AP Environmental Science – Study Guide Unit 1 Test
Coverage:
Miller pp.1-49, 615-626
Relevant Vocabulary:
environment
environmental science
environmentalism
natural capital
natural resources
natural services
sustainability
exponential growth
economic growth
gross domestic product
(GDP)
per capita GDP
GPI
economic development
developed country
developing country
doubling time
rule of 70
ecological footprint
renewable resource
nonrenewable resource
perpetual resource
environmental degradation
pollution
point sources
non-point sources
pollution prevention
pollution clean-up
poverty
affluenza
environmental impact
theory
law of progressive
simplification
agricultural revolution
industrial-medial revolution
information-globalization
revolution
frontier environmental
worldview
frontier era
environmental ethics
planetary management
worldview
stewardship worldview
environmental wisdom
worldview
biodiversity
social capital
trade-off
common property resource
scientific hypothesis
scientific theory
scientific law
observation
scientific method
experiment
induction
deduction
paradigm shift
single variable analysis
multivariable analysis
matter
elements
chemical bonds
compounds
atomic number
atoms
nucleus
neutrons
electrons
protons
ion
isotopes
mass number
pH
acidic solution
basic solution
neutral solution
molecule
organic compounds
inorganic compounds
chemical formula
chromosomes
genes
cells
prokaryotic
eukaryotic
organelles
macromolecules
monomers
simple carbohydrates
hydrocarbons
chlorinated hydrocarbons
complex carbohydrates
proteins
lipids
nucleic acids
solid
liquid
gas
plasma
material efficiency
high-quality matter
low-quality matter
matter quality
law of conservation of
matter
chemical change
physical change
chemical reaction
persistence
slowly degradable
(persistent) pollutants
controlled nuclear fusion
uncontrolled nuclear fusion
nondegradable pollutants
degradable (nonpersistent)
pollutants
biodegradable pollutants
radioactive isotopes
half-life
natural radioactive decay
nuclear change
nuclear fission
nuclear fusion
critical mass
energy
heat
kinetic energy
chemical energy
potential energy
electromagnetic radiation
high-quality energy
low-quality energy
first law of thermodynamics
second law of
thermodynamics
law of conservation of
energy
energy efficiency
matter-recycling economy
sinks
high-throughput economies
low-throughput economy
Relevant Concepts:
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Explain the difference between environmental science and environmentalism
Define and explain natural capital. Differentiate between natural resources and natural services.
Explain the ideal of environmental sustainability
Interpret a graph of U.S. and international population growth.
Calculate the doubling time of a population given its current population and growth rate.
Explain the effects of exponential population growth on an environmental system.
Explain the difference between developed and developing countries (or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world
countries).
Compare GDP and GPI.
Identify practices that lead to environmentally sustainable economic development.
Explain why economic disparities, poverty, and affluenza exacerbate environmental problems.
Distinguish among perpetual, renewable, and non-renewable resources. Give examples of each.
Explain the tragedy of the commons. Be able to identify a common property resource.
Explain the term “ecological footprint.” Identify actions that increase and decrease this footprint.
Define pollution. Distinguish between point sources and non-point sources.
Compare and contrast pollution prevention and pollution clean-up.
Identify the basic causes of environmental problems.
Identify the major steps in the “Story of Stuff.” Cite unsustainable practices mentioned in this linear
model.
Explain environmental impact theory. Use the IPAT equation to determine the environmental
impact of a particular practice.
Differentiate between the major eras in human environmental impact.
Provide the characteristics of various environmental worldviews.
Explain the four components of sustainability.
Characterize the nature of science
Provide the scientific definition for hypothesis, law, and theory.
Explain the difference between induction and deduction.
Explain how the scientific method provides a mechanism for paradigm shifts that might benefit the
field of environmental science.
Chapter 2
Types and Structure of Matter
 What is matter? What is an element? How are elements classified?
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What is the structure of an atom? Name the principal subatomic particles, their charge, mass,
and location in the atom. Describe their arrangement in the atom.
Explain the difference between the atomic number and the mass number of an atom.
What is an isotope?
Explain how an atom can become an ion.
Describe the pH scale. What is the difference between an acid and a base. Why is water
considered to be a neutral substance?
Explain the difference between ionic and covalent compounds. What is an organic compound?
What is a diatomic molecule? What is polyatomic ion?
Describe the differences among hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and simple
carbohydrates.
What are the major polymers that comprise the organic molecules of life? From what are each
composed?
What is the relationship between genes and chromosomes?
What is an inorganic compound?
What is a cell? Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. What is an organelle?
Describe the states of matter. Explain the differences among each.
What is the difference between high quality and low quality matter. Give an example of each.
What is material efficiency/resource productivity?
Changes in Matter
 What is the difference between a chemical change and a physical change?
 State the law of conservation of matter. Describe its implications for matter cycling on the Earth.
 What is a pollutant? What governs the harmfulness of pollutants?
 What are the four categories of pollutants?
 What is a nuclear change? What happens when an atom undergoes a nuclear change?
 What is radioactive decay? Calculate the leftover amount of a radioactive substance if its halflife is given.
 What is nuclear fission? How is it used to provide energy?
Energy
 What is energy? What are its different forms? How can energy be transferred?
 What rules govern the transfer of energy?
 What is heat?
Energy Laws: Two Rules We Cannot Break
 Describe the implications of the laws of thermodynamics.
 Compare high-quality and low-quality energy.
 Describe why energy transfers are not 100% efficient.
Sustainability and Matter and Energy Laws
 Compare and contrast high-throughput and low-throughput economies. What is more
sustainable?
 Explain how reuse-recycling economies are more sustainable.