Name _________________________________________________ Date___________ Section_____
Unit 1: An Introduction to Environmental Science
Lesson 1: Our Island, Earth
Guiding Question: How does environmental science help us understand the
natural world?
Vocabulary: Know the definition of each term.
EnvironmentEnvironmental scienceEnvironmentalismNatural resourceRenewable natural resourceNonrenewable natural resourceSustainableFossil fuelEcological footprint-
Guided Reading:
1. What do environmental scientists study?
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2. “Environment is often used to mean the nonhuman or ‘natural’ world.” Why is this incorrect?
How are humans a part of nature? __________________________________________________
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3. Will the ozone hole ever be gone? Why or why not? _________________________________
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4. Study the environment is very complex. What are the different disciplines that contribute to
environmental science? __________________________________________________________
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5. One reason environmental scientists are different from environmentalists is that scientists try
to maintain an unbiased approach to their research. What is ‘bias’? THINK: Why is bias
detrimental to the scientific process? ________________________________________________
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6. On our island Earth, what is the problem with the human population increasing drastically?
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7. Outline the “Renewability Continuum” below. Give examples at each step in the continuum.
8. How many people do we add to the planet each year? ________________________________
9. Based on the history of the United States, what is the reason for the increase in our absolute
population number? _____________________________________________________________
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10. What are the 2 components that the ecological footprint expresses? ____________________
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11. What other organisms have an ecological footprint? _________________________________
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12. The average American has an ecological footprint of _______________________. Do you
think your footprint is below, the same, or higher than this average? _______________________
13. What is meant by tragedy of the commons?________________________________________
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Lesson 2: The Nature of Science
Guiding Question: What does it mean to “do science”?
Vocabulary: Know the definition of each term.
Hypothesis-
Prediction-
Independent variable-
Dependent variable-
Controlled study-
Data-
Guided Reading:
1. What is science? ______________________________________________________________
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2. “Science assumes that the natural world functions in accordance with rules that do not change
unpredictable from time to time or from place to place…Scientists examine the workings of the
natural world by collecting evidence.” However, why can nothing ever be proven?
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3. The process of science involves certain logical steps. Real science usually involves loops of
the steps on the way to reaching a conclusion. Reading carefully, (without the loops) what are the
general steps, in order, of the scientific method? ______________________________________
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4. Using the example the authors use in the textbook, what is an independent variable vs. a
dependent variable? _____________________________________________________________
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5. What is a controlled variable? What does it mean for variable to show correlation? _________
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6. What can data do for you as a scientist?
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7. Summarize the information shared about the ozone layer and hole within this chapter.
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Lesson 3: The Community of Science
Guiding Question: What happens to a scientific study after data have
been gathered and the results are analyzed?
Vocabulary: Know the definition of each of the terms.
Peer review-
Theory-
Ethics-
Environmental ethicsGuided Reading:
1. How does the scientific community help contribute to scientific theories? ________________
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2. Why is replication of an experiment important in science? _____________________________
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3. What are some prominent scientific theories mentioned in the text? _____________________
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4. Explain the relationship between ethics, culture, and the environment. ___________________
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5. Fill in the following chart with information about each topic.
Anthropocentrism
Biocentrism
Ecocentrism