APES Study Guide for 1st Semester Final
Unit 1: Chapters 1, 2 (sections 1, 4 and 5) and 3 (sections 1-4)
Terms to know:
Sustainability
Sustainable Yield
GDP, per capita GDP
Developed nations/developing nations
Tragedy of the Commons (examples)
Open access resource
Renewable/nonrenewable
Point source/ nonpoint source pollutants
Anthropogenic
Biodegradable/ nondegradable
Entropy
Synergy
Time delays
Tipping points
Prokaryotic/eukaryotic
Abiotic/biotic
Range of tolerance
Limiting factors
Trophic level
Autotroph/heterotroph
Biomagnification
Concepts:
 Be able to solve problems using dimensional analysis (review on website)
 Be able to state and explain the 1st Law of Thermodynamics (Law of Conservation of
energy).
 Be able to state and explain the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Understand the
implications of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics on the transfer of energy in a food chain
(why food chains form energy pyramids and how this relates to biomagnification, energy
implications of eating higher on the food chain etc.)
Evolution and Biodiversity: Chapter 4 and 9
Terms to know:
Mutation
Natural selection
Artificial selection/selective breeding
Adaptation
Gene flow
Genetic drift
Divergent evolution
Speciation
Selective pressure
Convergent evolution
Coevolution
Species diversity: species richness and evenness
Niche vs. habitat
Generalist vs. specialist species
Endemic species
Invasive (non-native, exotic, alien) species
Keystone species
Indicator species
Resource partitioning (evolutionary process)
Symbiotic relationships
-Mutualism, Commensalism and
Parasitism
Primary vs. secondary succession
Concepts:
 Be able to explain the requirement for natural selection: variability in the population due
to mutations, heritability of trait, differential reproduction (differences in survival and or
reproductive success due to favorable/unfavorable traits).
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Be able to explain the types of natural selection: directional, stabilizing and diversifying
including how each of these affect the normal distribution of allele frequency (allele=
form of gene).
Be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of generalist species and specialist
species.
Be able to give characteristics of extinction-prone species.
Be able to explain the general trend after a disturbance from an immature ecosystem
(early succession) to a mature ecosystem (late succession): (Figs. p. 116 and 117)
Toxicology: Chapter 17 sections 3-5
Terms to know:
Mutagens
Carcinogens
Teratogens
Endocrine disruptor
LD-50
TC-50
Threshold level
Ppm and ppb
Concepts to know:
 Be able to explain what a serial dilution is and be able to calculate the concentration of serial 10 fold
dilutions.
 Be able to interpret dose-response curves and determine the LD-50 or TC-50 from the graph as well
as threshold (if any).
 Be able to explain the common sources/uses of the following toxins: BPA, dioxin, lead, cadmium,
mercury, phthalates, formaldehyde, PCB and DDT. Know that PCB and DDT are currently banned
in the US but are very persistent chemicals.
 Know the most common metric prefixes (including micro and nano) and be able to determine
concentrations that are ppm (1 mg/kg or 1 mg/L water) and ppb (1µg/kg or 1µg/ L water).
Population Dynamics: Chapters 5.3 and 6
Terms to know:
Population size and density
Dispersion (random, uniform, clumped), Fig. 5-10
Age structure
Age groups (pre-reproductive, reproductive, postreproductive)
Biotic potential
Intrinsic rate of growth (r)
Logistic Growth
Carrying capacity (K)
Environmental resistance,
Population cycles (irruptive, irregular, stable,
cyclic)
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat corridors
Immigration/Emigration
Zero Population Growth
Replacement level fertility
Total fertility rate
Concepts to know:
 Understand how scientists estimate the size of large populations and know how to solve a mark-andrecapture population estimate.
 Know the population dispersion types and which is most common
 Understand exponential growth and the relationship to intrinsic growth rate and biotic potential
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Know the shape of a logistic growth and be able to identify carrying capacity. (Fig. p. 112)
Know factors that affect the carrying capacity, including revolutions in human evolution
What happens when species exceed their carrying capacity?
Be able to explain what r-strategists vs. K-strategists and identify examples of each. Know the
advantages and disadvantages to each strategy.
Survivorship curves for K and r-strategists
Know the most populous countries/continents and fastest growing countries/continents
Know how to calculate growth rate problems- given that birth and death rates are typically given per
1000 and growth rates are as a percentage.
Know factors that affect US fertility— (what makes us different from other developed countries?)
Know factors that affect life expectancy and birth, fertility, infant mortality, and death rates
Differences in birth rates between developed and developing countries
Be able to interpret age structure diagrams: what they look like for different types of population
growth (Figs. p. 131)
Understand the demographic Transition Model (preindustrial, transitional, industrial, postindustrial
stages): birth vs. death rates for each of the 4 stages and why (Fig. p. 134)
Ways governments can control/affect/reduce population growth
Know the formula for the rule of 70, and know how to use this formula to calculate the doubling
time of a population.
Climate, Weather, and Biomes: Chapter 7
Terms to Know:
Troposphere
Climate
Weather
Water vapor capacity
Specific Heat
Convection cells (Hadley, Ferrell, Polar)
Coriolis Effect
Regional winds (westerlies, trade winds)
Rain shadow
Ocean Conveyor, Thermohaline circulation
Upwelling
El Niño
La Niña
Concepts to Know:
 Difference between climate and weather
 Cause of seasons: relationship between Earth’s tilt and position relative to the sun
 Differential heating of land vs. water: relationship to specific heat of water, and effect of this
differential heating on heating of air above land and water
 Relationship between high and low pressure areas and amount of precipitation. (Fig. p. 143)
 Effect of temperature on water vapor capacity and how increasing altitude reduces air’s ability to
hold water vapor because air usually cools as it rises
 Be able to explain convection cells. Know the driving force of the Hadley cell. Know general
latitude locations of rising and sinking air. Be able to identify low pressure and high pressure zones
created by convection cells. Relate this pattern with the location of rainforests and deserts. (Fig. p.
144)
 Coriolis Effect: deflection in each hemisphere
 Global wind pattern on Earth: Interaction of convection cell air movement and Coriolis Effect
 Ocean conveyor belt: driving force of current at pole and Gulf Stream portion of current pattern
 Upwelling: causes and effects on weather and marine ecosystems
 El Niño causes and effects
 Biomes: Know major biomes general temperature and precipitation trends (Figs. p. 146 and 147)
Global Warming: Chapter 19 (Sections 1-3)
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Concepts to Know:
Be able to name the major sources of the following greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), halocarbons/ floridated compounds (CFC’s, HCFC’s),
tropospheric ozone (ground-level O3), soot (particulate black carbon) and water vapor (H2O).
Be able to explain the Keeling curve for CO2 in the atmosphere, knowing the upward trend since the
Industrial Revolution and the cause of the seasonal fluctuations.
Be able to define carbon sink (reservoir) and be able to explain three ways that the ocean serves as a
carbon sink as well as major terrestrial carbon sinks.
Be able to explain the effect of increasing dissolved carbon dioxide on the ocean’s pH, the reason for
the effect and the implications for this change (esp. for organisms with shells).
Be able to define positive and negative feedback loops and be able to identify possible feedback
loops for global warming.
Be able to explain the basics of the Kyoto Protocol