Unit 1 What is Ecology? Chapters 1 & 3 Chapter 3

Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes and Sustainability

Environment: everything that affects a living thing Ecology: a biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment

Solar Capital: solar energy reaching the earth Natural Capital: earth’s resources and ecological services Resource: something derived by nature and used by us (food, shelter, water, etc.)

Renewable Resource: a resource that can be replenished rapidly Non-renewable Resource: a resource that exists in a fixed quantity in the earth’s crust Sustainable Yield: the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply

Pollution: the introduction of contaminants that cause a change in an environment Happens naturally or from human sources Disrupts life-support systems Is unhealthy and unpleasant

Point source pollutant: pollutant that comes from a specific source Factory dumping waste in a local lake Gasoline tanks leaking into the ground Non-point source pollutant: pollution that comes from an unknown source or multiple sources Emissions from cars Chemical found in lake of unknown origin

Five Key Environmental Problems: Population growth Wasteful resource use Poverty Poor environmental accounting Ecological ignorance are caused by the number of people, affluence and technology

Chapter 3: Science, Matter and Energy

Law of Conservation of Matter Matter is not destroyed Matter only changes forms There is no “throw away”

Matter: Forms, Structure and Quality Subatomic Particles: Protons: positively charged particles Neutrons: particles without a charge Electrons: negatively charged particles Atoms: composed of subatomic particles and are the smallest unit of the building blocks of matter Element: Chemical consisting of all of the same atoms

Atomic Characteristics Atomic Number: equal to the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom Mass Number: equal to the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom Isotopes: various forms of an element having the same atomic number but different mass number

Molecule: 2 or more atoms held together by bonds Compound: 2 or more elements held together by bonds

Changes in Matter Physical: changes in the properties but not the elements or compounds Chemical: changes the chemical elements or compounds

Four States of Matter Gas Liquid Plasma Solid

Chemical Changes or Reactions

Energy Capacity to do “work” and transfer heat

First Law of Thermodynamics Energy is neither created nor destroyed Energy only changes forms You can’t get something for nothing ENERGY IN = ENERGY OUT

Second Law of Thermodynamics In every transformation, some energy is converted to heat You cannot break even in terms of energy quality When energy changes forms, some useful energy is converted to a less useable form