Name: ________________________________________
Block: _____
Date: _____/_____/_____
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Read Chapter 1, Section 1 in the textbook (pages 4 – 15). Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase that best
completes each item.
Chapter 1 – Section 1: Understanding Our Environment
I) What Is Environmental Science?
A) Environmental science is a relatively new field that studies the impact of _______________________ on
the environment.
B) One of the major goals of environmental science is to ______________________________ and
_______________ environmental problems by studying two types of interactions.
1) One area of study focuses on __________________________________________________________.
2) The other area of study focuses on ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
C) Environmental science is an ______________________________ science, which means it involves many
fields of study.
1) ____________________ is the foundation of environmental science which studies how ____________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
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Name: ________________________________________
Block: _____
Date: _____/_____/_____
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
2) ____________________ is the study of living organisms.
3) ____________________ science is the study of the earth’s nonliving systems and the planet as a
whole.
4) ____________________ is the study of matter and energy.
5) ____________________ is the study of chemicals and their interactions.
6) ____________________ sciences are the study of human populations.
II) Scientists as Citizens, Citizens as Scientists
A) Environmental scientists are often asked to share their research __________________________________.
B) The observations of non-scientists are the first step towards _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________.
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Name: ________________________________________
Block: _____
Date: _____/_____/_____
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
III) Our Environment Through Time
A) Hunter-Gatherers
1) For most of human history, people were hunter-gatherers, or people who obtain __________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
2) Hunter-gatherer societies still exist today in the ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
B) The Agricultural Revolution
1) Agriculture is the practice of ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
2) These practices had such a dramatic impact on human societies and their environment that it is often
called the _________________________________________________________________________.
3) The agricultural revolution changed ____________________________________________________.
4) As grasslands, forests, and wetlands were replaced with farmland _____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
C) The Industrial Revolution
1) A period beginning in the middle of the 1700’s where human greatly increased their usage of
______________________________ and ____________________.
2) Fossil fuels and motorized vehicles allowed food and other goods to be _________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
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Name: ________________________________________
Block: _____
Date: _____/_____/_____
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
D) Improving Quality of Life
1) The Industrial Revolution introduced many ______________________________________________.
2) The Industrial Revolution also introduced many new _______________________________________.
(a) Modern societies began to use ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
(b) Much of environmental science is concerned with the ____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
IV) Spaceship Earth
A) Earth has been compared to a spaceship traveling through space because it is essentially a _____________
____________________.
B) Environmental problems can also occur on different scales:
1) ____________________
2) ____________________
3) ____________________
C) Population Growth: A Local Pressure
1) The ______________________________ and ______________________________ revolutions
allowed the human population to grow much faster than it had ever grown before.
2) Human population almost ______________________________ during the 20th century.
3) Pressure on the environment will continue to ____________________ as the human population and its
need for resources _______________.
V) What Are Our Main Environmental Problems
A) Resource Depletion
1) Any material that is used by humans is called a ___________________________________________.
(a) A renewable resource is ___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
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Name: ________________________________________
Block: _____
Date: _____/_____/_____
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(b) A nonrenewable resource is ________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
2) Resources are said to be ____________________ when a large fraction of the resource has been used
up.
B) Pollution
1) Pollution is ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
(a) Biodegradable pollutants __________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
(b) Non-biodegradable pollutants are ____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
C) Loss of Biodiversity
1) Biodiversity refers to _________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
2) The organisms that share the world with us can be considered ________________________________
so it is important to preserve them.
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