ENV 1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Thermodynamics, Chemical Energy, Autotroph

• School: Baylor University
• Department: Environmental Studies
• Course: ENV 1301
• Professor: Marcum

Document Summary

Output resulting from a system moving in one direction acts as an input that moves that system in the other direction: input and output neutralize one another, stabilizes the system. Example: if we get hot, we sweat and cool down bringing us back towards the other direction ( hot----cold) Most systems in nature involve negative feedback loops. Natural systems are divided ino structural spheres. Nitrogen and phosphorus enter the chesapeake watershed (the land area that drains water into a river causing . Phytoplankton (microscopic algae and bacteria to grow, then . Bacteria eat dead phytoplankton and wastes and deplete oxygen, causing . Fish and other aquatic organisms to flee or suffocate. Matter: all material in the universe that has mass and occupies space: recycles. Law of conservation of matter: matter can be transformed. Hydrocarbon: methane, ethane, naphthalene, lots of carbons. Nucleic acid: genetic structure, dna & rna. Endocrine disrupters: chemicals that are changing hormones (mimic hormones)