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Chapter 1
Chapter 1
53
Science
Undergraduate 1
01/14/2015

Additional Science Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

_______ revolution: 

 

the shift around 10,000 years ago from a hunter-gather lifestyle to an more sedentary, agricultural way of life in which people began to their own crops and raise domestic animals. Compare to Industrial Revolution.

Definition
Agricultural Revolution
Term

__________: 

a human-centered view of our relationship with the enviornment; only humans have rights


Gifford Pinchot is associated with this philosophy.

  

Costs and benefits are measured only by their impact on people 
Anything not providing benefit to people has no value

 

Definition
Anthropocentrism
Term

__________: 

 

a philosophy that ascribes relative values to actions, entities, or properties on the basis of their effects on living things or on the biotic relm in general; certain living things have value.

 

All life – human and nonhuman – has ethical standing

 

Opposes development that destroys life – even if it creates jobs

 

 

 

Definition
Biocentrism
Term
________:  is an ethic holding tht humans should put natural resources to use wisely but also have a  responsiblity to manage them wisely; compare to preservation ethic.
Definition
Conservation
Term

_________:

 

an unmanipulated point of comparison within an experiment

Definition
Control
Term

______ experiment:


An experiment in which the effects of all variables are controlled

(except the independent variable whose effect is being tested)

 

Definition
Controlled Experiment
Term
_______: information, generally quantitive information collected from an experiment.
Definition
Data
Term

__________  variable:

 

the variable that is affected by & depends on the manipulation of the independent variable.

Definition
Dependent Variable
Term

 Observational/________ Science:


-information is gathered about organisms, systems, processes, etc.

Cannot be manipulated by experiments
Phenomena are observed and measured


Used in astronomy, paleontology, taxonomy, genomics

 

Definition
Descriptive Science
Term

__________:  a philosophy that considers actions in terms of their damage or benefit to the integrity of the whole ecological systems, including both biotic & abiotic elements; whole ecological systems have value

 

Values the well-being of species, communities, ecosystems

Holistic – it preserves connections between entities


John Muir & Aldo Leopold are asssociated to this philosophy

 

Definition
Ecocentrism
Term

Ecological ________: the environmental impact of a person or population

 

The area of biologically productive land + water

 

To supply resources and dispose/recycle waste
-people in rich nations have much larger ecological ___.
-we are using renewable resources 50% faster than they are being replenished!

 

Definition
Ecological Footprint
Term

Ecosystem __________:

natural processes on which life, including ours, depends such as air and water purification, and pollination of crops by animals.

 

(ecosystems naturally purify air & water, cycle nutrients, provide for plants to be pollinated by animals, & serve as receptacles & recycling systems for the waste generated by our economic activity)

Definition
Ecosystem Service
Term

______: all the living and nonliving things around us, with which we interact.


Includes:

Continents, oceans, clouds, ice caps
Animals, plants, forests, farms, etc. 
Structures, urban centers, living spaces
Social relationships and institutions

 

Definition
Enviornment
Term

______ ethics:  the application of ethical standards to enviornmental questions & to the relationships between human and nonhuman entities


-Hard to resolve. Depends on the person’s ethical standards and domain of ethical concern

 

Definition
Enviornmental Ethics
Term

Enviornmental ________: 

 

-the study of our enviornment, our place in it, & our managment of it.

 

The studies suggest a strong correlation between the growth and decline of past civilizations (and its population size) and their use of natural resources.

 

 

 

Definition
Enviornmental Science
Term

_________: 


-A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world from human-caused changes

 

Definition
Enviornmentalism
Term

__________ standard:


-the criteria that help differentiate right from wrong


-Also-


Categorical imperative: the “Golden Rule,” which tells us to treat others as we want to be treated

 

Definition
Ethical Standard
Term

__________:

 

the study of good & bad, right & wrong; the term can also refer to a person's or group's set of moral principles or values

Definition
Ethics
Term
__________:  tests the validity of a prediction or hypothesis by manipulating variables.
Definition
Experiment
Term

______  ______:  a natural renewable natural resource such as:

 

-crude oil

-natural gas

-coal

 

produced by the decomposition & compression of organic matter from ancient life.

