Vocabulary for the Introduction Unit
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| abiotic | nonliving
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| accuracy | how close a measured value is to the actual or true value
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| acid | a substance that contributes hydrogen ions to a solution
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| anthropogenic | derived from human activities
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| atom | the smallest particle that can contain the chemical properties of an element
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| atomic number | the number of protons in the nucleus of a particular element
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| background extinction rate | the average rate at which species become extinct over the long term
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| base | a substance that contributes hydroxide ions to a solution
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| biodiversity | the diversity of life forms in an environment
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| biophilia | an appreciation for life
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| biotic | living
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| capillary action | a property of water that occurs when adhesion of water molecules to a surface is stronger than cohesion between the molecules
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| carbohydrate | a compound composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms with the general formula Cx(H20)y; sugars and starches
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| catalyst | any substance that causes or speeds up a chemical reaction without itself undergoing a permanent chemical change
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| cell | a highly organized living entity that consists of the four types of macromolecules and other substances in a watery solution, surrounded by a membrane
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| chemical energy | potential energy stored in chemical bonds
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| closed system | a system in which matter and energy exchanged do not occur across boundaries
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| compound | a molecule containing more than one element
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| law of conservation of matter | a law of nature stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed
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| control group | in a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study
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| covalent bond | the bond formed when elements share electrons
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| critical thinking | the process of questioning the source of information, considering the methods used to obtain the information, and drawing conclusions;
essential to all scientific endeavor
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| deductive reasoning | the process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations
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| development | improvement in human well-being through economic advancement
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| DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) | a nucleic acid, the genetic material that contains the code for reproducing the components of the next generation, and which organisms pass on to their offspring
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| ecological footprint | a measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land
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| ecosystem | a particular location on Earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components
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| ecosystem service | the process by which natural environments provide life-supporting resources
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| electromagnetic radiation | a form of energy emitted by the Sun that includes, but is not limited to, visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared energy
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| element | a substance composed of atoms that cannot be broken down into smaller, simpler components
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| energy | the ability to do work or transfer heat
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| energy efficiency | the ratio of the amount of work done to the total amount of energy introduced to the system
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| energy quality | the ease with which an energy source can be used for work
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| entropy | randomness in a system
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| environment | the sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life
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| environmental indicator | an indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system
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| environmental justice | a social movement and field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society
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| environmental science | the field of study that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature
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| environmental studies | the field of study that includes environmental science, environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics, among others
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| environmentalist | a person who participates in environmentalism, a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education
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| feedback loop | an adjustment in input or output rates caused by a change in the system
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| greenhouse gas | a gas in Earth's atmosphere that traps heat near the surface
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| half-life | the time it takes for one-half of a sample of an original radioactive parent atom to decay
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| hydrogen bond | a weak chemical bond that forms when hydrogen atoms that are covalently bonded to one atom are attracted to another atom on another molecule
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| hypothesis | a testable theory or supposition about how something works
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| inductive reasoning | the process of making general statements from specific facts or examples
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| inorganic compound | a compound that does not contain the element carbon or contains carbon bound to elements other than hydrogen
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| input | an addition to a system
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| ionic bond | a chemical bond between two oppositely charged ions
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| isotope | an atom of the same element with a different number of neutrons
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| joule | the amount of energy used when a one-watt electrical device is turned on for one second
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| kinetic energy | the energy of motion
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| lipid | a smaller organic biological molecule that does not mix with water; fats, oils, waxes, and steroids, and related compounds
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| mass | a measurement of the amount of matter an object contains
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| mass number | a measurement of the total number of protons and neutrons in an element
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| matter | anything that occupies space and has mass
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| molecule | a particle containing more than one atom
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| natural experiment | a natural event that acts as an experimental treatment of an ecosystem
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| natural law | a theory for which there is no known exception and that has withstood rigorous testing
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| negative feedback loop | a feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring
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| nucleic acid | an organic compound found in all living cells, which form in long chains to make DNA and RNA
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| null hypothesis | a statement or idea that can be falsified, or proved wrong
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| open system | a system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries
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| organic compound | a compound that contains carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds
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| output | a loss from a system
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| periodic table | a chart of all chemical elements currently known, organized by their properties
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| pH | the number indicating the strength of acids and bases on a scale of 0 to 14, where 7 is neutral, a value below 7 is acidic, and a value above 7 is basic (alkaline)
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| photon | a massless packet of energy that carries electromagnetic radiation at the speed of light
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| polar molecule | a molecule in which one side is more positive and the other side is more negative
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| positive feedback loop | a feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified
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| potential energy | stored energy that has not been released
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| power | the rate at which work is done
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| precision | how close the repeated measurements of a sample are to one another
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| protein | a long chain of nitrogen-containing organic molecules known as amino acids, critical to living organisms for structural support, energy storage, internal transport, and defense against foreign substances
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| radioactive decay | the spontaneous release of material from the nucleus of radioactive isotopes
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| replication | the data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements
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| RNA (ribonucleic acid) | a nucleic acid that translates the code stored in DNA and allows for the synthesis of proteins
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| sample size | (n) the number of times a measurement is replicated in the data collection process
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| scientific method | an objective method to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes
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| speciation | the evolution of new species
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| species | a group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology, behavior, or biochemical properties
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| steady state | a state in which inputs equal outputs, so that the system is not changing over time
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| surface tension | a property of water that results form the cohesion of water molecules at the surface of a body of water and creates a sort of skin on the water's surface
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| sustainability | living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources
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| sustainable development | development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations
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| systems analysis | an analysis to determine inputs, outputs, and changes in a system under various conditions
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| temperature | the measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance
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| theory | a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance
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| the first law of thermodynamics | a law of nature stating that energy can neither be created nor destroyed
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| the second law of thermodynamics | the law stating that when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes
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| uncertainty | an estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value
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