ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PROPERTIES OF LIFE LESSON 2: FOUNDATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE As Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary field, there are general education subjects that students must be familiarized with. As the field deals with the physical environment and how it affects interactions among living things, most of the fields and skills involved come mostly from the natural sciences. Natural Sciences are generally those between the life sciences which cover the study of life, and the physical sciences, which study nonliving matter. In relation, understanding of the mathematical sciences is also integral in the study of Environmental Science. BIOLOGY Biology is an important pre-discipline in the field of Environmental Sciences. As it deals with living things, their anatomy, physiological processes, it is important how living things live and deal with their environment. Biologists study anything from the microscopic or submicroscopic view of a cell to ecosystems and the whole living planet. Biology has many branches where each focuses on a living thing, or aspects and mechanisms involving a living thing. BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY 1. Botany – study of plants 2. Zoology – study of animals 3. Microbiology – study of microorganisms and the structure and function of single-celled organism. 4. Anatomy – studies the parts and organs of a living thing. Anatomy is always paired with Physiology. 5. Physiology – concerns how these parts and organs function and operate, and how they are interrelated with each other. - There are plenty of other branches of Biology such as Virology (viruses and virus-like agents), Genetics (genes, genetic variation, and heredity), Agronomy (application of science and technology), and Bacteriology (bacteria). All living organisms share several key characteristics or functions: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. Order Sensitivity or Response to the Environment Reproduction Adaptation Growth and Development Regulation/ Homeostasis Energy Processing Evolution When viewed together, characteristics serve to define life. these eight The cell is the smallest unit of a living thing. Cells vary in size and characteristics. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic are the two divisions of cells. Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms by which the cells do not possess a nucleus, rather is DNA is contained in nucleoid. Eukaryotes are multi-celled organisms wherein the cells have nucleus, and other parts such as the organelles, chloroplasts and mitochondria are enclosed inside a membrane. ECOLOGY The branch of biology which is closest to the study of the environment is Ecology. It involves the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interaction among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their abiotic environment. Topics involve population, evolution, and ecosystem. CHEMISTRY Apart from Biology, Chemistry is also an important field to be studied before embarking into Environmental Science. Everything around us is composed of matter. The universe is composed of matter. Matter is anything that has volume and mass. Matter is composed of elements. An element is usually linked to other elements in the form of compounds. Periodic Table of Elements - - An exhaustive list or picture of all types of elements can be seen on periodic table of elements. It displays all chemical elements systematically in order of increasing atomic - number (the number of protons in the nucleus). There are 92 elements found in nature and several more exotic, manmade elements. Atom - - - Everything in nature, every creature and every material contains, and always has contained, radioactive substances. A human being is radioactive, and so is the food he or she eats. Radiation - - Describes a process in which energetic particles or waves travel through a medium or space. It is the energy that travels and spreads out as it goes – the visible light that comes from a radio lamp in your house and the radio waves that come from a radio station are two types of electromagnetic radiation. The other types of EM radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum are microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays. Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum - The range of all types of EM radiation. The ionizing types of radiation can be found in the rightmost side of the spectrum specifically X-rays and gamma rays. Ionizing Radiation - The basic unit of all matter and structure of an element. An atom is composed of three sub-atomic particles: negatively charged (-) electrons, positively charged (+) protons and the uncharged or neutral (0) neutrons. The central part of the atom is the nucleus, which is composed of the positively-charged proton, and neutrally-charged neutron. The nucleus is at the center and surrounded by the electrons. In atoms, there are certain definite electron orbits which are stable, or allowed. Electrons can jump from one orbit to another by emitting or absorbing energy. Proton number never changes for any given element. Atoms of a given element do not always contain the same number of neutrons. The outermost electrons of an atom determine the chemical properties of a given element. RADIOACTIVITY, ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING - - - Carries enough energy to knock off electrons from atoms causing them to be electrically charged or ionized. In this sense, it is likewise important to differentiate radioactivity and radiation. Radioactivity or Radioactive Decay - Process of emitting energy. Radiation is the emitted energy in the process. Sources of Ionizing Radiation 1. naturally-occurring 2. the living body 3. medicine 4. industrial 5. consumer products **The largest source of ionizing radiation comes from the natural background source, which is around 50% of the overall source. Cosmic radiation comes from outside the Earth while Cosmogenic is formed as a result of cosmic radiation. PHYSICS - is concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time, and it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms behind an event. - The concern for describing the basic phenomena in nature essentially defines the real of physics. - aims to describe the function of everything around us via the laws behind them. - considered as the foundation of many fields, including Environmental Science. The first topic being introduced in Physics is the description and conversion of quantities and units. Familiarizing with quantities and units is very important in Physics in order to have a specific and exact description of dynamics behind matter. S.I. or The Metric System - The standard system of units being utilized. Second (s), meter (m), and kilogram (kg) are the units for time, length, and mass. Order of Magnitude - Refers to the scale of a value expressed in the metric system. It is usually expressed in multiplication by ten to the nth power, e.g. 9 x 10^n. Kinematics - - Refers to the study of motion without considering its causes. The first concept to be understood under kinematics is displacement which refers to the change in position of an object. In relation, distance is defined to be the magnitude or size of displacement between two positions. A vector is any quantity that has a magnitude and direction. Time, velocity, speed, and acceleration are also concepts under kinematics. Statistics - Torque - Energy - - - Refers to the forces that affect the motion of moving objects and systems. Refer to the push and pull of an object. Newton’s law of motion are the foundation of dynamics, specifically 1) An existence of a cause (which is net external force) for there to be any change in velocity, more well-known as the law of inertia. 2) The acceleration of a system is directly proportional to and in the same direction as the net external force acting on the system, and inversely proportional to its mass. i.e. Force = mass times acceleration (F= ma). 3) Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the first body experiences a force that is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force that it exerts. When it comes to circular turns and angles, uniform circular motion, rotational and angular velocity are being discussed. Centripetal Force - is any net force causing uniform circular motion. is being exerted and converted by work, the transfer of energy by a force that causes an object to be displaced. Can be categorized into potential energy and kinetic energy. Law of Conservation of Energy - Forces is the rotational equivalent of a force. **There are aspects in environmental science that must be understood using the concept of energy. Dynamics - refers to the study of forces in equilibrium or state of balance. Implies that the total energy is constant in any process; energy may change in form or be transferred from one system to another, but the total remains the same. Power - is the rate at which work is done , or the average power for work done over a time. Like energy, heat and temperature are integral concepts in environmental science. Temperature - is defined as what can be felt as hot or cold, or what we measure with a thermometer vi Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin. MATHEMATICS Environmental sciences concepts and mechanisms involve calculations involving Calculus formulas. Each Calculus sub-topic is important., but this book will concentrate and briefly touch on limits and derivatives. The following are the rules of limits that must be remembered and practiced: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Sum Law Difference Law Constant Law Product Law Quotient Law Power Law 7. Root Law The following are the differentiation techniques that must be remembered and practiced. 1. 2. 3. 4. Constant Rule Power Rule Sum Rule Difference Rule STATISTICS - Studying environmental science involves dealing with data. This is why statistics as a prerequisite subject is important. Data - is a collection, organization, interpretation, and presentation of data. Analysis of data involves identifying variables. Variable - defined as a characteristic or attribute of the elements in a collection that can assume different values foe the different elements. Observation - is the realized value of a variable. It is also crucial to understand how sampling must be performed as it is usually impossible and expensive to undertake a study involving the whole population. With the proper sampling technique, collection of data will involve a sample which can represent a population. Simple random, stratified random, probability, snowball and convenience are the common sampling techniques.