Definition
Fossil Fuel
Term

__________:   a statement that
tries to answer the question


 

generates predictions --  predictions are specific statements that can be directly tested.

 

Definition
Hypothesis
Term

Hypothesis-________ Science:  targeted, structured research

 

Experiments test hypotheses using the scientific method

 

Definition
Hypothesis-driven Science
Term
________ variable:  the variable that is manipulated in an experiment
Definition
Independent Variable
Term

__________ revolution: shift in the mid 1700's from rural life, animal-powered agriculture, & manufacturing by craftsmen to an urban society

Urbanized society powered by fossil fuels(oil, gas, coal
Improved sanitation and creation of new medicine
Pesticides, fertilizers

 

Definition
Industrial Revolution
Term

________ (field): 

 

a field that borrows techniques from several more traditional fields of study & brings together research results from these fields into a broad synthesis.

 

Enviornmental Science includes Paleo-ecology, biology, chemistry, geology, anthropolgy & social studies.

Definition
Interdisciplinary (Field)
Term

_________  _________: an American scientist famous for the book "The Land Ethic" & held land ethic viewpoint.

 

-held ecocentric ethical outlook calls for people to view themselves and the land as members of the same community & to treat the land ethically.

Definition
Leopold Aldo
Term

________  Ecosystem ________: 

 

The most comprehensive scientific assessment of the condition of the world’s ecological systems and their capacity to continue supporting us

 

2,000 leading environmental scientists found:

Our degradation of environmental systems is having negative impacts on all of us

With care and diligence we can still turn many of these trends around

 

Definition
Millenium Ecosystem Asssesment
Term

_________    _________: philosopher that held Ecocentric viewpoint & preservation ethic which advocated for the preservation of wilderness.

 

-Nature deserves protection for its own inherent value


We should protect our environment in a pristine, unaltered state

 

Definition
John Muir
Term

Natural ________:  substances and energy sources we need for survival.



Definition
Natural Resources
Term

_________ Natural Resources: replenished over short periods.


 

Perpetually renewed: sunlight, wind, wave energy

 

Renewed over short periods and can be depleted: timber, water, soil

 

Definition
Renewable Natural Resources
Term

___-_______ natural resources: unavailable after depletion.


 

Oil, coal, minerals

 

Definition
Non-renewable Natural Resources
Term

_______: the amount by which humanity has surpassed Earth's long-term carrying capacity for our species.

 

 

 

We are using renewable resources 50% faster than they are being replenished

Definition
Overshoot
Term

_________: a dominant philosophical & theoretical framework within a scientific discipline.

 

 

____ shift: a new dominant view replaces the old.


Example: Earth, not the sun, is the center of the universe

    –Example: plate tectonics move continents

 

Definition

Paradigm



Paradigm Shift

Term
____  review:  other scientists judge the work.
Definition
peer review
Term

____   _____:  the first American forester; most associated with the conservation ethic & Anthropocentric viewpoint to use natural resources wisely.

 

-anthropocentric viewpoint promoted prudent, efficient, sustainable use of resources.


A utilitarian standard that calls for using resources for the greatest good for the most people for the longest time

 

Definition
Gifford Pinchot
Term

___________:  an ethicist who maintains that ethics do & ethics varies with social context.



Definition
Relativists
Term

___________:  a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it.


The body of knowledge arising from the dynamic process of questioning, observation, testing, discovery.

 

Definition
Science
Term

________   _______ :   a method for testing ideas with observations that involves several assumptions & more or less consistnt series of interrelated steps.

