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AP Environmental Science Flashcards — Key Terms and Concepts

Free APES flashcards covering ecosystems, pollution, energy, climate change, and key environmental science vocabulary for the AP exam.

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Study AP Environmental Science (APES) with flashcards covering ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, pollution, energy resources, and environmental law.

Must-Know APES Terms

  • Ecological Footprint: Measure of human demand on Earth's ecosystems, expressed as the area of biologically productive land needed to provide resources and absorb waste. Global overshoot occurs when demand exceeds Earth's biocapacity.
  • IPAT Equation: Environmental Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology. Useful for analyzing how different factors drive environmental degradation.
  • Bioaccumulation: Increase in concentration of a substance in an organism's tissues over time. Biomagnification: increase in concentration as the substance moves up the food chain.
  • Tragedy of the Commons: Overexploitation of shared resources because individuals act in self-interest. Solutions: privatization, government regulation, or community management.
  • Eutrophication: Excessive nutrient enrichment (usually nitrogen and phosphorus) in aquatic systems, causing algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and dead zones.
  • Carbon Cycle: Carbon moves between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Human burning of fossil fuels adds ~10 Gt C/year, disrupting natural balance. Oceans and land each absorb ~25% of emissions.
  • CAFE Standards: Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards — US regulations requiring automakers to meet minimum fuel efficiency standards. Example of command-and-control environmental regulation.

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