Ib ess review Study guides, Class notes & Summaries

A comprehensive visual and written review of all the topics in the IB ESS (environmental systems and societies) course, complete with diagrams, drawings, and definitions of key terms.

model a simplified description designed to show the structure or working of an object, system or concept. open system type ***** in which both matter and energy are exchanged with its surroundings closed system type ****** in which energy but not matter is exchanged with its surroundings Gaia hypothesis developed by James Lovelock, compares the Earth to a living organism in which feedback mechanisms maintain equilibrium

model - Answer- a simplified description designed to show the structure or working of an object, system or concept. open system - Answer- type ***** in which both matter and energy are exchanged with its surroundings closed system - Answer- type ****** in which energy but not matter is exchanged with its surroundings Gaia hypothesis - Answer- developed by James Lovelock, compares the Earth to a living organism in which feedback mechanisms maintain equilibrium isolated system - Answer...

demographics - Answer- statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it. doubling time - Answer- The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase. crude death rate - Answer- The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people. crude birth rate - Answer- The number of live births per year per 1,000 people. fertility rate - Answer- the average number of children a woman of childbearing years would have in her lifetime...

greenhouse gas a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation such as CFC's and carbon dioxide (unlike non-greenhouse gases) Any gas that traps radiation in the Earth's atmosphere is a GHG. 5 major greenhouse gases -carbon dioxide -nitrous oxides -Tropospheric ozone -Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -methane IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) a scientific body under the United Nations. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, tech...

Abiotic Factor - Answer- A non-living, physical factor that may influence an organism or ecosystem; i.e. temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity, precipitation Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - Answer- A measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required to break down the organic material in a given volume of water through aerobic biological activity Biodegradable - Answer- Capable of being broken down by natural biological processes; i.e. the activities of decomposer organisms Biodiversity...