ENV 110 Cram Sheet
1. Introduction to Environmental Science:
- Definition and Scope:
- Environmental Science: The study of interactions between the physical, chemical, and
biological components of the environment and the impact of human activities on these systems.
- Interdisciplinary Approach: Combines principles from biology, chemistry, physics, geology,
and social sciences to address environmental issues.
- Major Themes:
- Sustainability: The capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way across various domains of
life. Includes environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
- Ecosystem Services: The benefits humans receive from ecosystems, such as clean air, water
purification, pollination of crops, and climate regulation.
2. Earth’s Systems and Natural Processes:
- Earth’s Spheres:
- Atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding Earth, including troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere, and thermosphere. Key for weather, climate, and life support.
- Hydrosphere: All water on Earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and glaciers.
Crucial for supporting life and regulating climate.
- Lithosphere: The rigid outer layer of Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle. Includes
landforms and geological processes.
- Biosphere: The global sum of all ecosystems, including all living organisms and their
interactions with each other and the environment.
- Natural Processes:
- Water Cycle: Continuous movement of water through evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, infiltration, and runoff. Important for climate regulation and ecosystem health.
- Rock Cycle: The series of processes that form and transform the rocks in Earth’s crust,
including weathering, erosion, sedimentation, and metamorphism.
- Carbon Cycle: Movement of carbon through the atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, and
geosphere. Key for regulating Earth’s climate and supporting life processes.
3. Ecosystems and Biomes:
- Ecosystem Structure:
- Biotic Components: Living organisms in an ecosystem, including producers (plants),
consumers (herbivores, carnivores), and decomposers (bacteria, fungi).
- Abiotic Components: Non-living factors, such as sunlight, temperature, water, soil, and
nutrients.