 

Steps:

 

-make an observation

-make a hypothesis

-experiment

-collect quantitative data

-create a theory if it backs up hypothesis

Definition

Scientific Method

 

Term

________  sciences: examines human interactions and institutions.


 

Environmental studies programs

 

Definition
Social Sciences
Term
________:  a guiding principle of enviornmental science that requires us to live in such a way as to maintain Earth's systems & its natural resources for the foreseeable future.
Definition
Sustainability
Term

_________ development:  


development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availabilty of natural resources or our future quality of life.

Definition
Sustainable Development
Term

__________:  


a widely accepted, well-tested explanation of one or more cause & effect relationships that has been extensively validated a great amount of research.

Definition
Theory
Term

_________ of the _______:  Garrit Hardin's explanation of the unregulated exploitation of public resources leads to depletion and damage

such as grazing land, forests, air, water
-Resource users are motivated by self-interest; they increase use until the resource is gone.

What are some of the solutions?
Private ownership?
Voluntary organization to enforce responsible use?
Governmental regulations?

 

Definition
Tragedy of the Commons
Term

_______ :  a manipulated point of comparison

 

-or-

 

 the portion of the experiment in which a variable has been maniputed in order to test its effect. Compare to control.

Definition
Treatment
Term
________:  an ethicist who maintains that there's notions of right and wrong that remain the same across cultures and situations.
Definition
Universalists
Term

____________:    in an experiment, a condition that can be changed.

 

 

Definition
Variable
Term

________:   the study of organisms and their relationships or interactions between each other (the biotic component) and their non-living enviornment (the abiotic component).


 

-studied are the growth of populations of animals and plants and how it relates to the availability of resources such as food; includes humans too

 

 

 

 

Definition
Ecology
Term

How & why did the agricultural revolution affect human population size?

 

How & why did the industrial revolution affect human population size?

 

Explain some social & enviornmental consequences & impacts that have resulted:

 

 

Definition

How & why agricultural & industrial revolution affect Human population size:

 

-agricultural advances/methods substatially improved population diet & increased life expectancy (crop rotation, irrigation technology improved crop yields & selective breeding of animals meant healthier stock- more food resources)

 

-Advances in Medicine meant more lives were saved

 

-improved sanitary conditions & sanitary products helped bring an end to some epidemics (like Cholera in polluted water; creation of soap for hygiene)

 

-Burgeoning cities meant more work/education opportunities & finding mates (emphasis on better quality of life)

 

Some Consequences (social & enviornmental):

 

-over population

-dependence on non-renewable resources

-deforrestation

-carbon emissions/pollution affects global warming

- mass production of food lead to food preservation (processed foods; domestic machines a sedentary lifestyle lead to obesity too)

Term

Contrast the 2 meanings of Science.

 

Name 3 applications of Science:

Definition

1) Science- a systematic process for learning about the world & testing our understanding of it.

 

2) Science- the accumulated body of knowledge that arises from this dynamic process of questioning, observation, testing, & discovering.

 

3 applications of Science:

 

The acquisition of knowledge – finding out new things about how the bodies of animals and people work.
The application of knowledge – using our knowledge of the way the body works to help animals and people in various ways.
The ethical dimension –  thinking about values, thinking about the right and wrong ways to find out new things about animals and people, and thinking about the right and wrong ways to use that knowledge to help animals and people in various ways. 
Term
____________: a specific statement, generated from a hypothesis that can be tested directly & uniquivocally.
Definition
Predicition
Term

___________: The protection of cultural property through activities that minimize chemical and physical deterioration and damage and that prevent loss of informational content.

 

-The primary goal is to prolong the existence of cultural property.

 

-involves keeping a balance between collection-level activities such as environmental control and item-level activities such as conservation treatment, which are often more easily understood and managed but can have limited effect, especially if the items are returned to a damaging environment.

Definition
Preservation
Term
________ study the growth of populations of animals & plants & how it relates to the availability of resources, such as food.
Definition
Ecologist
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