 7ENVIRONMENT – encompasses all
that surrounds us—the natural world in
which we live, and all the things that
are produced by people
 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE – the
study of the interaction of humans with
the natural environment
 Living things -- Animals, plants,
forests, fungi, etc.
 Non-living things--Continents, oceans,
clouds, soil, rocks
 Our built environment-- Buildings,
human-created living centers
 Social relationships and institutions
 NATURAL SCIENCES – this is a field
of science that includes: Biology,
Chemistry, Earth science, Physics and
medicine
 Biology. The study of living organisms.
 Chemistry. The study lf chemicals and
their interactions.
 Earth Science. The study of the earth’s
nonliving systems and the planet as a
whole.
 Physics. The study of matter and
energy.
 Chemistry. The study lf chemicals and
their interactions.
 SOCIAL SCIENCES – study of
human populations, which includes
economics, political science, sociology,
history, philosophy and ethics.
 NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES –
resources that can be retrieved from
the environment once, but are not
generated.
 RENEWABLE RESOURCES –
resources that can be renewed,
adjusted and manipulated such as some
of our biological resources.
 NATURAL RESOURCES –
substances and energy sources needed
for survival
 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION –
an interdisciplinary process that aims at
equipping people with the knowledge,
attitudes, skills and motivation that they
need to help resolve environmental
issues
 ECOSYSTEM – ecological system;
Ecology – from the Greek word “oikos”
meaning house and “logos” which
means science of or the study of
 ECONOMICS – is viewed as a study of
the management of household?
 ECONOMIC THEORY – states that
resources can be exploited as long as its
profitable.
 Biotic components + Abiotic
Components = Biological systems
Ecosystem Organization
1. BIOSPHERE – part of earth that contains
all ecosystems
2. ECOSYSTEM – community and its
nonliving surroundings
3. COMMUNITY – populations that live
together in a defined area
4. POPULATION – group of organisms of
one type that live in the same area
5. ORGANISM – individual living thing
6. GROUPS OF CELLS – tissues, organs,
and organ systems
7. CELLS – smallest functional unit of life
8. MOLECULES – groups of atoms;
smallest unit of most chemical
compounds
 ECOSYSTEM – assemblage of living and
non-living elements contained within a
 boundary such that these elements
have functional relationships with each
other
 ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES – it is the
reason why we are living right now
 ECOLOGY – study among organisms
 ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY – study
of chemicals in our environment
 GEOSCIENCES – deals with the study of
earth
According to standpoint of Trophic Level
1. AUTOTROPHIC – Related to
components in which activity is
photosynthesis – the production of
organic matter from simple & drawn
from the surrounding & build into a
complex organic material.
2. HETEROTROPHIC – Transformation of
primary products to secondary products
from the plants
Heterotrophs are predators.
a. Bio phages – animals consume other
animals/plants/other organisms.
b. Saprophages – refers to
heterotrophic feeds on dead organic
matters. Ex. Micro-organism
 ABIOTIC FACTORS – nonliving things;
include science like chemistry, physics
and geology.
 BIOTIC FACTORS – living and can be
categorized within an ecosystem
structure
 BIOTIC COMPONENTS
o PRODUCERS – All green plants.
They use solar energy,
chlorophyll, inorganic nutrients
and water to produce their own
food. (Photosynthesis)
o CONSUMERS – They consume
the organic compounds in plant
and animal tissues by eating.
 Herbivores (plant feeders)
Primary consumers
 Carnivores (meat eaters)
Secondary consumers
 Omnivores (general
feeders)
o DECOMPOSERS – They are tiny
organisms includes bacteria and
fungi, which turn organic
compounds in dead plants and
animals into inorganic
materials.
