ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TERMINOLOGIES
INTRODUCTION
Environment derived from the French word “Environ” which means “surrounding”
Environment Our surrounding includes biotic and abiotic factors
Environmental science study of nature and the facts about environment.
Environment "all the social, economical, physical and chemical factors that surrounds man" or "all abiotic
and biotic components around man-all living and non-living things surrounds man"
Hydrosphere total amount of water on a planet
Lithosphere mantle of rocks constituting the earth’s crust.
Atmosphere cover of the air, that envelopes the earth
Biosphere the part of earth that supports life
Environmental science The interdisciplinary study of humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the physical
environment.
Data information with which science works
Scientific Method established processes that scientists use to answer questions or solve problems
Nonrenewable resources those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a
thought for subsequent generations.
Renewable resources those which can be used but can be regenerated by natural processes such as regrowth
or rainfall
Sustainable development development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
Ecology devised its name — eco from the Greek word for “house” and logy from the Greek word
for “study.”
Ecology The study of the interactions among organisms and between
organisms and their abiotic environment
Population a group of organisms of the same species that live together in the same area at the
same time
Species group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one another in the
wild to produce fertile offspring
Community a natural association that consists of all the populations of different species that live and
interact together within an area at the same time.
Ecosystem includes all the biotic interactions of a community as well as the interactions between
organisms and their abiotic environment
Landscape a region that includes several interacting ecosystems.
Biosphere the layer of Earth that contains all living organisms.
Energy capacity or ability to do work
Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its transformations
First law of thermodynamics energy cannot be created or destroyed, although it can change from one form to another.
Photosynthesis biological process that captures light energy and transforms it into the chemical
energy of organic molecules, which are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water.
Second law of thermodynamics when energy is converted from one form to another, some of it is degraded into heat, a
less usable form that disperses into the environment.
Producers Plants and other photosynthetic organisms
Consumers they consume other organisms as a source of food energy
and bodybuilding materials
Primary consumers consumers that eat producers
(herbivores)
Secondary consumers eat primary consumers
Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers
, ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TERMINOLOGIES
Other consumers (omnivores) eat a variety of organisms
Detritus feeders consume detritus, organic matter that includes animal carcasses, leaf litter, and feces
Decomposers organisms that breakdown dead organisms and waste products. Bacteria and fungi are
important examples
Energy flow passage of energy in a one-way direction through an ecosystem
Food chain energy from food passes from one organism to the next in a sequence
Food web a complex of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, is a more realistic model of
the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems
Ecological pyramids often graphically represent the relative energy values of each trophic level.
INTRODUCTION
Environment derived from the French word “Environ” which means “surrounding”
Environment Our surrounding includes biotic and abiotic factors
Environmental science study of nature and the facts about environment.
Environment "all the social, economical, physical and chemical factors that surrounds man" or "all abiotic
and biotic components around man-all living and non-living things surrounds man"
Hydrosphere total amount of water on a planet
Lithosphere mantle of rocks constituting the earth’s crust.
Atmosphere cover of the air, that envelopes the earth
Biosphere the part of earth that supports life
Environmental science The interdisciplinary study of humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the physical
environment.
Data information with which science works
Scientific Method established processes that scientists use to answer questions or solve problems
Nonrenewable resources those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a
thought for subsequent generations.
Renewable resources those which can be used but can be regenerated by natural processes such as regrowth
or rainfall
Sustainable development development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
Ecology devised its name — eco from the Greek word for “house” and logy from the Greek word
for “study.”
Ecology The study of the interactions among organisms and between
organisms and their abiotic environment
Population a group of organisms of the same species that live together in the same area at the
same time
Species group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one another in the
wild to produce fertile offspring
Community a natural association that consists of all the populations of different species that live and
interact together within an area at the same time.
Ecosystem includes all the biotic interactions of a community as well as the interactions between
organisms and their abiotic environment
Landscape a region that includes several interacting ecosystems.
Biosphere the layer of Earth that contains all living organisms.
Energy capacity or ability to do work
Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its transformations
First law of thermodynamics energy cannot be created or destroyed, although it can change from one form to another.
Photosynthesis biological process that captures light energy and transforms it into the chemical
energy of organic molecules, which are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water.
Second law of thermodynamics when energy is converted from one form to another, some of it is degraded into heat, a
less usable form that disperses into the environment.
Producers Plants and other photosynthetic organisms
Consumers they consume other organisms as a source of food energy
and bodybuilding materials
Primary consumers consumers that eat producers
(herbivores)
Secondary consumers eat primary consumers
Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers
, ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TERMINOLOGIES
Other consumers (omnivores) eat a variety of organisms
Detritus feeders consume detritus, organic matter that includes animal carcasses, leaf litter, and feces
Decomposers organisms that breakdown dead organisms and waste products. Bacteria and fungi are
important examples
Energy flow passage of energy in a one-way direction through an ecosystem
Food chain energy from food passes from one organism to the next in a sequence
Food web a complex of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, is a more realistic model of
the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems
Ecological pyramids often graphically represent the relative energy values of each trophic level.
