What is Environmental Science?
What is science?
Science is the process of satisfying our curiosity about why things are the way they are, and how things happen in the way that they do.
Asking what and why in the world around us
What was the agricultural revolution?
The agricultural revolution occurred when hunter gatherers began to collect seeds, domesticate animals, and settle down
What is a natural resource?
A natural resource is any natural material that is used by humans
What is the message of story of the tragedy of the commons?
Message of the story is that someone must take responsibility for maintaining resources, otherwise they are overused and abused
What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable?
Independent variable is the variable that the scientist changes or manipulates
Dependent variable is the variable that is measured, and what changes as a result of the independent variable
What is environmental science?
Environmental Science is the study of how humans interact with the environment
Give an example of an impact that hunter gathers had on the land.
Controlled burns
Large mammal extinction
What is the difference between a renewable and a non-renewable resource?
Non renewable resources form at a much slower rate than it is consumed
Renewable resources can be replaced relatively quickly by natural processes
What is a cost benefit analysis?
A cost benefit analysis balances the cost of an action against the benefits one expects to receive from it. How this analysis turns out often depends on who’s doing it.
What is peer review?
A formal process where scientists read other scientists work. This is required before an article can be accepted into a scientific journal.
What are some of the many disciplines included in environmental science? Choose one and say how it relates.
Ecology
Sociology
Geology
Geography
Biology
Zoology
Name one way that farming has changed the landscape over time?
Soil loss
Erosion
Less fertile soil
Water shortages
What is the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable pollution?
Biodegradable pollution can be broken down by natural processes.
Non biodegradable pollution includes pollutants that cannot be broken down easily
What is an ecological footprint?
An ecological footprint shows the amount of the earth that is required to support one person. It can express the differences in consumption amount nations.
Why is repetition important in scientific experiments?
To ensure accuracy and to make sure results were not just a freak coincidence
What is citizen science?
Experiments that involve community members in the data collection
What distinguished the start of the industrial revolution?
The Industrial Revolution was a shift in energy resources from animal muscle and running water to fossil fuels such as coal and oil
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity refers to the number and variety of species in an area.
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that the human population can survive indefinitely.
What is the role of a control group in an experiment
A control group does not receive the experimental treatment.
Why are we concerned with the extinction of modern species?
Organisms that we share the world with can be considered natural resources, as we depend on them for food and the oxygen that we breathe.
Draw a graph and explain the law of supply and demand.
Law of supply and demand says that when there is a limited supply of something, there is a greater demand and cost will be higher. When there is a greater supply of something, the demand will be lower and cost will go down.
When might you use correlations instead of designing an experiment? What are their shortcomings?
Correlations can be used when experiments that are impossible or unethical. These studies are useful but not always accurate, because the correlation might have been caused by another common variable that is not accounted for.