 ENERGY CIRCUIT / FLOW – energy flows
through the structural elements of an
ecosystem.
o FOOD CHAIN – a linear
relationship such as leaves ---
caterpillar --- chickadee ---
hawk
Grazing food
chain – organisms feeding on
living organisms
Detritus food
chain – organisms feeding on
dead organisms
o FOOD WEB – more intricate and
complicated. Diversity pattern
in time and space
 NUTRIENT CYLCE – alternately bound
up in living organisms, freed in the
environment and bound up again in
living tissues.
o CLOSED SYSTEM – system that
neither receive inputs from nor
contributes outputs to the
external environment
o OPEN SYSTEM – system with
exchange of materials and
 energy to the surrounding
environment
 INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS –
Interactions between two or more
species are called
 PREDATOR/PREY – One organism
(predator) will actively hunt and
consume another (prey)
 COMPETITION – two or more
organisms of same or different species
compete to use the same limited
resources or basic needs
 PARASITISM – symbiotic relationship
between species, where one organism
(parasite) lives in or on another (host)
and feeds on it without immediately
killing it.
 MUTUALISM – cooperative partnership
between two species (both benefit)
 COMMENSALISM – relationship where
one species benefits and the other
remains unaffected
Limiting Factors in an Ecosystem
1. POPULATION – a group of potentially
interbreeding and interacting
individuals of the same species living in
the same place at the same time
2. COMMUNITY – group of populations in
a particular area. All plants, animals,
and fungal populations make up a given
community
3. ECOSYSTEM – refer to previous
definition
4. BIOMES – large complexes of
ecosystem with similar characteristic
General Forms of Competition
1. SCRAMBLE COMPETITION – no
individual has enough resource for
growth and development, high
population density
2. CONTEST COMPETITION – some
members of population get more
resource denying other members of
that resource (imbalance of division)
3. PREDATION – prey-predator
relationship, balances ecosystem
Unique Features of Population
1. Age structure - The ratio of the various
age classes to each other at given time.
It is determined by finding individual
ages of members of the population
2. Distribution on time and space
Birth rate/natality - production of new
individuals in a population the inherent
ability of population to increase
3. Death rate/mortality - no. of
individuals dying in a given time period
4. Population Growth Rate – some of the
forces influencing growth rate
 Mortality (d) and natality (b): rate of
increase = (b-d)
 Immigration (i) – influx of new
individuals into a population
 Emigration (e) – dispersal of
individuals from a population
 NICHE – A niche is the one who will
suitable into an ecosystem
 ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY – deals
with the study of the chemical and
biochemical phenomena that occur in
nature.
 Describes the concentration
and effects of naturally
occurring chemicals in
uncontaminated environment
as well as the effects of human
activities upon the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, lithosphere, and
biosphere.
  ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS –
measures or standards that we use to
help us see what is happening in the
environment
 PHYSICAL PARAMETERS – color, odor,
turbidity, density, temperature, and
solids
 CHEMICAL PARAMETERS – pH, total
dissolved solids (TDS) and their ionic
composition, suspended solids,
dissolved oxygen (DO), residual chorine,
COD, biochemical oxygen
 BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS – different
types of microorganisms, bacteria,
algae, small animals such as protozoa
and crustaceans.
Used to determine if water can be
utilized for drinking, swimming, and
other forms of human contact.
Physical Parameters
1. TURBIDITY – measure of the light-
transmitting properties of water.
2. COLOR – primarily a concern of water
quality for aesthetic reason. Color can
indicate presence of organic
substances.
