ESS All Topics 2023 Environmental Value System - Answer Worldview that shapes the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues.System - Answer A set of inter-related parts working together to make a complex whole Open System - Answer Exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings Closed System - Answer Exchanges energy but not matter with its surroundings Isolated System - Answer Exchanges neither matter nor energy Transfer - Answer Occurs when energy or matter flows and changes location Transformation - Answer Occurs when energy of matter flows and changes its state Model - Answer A simplified version of the real thing Strengths of Models - Answer Easier to work with than complex reality / helps us see patterns / used to visualize really small or big things Weaknesses of Models - Answer Accuracy is lost as it is simplified / predictions may be inaccurate / assumptions are wrong means model is wrong First Law of Thermodynamics - Answer States that energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed Second Law of Thermodynamics - Answer The fact that energy is transformed through energy transfers Entropy - Answer The measure of the amount of disorder in a system Efficiency - Answer energy produced / energy consumed Steady-State Equilibrium - Answer Where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter but the system as a whole remains in a constant state Static Equilibrium - Answer Where there is no change over time Stable Equilibrium - Answer Returns to the same equilibrium after a disturbance Unstable Equilibrium - Answer System returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance Negative Feedback - Answer Stabilizing and it counteracts deviation Positive Feedback - Answer Destabilizing and tend to amplify changes and drive system towards the tipping point Resilience - Answer Ability of a system it return to its initial state after a disturbance 1 / 2
ESS All Topics 2023 Factors Affecting Resilience - Answer Diversity / Biodiversity / Size of Ecosystem / Speed of Reproduction Process Ecological Tipping Point - Answer When an ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in which there are significant changes to its biodiversity. E.G = lake eutrophication Sustainability - Answer 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 - Answer Natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services Natural Income - Answer Yield obtained from natural resources Indicators of Sustainability - Answer Biodiversity / Pollution / Population / Climate Environmental Impact Assessments - Answer 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 - Answer 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 - Answer 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 - Answer Active on emission Secondary Pollutants - Answer Formed by primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical changes Non-Point Source Pollution - Answer Release of pollutants from numerous, widely dispersed origins Point Source Pollution - Answer Release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site Persistent Organic Pollutant - Answer Resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a long time Biodegradable Pollutant - Answer Don't persist in the environment and break down quickly Acute Pollution - Answer When large amounts of a pollutant are released causing a lot of harm
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