Ap Environmental Science Ch1-3 Vocab

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mathematical model

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A mathematical representation of a process, device, or concept by means of a number of variables which are defined to represent the inputs, outputs, and internal states of the device or process, and a set of equations and inequalities describing the interaction of these variables.

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conceptual model

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to describe th general relationship among componenets of a system

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homeostasis

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The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes.

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matter

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Something that has mass and exists as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma.

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element

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A substance composed of atoms having an identical number of protons in each nucleus. Elements cannot be reduced to simpler substances by normal chemical means.

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time delay

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The time required for a signal to travel between two points in a circuit or for a wave to travel between two points in space

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ions

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carry an electric charge or charges. Those with one or more positive charges are called cations, whereas those with negative charges are called anions.

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organic compounds

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In physics, a material that contains carbon and hydrogen and usually other elements such as nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Organic compounds can be found in nature or they can be synthesized in the laboratory. An organic substance is not the same as a "natural" substance. A natural material means that it is essentially the same as it was found in nature, but "organic" means that it is carbon based.

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synergy

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The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

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entropy

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A measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system

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energy

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The capacity of a physical system to do work

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potential energy

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The energy of a particle or system of particles derived from position, or condition, rather than motion. A raised weight, coiled spring, or charged battery has potential energy.

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physical change

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a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition

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first law of energy

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energy can't be created or destroyed

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natural radio activity

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Radioactivity exhibited by naturally occurring radionuclides.

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radioisotopes

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A naturally or artificially produced radioactive isotope of an element.

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subsistence agriculture

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a method of horticulture in which a plot of land produces only enough food to feed the family working it.

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ecology

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The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments.

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developing country

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country that has low to moderate industrialization andlow to moderate per capita GNP. Most in Africa, Asia, Latin America

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nonmetallic mineral resource

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Valuable mineral deposits of an area that are presently recoverable and may be so in the future;

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preservationist

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One who advocates preservation, especially of natural areas, historical sites, or endangered species.

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globalization

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broad process of global social, economic, and environmental change that leads to an increasingly similar and integrated world

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renewable resource

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Any resource, such as wood or solar energy, that can or will be replenished naturally in the course of time.

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pollution

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undesirable change in the physical chemical, or biological characteristics of air, water, soil or food that cna adversly affect the health and survival activities of living organisms.

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hunter-gatherer societies

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people subsisting in the wild on food obtained by hunting and foraging.

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point-source pollution

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A source of pollution occupying a very small area and having a concentrated output

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Henry David Thoreau

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(1817-1862) an American writer and naturalist who kept journals about his excursions inot the wild nature throughout parts of the northeastern US and Canada. Author of On Walden Pond

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agricultural revolution

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gradual shif from small, mobile hunting and gathering bands to settled agricultural societies 10,000-12,000

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slash/burn cultivation

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A farming technique in which patches of forest are cleared for agriculture by cutting and burning the undergrowth. The plots are used for a relatively short time before being abandoned in favour of freshly cleared areas

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Industrial revolution

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Period marking the introduction of mass production, improved transportation, technological progress, and the industrial factory system. In the United States this period is generally agreed to have begun at the time of the Civil War (1861-1865).

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George Perkins Marsh

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scientist and congressman from VT, published Man and Nature in 1864 which questioned th eidea that US resources wre inexhaustable, linked rise and fall of past civilizations to their resource use

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Theodore Roosevelt

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president from 1901-9, ardent conservationist, his term is called the Golden Age of Conservation

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Sierra club

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founded by John Muir in 1892, leader of preservationist mov't, protection of large areas of wilderness of public lands from human exploitation, lobbied for NP's

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CCC

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est. in 1933 to put 2 mill unemployed Americans to work planting trees, developing and maintaining parks'n'rec areas, resoring silted water-ways, building levees and dams for flood control, controlling soil erosion and protection

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Earth Day

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Following an idea pioneered by the Democratic senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, the first nationwide Earth Day was celebrated on 22 April 1970.twenty million Americans took to the streets to demonstrate for a cleaner environment.

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Ronald Regan

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(1911-2004) pres from 1981-1989, self declared sagebrush rebel, advocate of less federal control. worked against much of the previously est. environmental legislation.

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scientific method

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characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis

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technology

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The scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective.