IB ESS FINAL EXAM | STUDY GUIDE | 2026
Ecocentric - Answers - pure ecology & nature is central to humanity and emphasizes a
less materialist approach to life with greater self-sufficiency of societies
Technocentric - Answers - believes that technological development can provide
solutions to environmental problems
Anthropocentric - Answers - believes humans must sustainably manage the global
system
Environmental Manager - Answers - believe governments need to legislate to protect
environment and resources from overexploitation and make sustainable economics -
humans have ethical duty to protect & nurture Earth
Cornucopian - Answers - through technology & inventiveness, humans can solve any
environmental problem & improve living standards - little government intervention
Biocentric - Answers - all life has inherent value - no harm to individual species
Deep Ecologist - Answers - put more value on nature than humanity - believe in
biorights; no human intervention in nature
System / Systems Diagram - Answers - set of components that function together & form
integrated units
Open System - Answers - exchanges matter & energy with its surroundings
Closed System - Answers - exchanges energy with its surroundings
Isolated System - Answers - exchanges no energy or matter with its surroundings
Transfer - Answers - a change in location
Transformation - Answers - a change in chemical nature, state, or energy
Matter - Answers - gas, liquid, solid
Atoms - Answers - makes up matter
1st Law of Thermodynamics / Principle of Conservation of Energy - Answers - energy is
neither created nor destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics - Answers - the entropy of an isolated system not in
equilibrium will increase over time
, Entropy - Answers - the measure of the disorder of a system - refers to spreading out or
dispersal of energy
Enthalpy - Answers - equivalent to total heat content of a system
Equilibrium: Steady State, Static, Unstable/stable - Answers - the tendency to return to
its original state
-the system is constant with continuous inputs & outputs
-no change over time
-unstable: returns to new equilibrium; stable: returns to same
Efficiency (Energy) - Answers - useful energy, work or output produced by a process
divided by the amount of energy consumed, bring the input to the process
Negative Feedback - Answers - damp down, neutralize, or counteract any deviation
from an equilibrium; stablizies systems in steady-state
Positive Feedback - Answers - further increases or decreases in output that enhances
the change in the system
System Resilience - Answers - how a system responds to a disturbance
-more resilient: more distrubance dealt with
Tipping Point - Answers - reached when ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in
which there are significant changes to its biodiversity & services it provides
Ecological Overshoot - Answers - surpassing the sustainable level of resources
exploitation
Sustainable Development - Answers - development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Natural Capita - Answers - goods & services the environment provides humans with in
order to provide natural income
Natural Income - Answers - natural resources that can be sold for profit
Abiotic vs. Biotic - Answers - Abiotic: non-living physical factors influencing organisms &
the ecosystem
Biotic: living organisms
Species - Answers - a group of organisms sharing common characteristics that
interbreed & produced fertile offspring
Ecocentric - Answers - pure ecology & nature is central to humanity and emphasizes a
less materialist approach to life with greater self-sufficiency of societies
Technocentric - Answers - believes that technological development can provide
solutions to environmental problems
Anthropocentric - Answers - believes humans must sustainably manage the global
system
Environmental Manager - Answers - believe governments need to legislate to protect
environment and resources from overexploitation and make sustainable economics -
humans have ethical duty to protect & nurture Earth
Cornucopian - Answers - through technology & inventiveness, humans can solve any
environmental problem & improve living standards - little government intervention
Biocentric - Answers - all life has inherent value - no harm to individual species
Deep Ecologist - Answers - put more value on nature than humanity - believe in
biorights; no human intervention in nature
System / Systems Diagram - Answers - set of components that function together & form
integrated units
Open System - Answers - exchanges matter & energy with its surroundings
Closed System - Answers - exchanges energy with its surroundings
Isolated System - Answers - exchanges no energy or matter with its surroundings
Transfer - Answers - a change in location
Transformation - Answers - a change in chemical nature, state, or energy
Matter - Answers - gas, liquid, solid
Atoms - Answers - makes up matter
1st Law of Thermodynamics / Principle of Conservation of Energy - Answers - energy is
neither created nor destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics - Answers - the entropy of an isolated system not in
equilibrium will increase over time
, Entropy - Answers - the measure of the disorder of a system - refers to spreading out or
dispersal of energy
Enthalpy - Answers - equivalent to total heat content of a system
Equilibrium: Steady State, Static, Unstable/stable - Answers - the tendency to return to
its original state
-the system is constant with continuous inputs & outputs
-no change over time
-unstable: returns to new equilibrium; stable: returns to same
Efficiency (Energy) - Answers - useful energy, work or output produced by a process
divided by the amount of energy consumed, bring the input to the process
Negative Feedback - Answers - damp down, neutralize, or counteract any deviation
from an equilibrium; stablizies systems in steady-state
Positive Feedback - Answers - further increases or decreases in output that enhances
the change in the system
System Resilience - Answers - how a system responds to a disturbance
-more resilient: more distrubance dealt with
Tipping Point - Answers - reached when ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in
which there are significant changes to its biodiversity & services it provides
Ecological Overshoot - Answers - surpassing the sustainable level of resources
exploitation
Sustainable Development - Answers - development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Natural Capita - Answers - goods & services the environment provides humans with in
order to provide natural income
Natural Income - Answers - natural resources that can be sold for profit
Abiotic vs. Biotic - Answers - Abiotic: non-living physical factors influencing organisms &
the ecosystem
Biotic: living organisms
Species - Answers - a group of organisms sharing common characteristics that
interbreed & produced fertile offspring
