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AP Environmental Science Key Terms

Ecosystems, populations, earth systems, resources, pollution and climate.

103 cardsGrades 9–12, College#ap#environment

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103 cards
  • EcosystemTerm
    Living things and their nonliving surroundings interacting
  • BiomeTerm
    A large region defined by climate and typical plants and animals
  • ProducerTerm
    An organism that makes its own food, usually by photosynthesis
  • ConsumerTerm
    An organism that eats other organisms
  • DecomposerTerm
    An organism that breaks down dead matter
  • Trophic levelTerm
    A feeding position in a food chain
  • Ten percent ruleTerm
    About 10 percent of energy passes to the next trophic level
  • Net primary productivityTerm
    Energy stored by producers after their own use
  • Food webTerm
    Interconnected food chains
  • BiodiversityTerm
    The variety of life at genetic, species and ecosystem levels
  • Keystone speciesTerm
    A species with an outsized role in its ecosystem
  • Indicator speciesTerm
    A species whose health signals environmental condition
  • Invasive speciesTerm
    A non-native species that spreads and harms the ecosystem
  • Ecological successionTerm
    Gradual replacement of communities over time
  • Primary successionTerm
    Colonization of bare rock with no soil
  • Secondary successionTerm
    Regrowth after disturbance where soil remains
  • Carbon cycleTerm
    Movement of carbon among air, living things, oceans and rocks
  • Nitrogen fixationTerm
    Converting nitrogen gas into usable forms by bacteria
  • Nitrogen cycleTerm
    Movement of nitrogen through air, soil and organisms
  • Phosphorus cycleTerm
    Movement of phosphorus through rock, soil and water, with no gas phase
  • Hydrologic cycleTerm
    Circulation of water through evaporation, condensation and precipitation
  • PhotosynthesisTerm
    Making sugars from carbon dioxide, water and light
  • Cellular respirationTerm
    Releasing energy from sugar using oxygen
  • Carrying capacityTerm
    Largest population an environment can sustain
  • r-selected speciesTerm
    Many offspring, little care, small body, short life
  • K-selected speciesTerm
    Few offspring, much care, large body, long life
  • Limiting factorTerm
    A resource that restricts population growth
  • Population densityTerm
    Individuals per unit area
  • Age structure diagramTerm
    Graph of the population in each age group
  • Total fertility rateTerm
    Average children per woman over her lifetime
  • Replacement level fertilityTerm
    About 2.1 children per woman
  • Demographic transitionTerm
    Shift from high to low birth and death rates
  • Plate tectonicsTerm
    Earth's crust moves in large plates
  • SubductionTerm
    One plate sliding beneath another
  • Soil horizonTerm
    A layer of soil, such as topsoil
  • Soil erosionTerm
    Removal of soil by wind or water
  • LoamTerm
    Balanced soil of sand, silt and clay
  • Cation exchange capacityTerm
    Soil's ability to hold nutrients
  • WeatherTerm
    Short-term atmospheric conditions
  • ClimateTerm
    Long-term pattern of weather
  • TroposphereTerm
    Lowest atmospheric layer where weather occurs
  • StratosphereTerm
    Atmospheric layer containing the ozone layer
  • Coriolis effectTerm
    Earth's rotation bends wind and ocean currents
  • El NinoTerm
    Periodic warming of the eastern Pacific altering weather worldwide
  • Thermohaline circulationTerm
    Global ocean circulation driven by temperature and salt differences
  • Rain shadowTerm
    A dry region on the leeward side of a mountain
  • UpwellingTerm
    Rise of cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface
  • Renewable resourceTerm
    A resource that replenishes naturally in human time
  • Nonrenewable resourceTerm
    A resource that is used up faster than it forms
  • Fossil fuelsTerm
    Coal, oil and natural gas from ancient organisms
  • Peak oilTerm
    The point of maximum oil production before decline
  • Hydroelectric powerTerm
    Electricity from flowing water
  • Solar photovoltaicTerm
    Panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity
  • Wind turbineTerm
    Machine converting wind energy to electricity
  • Geothermal energyTerm
    Heat from Earth's interior used for power or heating
  • BiomassTerm
    Organic matter burned or converted for energy
  • Nuclear fissionTerm
    Splitting atoms to release energy
  • Energy efficiencyTerm
    Doing the same work with less energy
  • CogenerationTerm
    Using waste heat from electricity production
  • OvergrazingTerm
    Livestock eating plants faster than they regrow
  • MonocultureTerm
    Planting one crop over a large area
  • Crop rotationTerm
    Alternating crops to maintain soil
  • No-till farmingTerm
    Planting without plowing to protect soil
  • Contour plowingTerm
    Plowing along slopes to reduce runoff
  • Integrated pest managementTerm
    Combining methods to control pests with minimal chemicals
  • AquacultureTerm
    Raising fish or other aquatic organisms
  • Clear-cuttingTerm
    Removing all trees from an area
  • DeforestationTerm
    Large-scale removal of forest
  • Urban heat islandTerm
    City warmer than surroundings due to pavement and buildings
  • SprawlTerm
    Low-density development spreading from a city
  • Ecological footprintTerm
    Land and water area needed to support a person or population
  • Point source pollutionTerm
    Pollution from a single identifiable source
  • Nonpoint source pollutionTerm
    Pollution from many diffuse sources, like runoff
  • EutrophicationTerm
    Nutrient overload causing algae blooms and oxygen loss
  • Dissolved oxygenTerm
    Oxygen in water, essential for aquatic life
  • Biochemical oxygen demandTerm
    Oxygen used by microbes to break down organic waste
  • BioaccumulationTerm
    Buildup of a substance within an organism over time
  • BiomagnificationTerm
    Increasing concentration of a substance up the food chain
  • SmogTerm
    Haze from air pollution, often ozone-rich
  • Acid rainTerm
    Precipitation made acidic by sulfur and nitrogen oxides
  • Particulate matterTerm
    Tiny solid or liquid particles in the air
  • Tropospheric ozoneTerm
    Ozone near the ground, a harmful pollutant
  • Stratospheric ozone depletionTerm
    Thinning of the ozone layer by CFCs
  • Montreal ProtocolTerm
    Treaty phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals
  • Greenhouse effectTerm
    Atmospheric gases trapping heat
  • Greenhouse gasesTerm
    Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor
  • Global warming potentialTerm
    A gas's heat trapping relative to carbon dioxide
  • Ocean acidificationTerm
    Falling ocean pH as seawater absorbs carbon dioxide
  • AlbedoTerm
    Reflectivity of a surface
  • Carbon footprintTerm
    Greenhouse gases produced by an activity or person
  • Carbon sequestrationTerm
    Capturing and storing carbon
  • Municipal solid wasteTerm
    Everyday trash from homes and businesses
  • Sanitary landfillTerm
    Engineered site where waste is buried and covered
  • LeachateTerm
    Liquid that drains from waste
  • Hazardous wasteTerm
    Waste that is toxic, reactive, corrosive or flammable
  • Reduce, reuse, recycleTerm
    Waste management priorities in order
  • Endangered speciesTerm
    A species in danger of going extinct
  • Endangered Species ActTerm
    US law protecting species at risk
  • CITESTerm
    Treaty regulating trade in endangered species
  • Clean Air ActTerm
    US law setting air quality standards

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