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62 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Environmental Science includes the study of...
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The impact of humans on the environment.
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Environmental science is the study of... Which ranges from...
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The air, water, and land surrounding an organism/community, ranging from a small area to E's entire biosphere.
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One of the major goals of environmental science is to...
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Understand and solve environmental problems.
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In order to accomplish the major goal of environmental science, scientists study 2 main types of interactions between humans and their environment...
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How the actions of humans alter the environment, and how we use natural resources.
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An interdisciplinary science...
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Involves many fields of study.
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Ecology is the study of how...
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Living things interact with eachother and with their non-living environment.
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Hunter-gatherers are people who...
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Obtain food collecting plants and by hunting wild animals or scavenging their remains.
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What did Native American hunter-gatherers do to affect their environment?
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Burned down trees for open grassland to hunt bison.
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Agriculture is the practice of...
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Growing, breeding, and caring for plants and animals.
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The agricultural revolution allowed human populations to...
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Grow at an unprecedented rate.
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An area of land can support up to ___ times as many people by farming as is can by hunting and gathering.
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500 times.
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One of the earliest ways that land was converted into farmland was...
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The slash-and-burn technique.
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The Industrial Revolution involved a shift from...
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Animals and running water to fossil fuels.
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Agricultural productivity increased during...
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The Industrial Revolution.
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In the Industrial Revolution, what factors allowed human population to grow faster than ever?
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Sanitation, nutrition, and modern medicine.
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Our planet earth is a...
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Closed system.
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Out 3 main environmental problems are...
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Resource depletion, pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
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A natural resource is...
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Any natural material that is used by humans.
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Natural resources can be classified as...
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Renewable and non-renewable.
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Resources are said to be depleted when...
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A large fraction of the resource has been used up.
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An example of a renewable resource being depleted is...
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Deforestation.
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Pollution is...
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An undesired change in the natural environment.
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What are the 2 main types of pollutants?
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Biodegradable and non-degradable pollutants.
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Biodiversity refers to...
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The number and variety of species that live in an area.
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Organisms that share the world with us can be considered...
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Natural resources.
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In "The Tragedy of the Commons", the main conflict is between...
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The short-term interests of the individual, and the long term welfare of society.
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The law of supply and demand states that...
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The greater the demand for a limited supply of something, the more this thing is worth.
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Hardin's concluding point in "The Tragedy of the Commons" was...
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Some one/group must take responsibility for maintiaing a source or it will become depleted.
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One example of supply and demand is...
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World oil production.
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A tool that helps us create cost-effective ways to protect our health and the environment is...
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Risk assessment.
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A cost-benefit analysis...
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Balances the cost of the action against the benefits one expects from it.
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What are the two root causes of environmental problems?
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Human population growth is too quick, and people are using natural resources faster than they can be replaced.
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Of the 5.2 billion people in developing countries, how much of them have enough basic needs?
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About half.
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An ecological footprint is...
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A calculation of the amount of land and resources needed to support one person from a particular country.
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Sustainability is the condition in which...
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Human needs are met in a way that a human population can survive indefinitely.
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Observation is...
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A peice of information we gather using our senses.
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The 6 steps of the experimental method are...
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[O]bserving, [H]ypothesizing and predicting, [E]xperimenting, [O]rganizing and analyzing, [D]rawing conclusions, [C]ommunicating results.
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A hypothesis is... That leads to...
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A theory or explanation that leads to a scientific investigation.
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A prediction is used to...
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Test a hypothesis.
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A prediction is...
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A logical statement about what will happen if a hypothesis is correct.
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An experiment is a procedure designed to...
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Test a hypothesis under controlled conditions.
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Data is...
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The information a scientist gathers during an experiment.
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Data is in...
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Numeric form.
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The group that receives the treatment in an experiment is...
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An experimental group.
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The group that does not receive the treatment in an experiment is...
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A control group.
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The 2 essential characteristics of a good experiment are...
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A variable is tested, and a control is used.
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Scientists draw conclusions of their data by comparing...
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The results of their experiment with their prediction.
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Correlations are...
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Associations between two or more events.
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In what 2 factors did the conflict lie in "The Tragedy of the Commons"?
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The individual and the land.
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Who wrote "The Tragedy of the Commons"?
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Garrett Hardin.
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Values are...
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Principals or standards we consider important.
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A decision-making model is a conceptual model that provides...
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A systematic process for making decisions.
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An aesthetic value is...
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What is beautiful.
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An economic value is...
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The gain/loss of money/jobs.
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An environmental value is...
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Natural resource protection.
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An educational value is...
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The gaining and sharing of knowledge.
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An ethical/moral value is...
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What is right or wrong.
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A health value is...
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Human health maintenance.
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A recreational value is...
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Leisure activities.
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A scientific value is...
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Understanding of the natural world.
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A social/cultural value is...
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Community maintenance and values/traditions.
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Name the four steps of the decision-making model.
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[G]ather information, [C]onsider values, [E]xplore consequences, [M]ake a decision.
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