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Questions and Answers
What is defined as anything that surrounds living and nonliving things?
Environment
Which elements are included in the physical elements of the environment? (Select all that apply)
What layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone layer?
Stratosphere
What is the largest bodies of water covering 70% of Earth's surface?
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Which of the following is NOT a main part of the hydrosphere?
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What is the first step in the scientific method?
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Which of these is a career in environmental science? (Select all that apply)
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Match the famous environmental scientists with their contributions:
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What is considered the process of emitting energy?
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The ______ is a basic particle that constitutes a chemical element.
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The biosphere indicates the realm of nonliving organisms.
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Which sustainable development goal focuses on gender issues?
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Study Notes
Environment
- Anything that surrounds living and nonliving things under dynamics.
- Includes physical, biological, and chemical elements.
Physical Elements
- Spaces, landforms, water bodies, climate, soils, rocks, and minerals.
Biological Elements
- Plants, animals, microorganisms, and humans that constitute the biosphere.
Scopes of the Environment
Atmosphere
- Gases that surround the Earth.
- Divided into layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
Biosphere
- Realm of living organisms and their interactions with the environment, atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
Hydrosphere
- All types of water resources such as oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs, polar ice caps, glaciers, and groundwater.
Lithosphere
- Outer mantle of the solid Earth.
- Consists of minerals occurring in the Earth's crust and soil.
Layers of the Atmosphere
Troposphere
- Lowest layer where weather occurs and where humans live.
Stratosphere
- Layer above the troposphere.
- Contains the ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters UV radiation.
Mesosphere
- Middle layer and the coldest layer.
- Meteors burn up in this layer.
Thermosphere
- Very thin layer that contains the ionosphere and where auroras occur.
- Temperature increases significantly with altitude, making it the hottest layer due to direct absorption of solar radiation.
Exosphere
- Outermost layer that gradually fades into space and contains very few particles.
Main Parts of the Hydrosphere
Ocean
- Largest bodies of water covering 70% of Earth's surface.
Rivers and Streams
- Flowing fresh bodies of water.
Lakes and Ponds
- Bodies of water that accumulate in depressions in the land.
Groundwater
- Water found beneath Earth's surface.
Glaciers
- Large masses of frozen water.
Atmospheric Water
- Water in the form of vapor in the atmosphere.
Wetlands
- Areas where water covers the soils for part of the year.
The Scientific Method
- Systematic approach to investigating phenomena.
- Steps include: determining the problem, stating the problem, developing a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, analyzing the results, and drawing conclusions.
Skills in the Environmental Science Field
- Researching skills.
- Practical application of scientific knowledge.
- Data gathering and practical application skills.
- Documentation.
- Data management.
- Familiarization and use of tools and equipment.
- Coding, programming, and use of software.
- Analysis of results and technical writing.
Careers in Environmental Science
- Cartographer, mapper, and planner.
- Researcher or laboratory analyst.
- Journalist or writer.
- Manager of an environmental-related business or company.
- Teacher or professor.
- Corporate social responsibility officer.
17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Global goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
- Cover aspects like poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, energy, economic growth, innovation, inequality, climate change, oceans, forests, cities, and peace.
Chemistry
- Branch of science that deals with the identification of the substance of which matter is composed.
Element
- Chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reaction.
Atom
- Basic particle that constitutes a chemical element.
Proton, Electrons, and Neutrons
- Subatomic particles that make up atoms.
- Protons are positively charged, electrons are negatively charged, and neutrons have no charge.
Isotopes
- Elements with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
Radiation
- Emitted energy in a process.
Radioactivity or Radioactive Decay
- Process of emitting energy.
Biology
- Deals with living things, their anatomy, and physiological processes.
Biologist
- Expert or student of the branch of science concerning living organisms.
Famous Environmental Scientists
Penny Whetton
- Climate scientist who researched the effects of global warming on Australia.
Rachel Carson
- “Mother of the modern environmental protection.”
- Published "Silent Spring," which exposed the harmful effects of synthetic pesticides.
Aldo Leopold
- “Father of wildlife ecology.”
- Famous for the book "A Sand County Almanac," which was published in 1949.
Johann Rockstrom
- Swedish scientist who won the Tyler Prize (often called the environmental Nobel Prize) for his research on the limits of the life support system.
- Authored "Planetary Boundaries," which emphasizes that Earth system processes have boundaries or limits that humanity should never cross.
9 Critical Earth System Processes
- Climate Change: based on the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the energy imbalance of the Earth's surface.
- Biodiversity Integrity (Genetic Diversity): focus on the rate of species extinction.
- Biogeochemical Flows (Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycle): excessive use of nitrogen and phosphorus in agriculture.
- Ocean Acidification: the uptake of carbon dioxide by the ocean, changing its chemical composition.
- Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: caused by human-made chemicals.
- Freshwater Use: overuse of freshwater resources.
- Land System Change: conversion of natural ecosystems for human use.
- Atmospheric Aerosol Loading: tiny particles in the air that can affect climate and human health.
- Biogeochemical Flows (Phosphorus Cycle): impact of human activities on the natural cycle of phosphorus.
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Description
Dive into the fundamental concepts of environmental science with this quiz. It covers physical, biological, and chemical elements of the environment, as well as the various scopes including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Test your knowledge of these essential components of our planet.
