ESS All Topics, Top exam questions and answers, 100% Accurate, graded A+

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ESS All Topics, Top exam questions and answers, 100% Accurate, graded A+ Environmental Value System - ✔✔-Worldview that shapes the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate e... nvironmental issues. System - ✔✔-A set of inter-related parts working together to make a complex whole Open System - ✔✔-Exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings Closed System - ✔✔-Exchanges energy but not matter with its surroundings Isolated System - ✔✔-Exchanges neither matter nor energy Transfer - ✔✔-Occurs when energy or matter flows and changes location Transformation - ✔✔-Occurs when energy of matter flows and changes its state Model - ✔✔-A simplified version of the real thing Strengths of Models - ✔✔-Easier to work with than complex reality / helps us see patterns / used to visualize really small or big things Weaknesses of Models - ✔✔-Accuracy is lost as it is simplified / predictions may be inaccurate / assumptions are wrong means model is wrong First Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔-States that energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed Second Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔-The fact that energy is transformed through energy transfers Entropy - ✔✔-The measure of the amount of disorder in a system Efficiency - ✔✔-energy produced / energy consumed Steady-State Equilibrium - ✔✔-Where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter but the system as a whole remains in a constant state Static Equilibrium - ✔✔-Where there is no change over time Stable Equilibrium - ✔✔-Returns to the same equilibrium after a disturbance Unstable Equilibrium - ✔✔-System returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance Negative Feedback - ✔✔-Stabilizing and it counteracts deviation Positive Feedback - ✔✔-Destabilizing and tend to amplify changes and drive system towards the tipping point Resilience - ✔✔-Ability of a system it return to its initial state after a disturbance Factors Affecting Resilience - ✔✔-Diversity / Biodiversity / Size of Ecosystem / Speed of Reproduction Process Ecological Tipping Point - ✔✔-When an ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in which there are significant changes to its biodiversity. E.G = lake eutrophication Sustainability - ✔✔-Use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use Natural Capital - ✔✔-Natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services Natural Income - ✔✔-Yield obtained from natural resources Indicators of Sustainability - ✔✔-Biodiversity / Pollution / Population / Climate Environmental Impact Assessments - ✔✔-Incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken. They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, prediction and evaluating possible impact and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project. Ecological Footprint - ✔✔-Area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population Pollution - ✔✔-The addition of a substance or an agent to an environment by human activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment. Primary Pollutants - ✔✔-Active on emission Secondary Pollutants - ✔✔-Formed by primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical changes Non-Point Source Pollution - ✔✔-Release of pollutants from numerous, widely dispersed origins Point Source Pollution - ✔✔-Release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site Persistent Organic Pollutant - ✔✔-Resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a long time Biodegradable Pollutant - ✔✔-Don't persist in the environment and break down quickly Acute Pollution - ✔✔-When large amounts of a pollutant are released causing a lot of harm Chronic Pollution - ✔✔-Results from the long term release of a pollutant but in small amount Direct Measurements of Pollution - ✔✔-Acidity of rain water / amount of gas in the atmosphere / amount of nitrates in soil or water Indirect Measurements of Pollution - ✔✔-Measuring abiotic factors that change as a result of the pollutant Pollution Management Strategies - ✔✔-Changing human activity / Regulating or preventing the release of the pollutant / Working to clean up or restore damaged e [Show More]

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