
An organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by-products.
question
Hydrosphere
answer
All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans
question
Igenous
answer
intrusive or extrusive rock that is produced when melted rock from inside Earth cools and hardens
question
Immigration
answer
Migration to a new location
question
Indicator Species
answer
Species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded.
question
Infant Mortality Rate
answer
the death rate during the first year of life
question
Infiltration/Percolation
answer
water on the ground surface enters the soil
question
Interspecific Competition
answer
Competition between members of different species
question
Intraspecific Competition
answer
Competition among members of the same species
question
Keystone Species
answer
A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem
question
K-Strategist
answer
reproduce late in life; few offspring; care for offspring
question
La Nina
answer
A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.
question
Law of Conservation of Matter
answer
Matter is neither created nor destroyed
question
Lentic
answer
Small raised areas in the bark of stems and roots that enable gas exchange between living cells and the outside air.
question
Life Expectancy
answer
A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live. Normally expressed in the context of a particular state.
question
Limnetic Zone
answer
area in a freshwater habitat away from the shore but still close to the surface
question
Linear Growth
answer
Expansion that increases by the same amount during each time interval.
question
Lithosphere
answer
A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
question
Littoral Zone
answer
a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants
question
Logistic Growth
answer
Growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth
question
Lotic
answer
flowing water
question
Mass extenction
answer
when many species become extinct in one period of time
question
Mesotrophic
answer
Lakes with moderate amounts of nutrients and phytoplankton productivity intermediate to oligotrophic and eutrophic systems.
question
Metamorphic
answer
A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
question
Mimicry
answer
Ability of an animal to look like another more harmful animal
question
Mutation
answer
(genetics) any event that changes genetic structure
question
Mutualism
answer
A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
question
Native Species
answer
Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem
question
Natural Selection
answer
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.
question
Negative Feedback Loop
answer
A feedback loop that causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving
question
Nekton
answer
All organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents
question
Net Primary Producer
answer
the amount of energy (per unit of time) that producers fix by photosynthesisor other means, minus the amount they use in cellular respiration
question
Niche
answer
Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
question
Nitrates
answer
Special compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen
question
Nitrites
answer
Form in which nitrogen may be found in the soil. Chemical formula NO2
question
Nitrogen Fixation
answer
Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia
question
Non-renewable Resources
answer
a resource that cannot be reused or replaced easily (ex. gems, iron, copper, fossil fuels)
question
Oligotrophic
answer
a condition of a lake or other body of water characterized by low nutrients, low productivity, and high oxygen levels in the water column.
question
Omnivores
answer
An organism that eats both plants and animals.
question
Parasitism
answer
A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed
question
Permeability
answer
Ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it
question
pH
answer
A process by which plants make their own food
question
Phytoplankton
answer
Microscopic, free-floating, autotrophic organisms that function as producers in aquatic ecosystems
question
Plate Tectonics
answer
The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.
question
Pollution
answer
Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate.
question
Population Growth Rate
answer
rate of natural increase
question
Porosity
answer
The percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces.
question
Positve Feedback Loop
answer
only a few examples in human body, the stimulus doesn't produce an opposite and counteracting effect
question
Primary Secession
answer
succesion that begins at a place where there had been no life before
question
Producers
answer
Make their own food from compounds obtained from their environment
question
Profundal Zone
answer
zone in a freshwater habitat that is below the limits of effective light penetration
question
Rain Shadow Effect
answer
Precipitation falls on the windward side of a mountain range, resulting in lush vegetation & a warm, moist climate on one side, but a desert area on the leeward side.
question
Renewable Resource
answer
Any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time
question
Replacement-Level Fertility
answer
the number of children a couple must have to replace themselves (2.1 developed, 2.7 developing)
question
Reproductive Isolation
answer
Separation of species or populations so that they cannot interbreed and produce fertile offspring
question
Resillience
answer
strength; ability to withstand
question
Resource
answer
A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use.
question
Resource Partitioning
answer
The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species
question
Rhizobium
answer
A symbiotic bacterium that lives in the nodules on roots of specific legumes and that incorporates nitrogen gas from the air into a form of nitrogen the plant requires
question
R-strategist
answer
Species characterized by rapid growth, high fertility, short lifespan, and exponential population growth
question
Salinization
answer
A process in which mineral salts accumulate in the soil, killing plants; occurs when soils in dry climates are irrigated profusely
question
Second law of Thermodynamics
answer
thermal energy that flows from a warmer material to a cooler material
question
Sedimentary
answer
A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together
question
Soil Erosion
answer
Movement of soil components, especially topsoil, from one place to another, usually by wind, flowing water, or both. This natural process can be greatly accelerated by human activities that remove vegetation from soil.
question
Soil Horizon
answer
The layer of soil that differs in color and texture from the layers above or below it.
question
Soil Profile
answer
All the vertical layers or horizons that make up a soil in a particular place
question
Specialist Species
answer
Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.
question
Speciation
answer
Formation of new species
question
Species Eveness
answer
the relative abundance of each species
question
Species Richness
answer
The number of different species in a community
question
Subduction Zone
answer
The region where oceanic plates sink down into the asthenosphere.
question
Succulent
answer
full of juice or sap. thick, fleshy, waterstoring leaves. highly interesting or enjoyable. (In the desert, most of the leaves are very succulent because water is scarce.)
question
Survival of the Fittest
answer
Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called natural selection
question
Sustainable
answer
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
question
Synergistic Interaction
answer
Interaction of two or more factors or processes so that the combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate effects
question
Tipping Point
answer
the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped
question
Total Fertility Rate
answer
The number of children born to an average woman in a population during her entire reproductive life
question
Tragedy of the Commons
answer
A parable that illustrates why common resources are used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole- Garrett Hardin
question
Transform Boundary
answer
A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions
question
Trophic Levels
answer
The hierarchical levels of the food chain through which energy flows from primary producers to primary consumers, secondary consumers and so on.
question
Ultraplankton
answer
much smaller plankton, photosynthetic bacteria may be responsible for 70% of the primary productivity near the ocean surface.
question
Upwelling
answer
The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface
question
Weather
answer
Conditions in the atmosphere closest to Earth
question
Zero Population Growth
answer
A decline of the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero.
question
Zooplankton
answer
microscopic animals that swim or drift near the surface of aquatic environments
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New