What is the Environment?
What does the Environment include?
The environment includes all living things and the nonliving things with which they interact.
Fill in the Blank:
________ are naturally replenished over short periods of time.
Renewable natural resources.
Define the term, 'Science.'
“Science” is simply a logical way of thinking about the world.
Fill in the Blank:
A controlled experiment is one that only changes _____ variable at a time.
One.
Changing too many variables in one experiment makes it difficult to understand the results.
The information gathered from experiments is called
the data
the hypothesis
the research
the conclusion
1. the data
True or False:
Humans are part of the environment.
True. We interact with the Environment and rely on it for our survival.
Fill in the Blank:
________ take a long time to replenish.
Nonrenewable natural resources.
Fill in the Blank:
Scientists use __________ about the world around them to make __________ (logical guesses or predictions).
observations; inferences
Science is always changing and growing as new information becomes known.
Fill in the Blank:
A conclusion either __________ or __________ the hypothesis.
Supports; rejects
Is our conclusion proof that our hypothesis is true or false?
No! Science is not used to prove that something is TRUE. We can disprove something (by doing an experiment that shows that a hypothesis is wrong) or we can be fairly certain that our hypothesis is correct.
Which of the following is NOT part of the peer-review process?
Peers checking for possibly inaccurate conclusions.
Sharing conclusions with peers.
Peers checking the experimental procedures for flaws.
Peers analyzing the possible ethical impacts of the conclusions.
4. Peers analyzing the possible ethical impacts of the conclusions.
Fill in the Blank:
__________ is the study of interactions of living organisms with one another and with their environment.
Ecology.
What is an ecological footprint?
An ecological footprint is a measure of the demands made by one person or group on global natural resources.
True or False: If the data does not support the hypothesis, a new hypothesis is made and the process starts again.
True.
Please separate the follow data into either qualitative or quantitative:
1. The temperature is at a high of 50 celsius.
2. A sergeant major fish is black and white striped with yellow tips on their fins.
3. A yellow-headed warbler is small in size with gold coloring on its crown.
4. The wingspan of the Andean condor is 8.9-10 ft.
1. Quantitative
2. Qualitative
3. Qualitative
4. Quantitative
You are collecting information on the number of moose in a particular location, so you put out a motion-activated game camera to capture pictures of the moose that pass. When you are finished, you tally the number of moose photographed per day. What type of information is this?
qualitative
quantitative
descriptive
theoretical
2. quantitative
What is Environmental Science?
The study of ecology as well as focusing on how humans affect the environment and ways to address environmental problems.
An interdisciplinary approach- involves biology, chemistry, earth science, economics, and political science
Define the term 'Tragedy of the Commons,' and try to come up with a real world example.
Tragedy of the Commons- When a shared (common) resource is unregulated, individuals will consume it at a selfish rate.
In order to sustainably use our natural resources, we need individual responsibility, community cooperation or government regulations.
Commercial fishing can deplete marine resources without any regulation.
A ________ is a testable explanation for a question or problem.
Hypothesis.
Please list and define the 3 parts of a controlled experiment.
Control, independent variable, and dependent variable.
*Think of it like this:
1. Controls= what are you keeping the same?
2. Independent variable= what are you changing?
3. Dependent variable= what are you measuring as a result?
Define the term, 'scientific theory,' and provide an example.
A scientific theory explains a phenomenon and is supported by many different fields of evidence.
Scientific theories are broad explanations that apply to many situations.
Prominent scientific theories include atomic theory, cell theory, evolution, and plate tectonics.
Though Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field, what is often referred to as the backbone or foundation of Environmental Science?
Ecology - a subset of Biology
Two major events have changed the course of human history and the way we interact with natural resources.
Please name these two events, and then compare and contrast.
1. The Agricultural Revolution- Humans shifted from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to live in communities, raise livestock and plant crops.
2. The Industrial Revolution- The production of machinery allowed for advances in medicine, agriculture, and other technologies.
First, please define the term, 'Scientific Method.'
Then, list the 8 steps of the Scientific Method.
The scientific method is a term used to describe the way in which scientists gather and use information.
Observe --> Question --> Research --> Predict --> Experiment --> Draw conclusions --> Replicate --> Report
You learned in elementary school that all birds have feathers. You see an animal you’ve never seen before and it has feathers, so you assume it must be a bird. This is an example of…
the scientific method.
inductive reasoning.
a controlled experiment.
deductive reasoning.
4. deductive reasoning (comparing)
PART ONE
Fill in the Blank:
________ the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.
PART TWO
Situation: There is a price increase in crops because of a reduced supply of water. This situation may cause farmers to make a decision as to whether they will stay in this farming profession or find a new career.
This type of decision is primarily based on
a cost-benefit analysis
ethics
ecology
the scientific method
Ethics
Scientists must consider the ethics of every experiment.
All branches of science must take ethics into consideration, but environmental science includes economics, human populations and other organisms. There are many ethical decisions to be made.