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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Semester I Exam (Chapters 1–6, 20-21, 23)
STUDY GUIDE
CHAPTER 1:
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Identify and describe the regions of the earth in which living things are found
Lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere= biosphere
Aquifers
troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
CHAPTER 2:
 Scientific method: hypothesis, Controlled experiment, collecting data
 Biotic Factors
 Abiotic factors
CHAPTER 3:
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Tectonic Plates, erosion. Weathering
Needs of organisms
Dormant. Hibernation
Ecosystems: species, habitat, geographical range, populations, communities,
biodiversity
CHAPTER 4:
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Identify the roles of Producers, Consumers and decomposers
Concept of Trophic Levels
Explain food chain and food web
Biological magnification
Energy and Food: Biomass, Ecological Pyramid
Cycles of matter: water-evaporation/transpiration
-Carbon-Photosynthesis and respiration
-Nitrogen- nitrogen fixing bacteria and their relationship to
- -Legumes with their root nodules.
CHAPTER 5:
 Explain the concept of a niche: competitive exclusion
 Niche diversity: predator/prey relationship; keystone predator; how does a specie
adapt to its niche
 Evolution: convergent and co evolution
 Population growth: exponential, carrying capacity, limiting factors: density
dependent and density independent limiting factors
CHAPTER 6:
 Explain the relationship between the population sizes of predators and prey
 Parasitism: host
 Symbiosis: commensalisms, mutualism, parasitism
 Differentiate between primary and secondary succession
 Ecosystem stability: species and whole ecosystems evolve and may die out, but
new species and ecosystems can evolve to replace them.
 Biome: A major type of ecosystem with distinctive temperature, rainfall and
organisms.
 Terrestrial Biomes:
Desert and Tundra: very little water supports small amount of biomass.
Desert covers 25% of earth’s land surface but contains only 1% of
earth’s biomass. Lack of water in these biomes makes plant life scarce
Forest biomes: contain 75% of earth’s biomass; 3 forests
Coniferous, deciduous and rain. Forests receive abundant precipitation.
Rain forests cover only 6% of the earth but contain more than 50% of
earth’s biomass. Also it is the MOST diverse. The destruction of these is
a major environmental problem.
GRASSLANDs: steppe, prairies and Savanna. These biomes cover
about 22% of earth’s land surface, and contain about 8% of earth’s
biomass. These biomes have less precipitation than forests, and may
have long dry seasons. Fires are disturbances and large herds of
migrating herbivores are common grassland organisms.
 Aquatic Biomes:
Characteristics used to describe aquatic biomes are different than those for terrestrial
biomes. Example: while temperature and precipitation do have SOME effect, the
temperature in large bodies of water is more stable than on land.
For aquatic biomes, 2 of the most important factors are: the amounts of dissolved salts
in water(salinity) and the depth of the water(photic and benthic zones).Dissolved
oxygen in the water are also important factors in determining the types of organisms that
live in an aquatic environment.
 FRESH WATER: wetlands, everglades, lakes, streams.
 Marine Biome: Oceanic zone, continental shelf, neritic zone, coral reefs, estuaries,
intertidal zones, Mangrove swamps
Chapter 17:
 Understand solar energy
 How is energy from the sun used?
 Know Passive and Active Solar Energy
 What does a photovoltaic cell do?
 In what ways do we get energy from water?
 How do we harness wind energy? Geothermal energy?
Chapter 20:
 How do we use water? Availability of fresh water.
 What can happen when an aquifer is depleted?
 What is potable? How do we purify water?
Chapter 21:
 Link water pollution and human diseases.
 What is a pathogen? Give sources and effects of inorganic and organic toxic
chemicals.
 What is eutrophication?
 Explain problem of radioactive and thermal water pollution.
 What is the government doing about it? Is enforcement of these laws a problem?
Why?
Garbage Unit:
 What type and how much garbage was thrown away in 1915? 1950? 2000?
 Know the difference between rethink, reuse, and reduce
 Know the methods for garbage management: burying, burning, and recycling