3. ODOR & TASTE – indication that water
can use for human consumption. Odor
and taste are human perceptions of
water quality
4. TEMPERATURE – temperature of water
affects some of the important physical
properties and characteristics of water:
thermal capacity, density, specific
weight
5. CONDUCTIVITY – indicate how pure the
water is. Water with high specific
conductivity is not pure
Chemical Parameters
1. CHLORIDE ION – concentration
increases in case of urine and sewage
contaminated water
2. AMMONIA – concentration also
increases during water disinfection
process using chloramine
3. NITRITE – high concentration of nitrite
in infants is called Blue baby syndrome
Blue baby syndrome –
hemoglobin has greater affinity for
nitrite than oxygen
4. NITRATE – comes from organic matter
decomposition and from atmospheric
nitrogen fixation
5. PHOSPHATE – sources comes from
agricultural 45 wastes, sewage and
from industrial effluent
6. HARDNESS – merely due to salt of
calcium and magnesium
7. BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
– represents amount of oxygen
required by living organism
(microorganism) for oxidation of
biodegradable organic matters
8. CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (COD) –
amount of oxygen needed for oxidation
of organic matter present in water by
strong chemical oxidizing agents
9. DISSOLVED OXYGEN – source of oxygen
for aquatic aerobic organism like fishes,
aerobic bacteria
10. pH – measure the alkalinity and acidity
of water
Abiotic factors of ecosystems
- Water (hydrosphere) - Land
(lithosphere) - Air (atmosphere)
 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES – refers to
the movement of elements and
compounds cycling continuously
between Earth and its organisms o
Elements and compounds among four major
systems
- Land and soil (lithosphere) - Organisms
(biosphere)
- Air (atmosphere) - Ocean
(hydrosphere)
 WATER CYCLE/HYDROLIC CYCLE
o Most familiar material cycle,
where plants play a major role
by transpiration (transport plus
evaporation).
o Transpiration – water escaping
from plants due to Sun’s heat,
also contributes to some
extent, to the process of
evaporation
o Ground water – falls on the
ground, it gets stored under the
ground
 CARBON CYCLE
o Carbon may constitute about
40% of the living organism
o The main CO2 is used in
photosynthesis
o Carbon fixation – Most of the
carbon dioxide enters the living
world through photosynthesis.
Begins with photosynthetic
organisms taking up carbon
dioxide
o Carbon is also recycled during
burning of fossil fuels
 NITROGEN CYCLE
o Nitrogen is an important
element for organism because
it is a constituent of CHON
molecules, DNA molecules
(material for heredity) and
components of enzymes
{function in organism}.
oN2 is the 78% of gas
composition of earth.
o Nitrogen is continuously
entering into the air by the
action of denitrifying bacteria
and returning to the cycle
through the action of lightening
and electrification
 OXYGEN CYCLE
o Plants take energy from the
sun, carbon di oxide from the
air, and water from the soil to
make their food called glucose
o Oxygen is released into the air
as a by-product of
photosynthesis
o Oxygen required for respiration
in plants and animals enters the
body directly from the
surrounding medium
 SULPHUR CYCLE
o Gaseous Sulphur Cycle – include
those of nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon & water
o Sedimentary Sulphur Cycle –
include those of iron, calcium,
phosphorus, sulfur, &other
more earthbound elements
 PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
o Describes the movement of
phosphorus through the
lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere
o Phosphorus washed into bodies
of water and ultimately to the
oceans becomes insoluble
deposits
o Algal bloom – overabundance
of phosphorus can stimulate
excessive growth of algae
Environmental chemistry can also be applied in environmental chemistry include
the following: classical wet chemistry, such as
1. RISK/HAZARD - &ENVIRONMENTAL gravimetric, titrimetric and
IMPACT ASSESSMENT – process of risk electrochemical methods
assessment is commonly used in many
Nonrenewable Resources
countries to base environmental policy
1. COAL – burned to generate steam and
decisions
heat and is also used to generate
2. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT –
electricity
used to establish appropriate handling
During coalification, volatile phases
and storage procedures for chemicals
rich in hydrogen and oxygen (e.g.,
3. GROUNDWATER PROTECTION – Issues
water, CO2, and methane) are
(or questions to be answered) in
produced and escape from the mass;
protecting a groundwater source from,
hence, the coal becomes progressively
say, pollution by waste site leachate or
richer in carbon
polluted soils
2. NATURAL GAS – the world's second-
4. SURFACE WATER QUALITY
largest commercial fuel, making up
PROTECTION – surface water quality
about one-quarter of global energy
relate to where the pollutant will end
consumption
up and what will its effects on the
3. COALBED METHANE – Coalbed
aquatic ecosystem be
methane, coalbed gas, coal seam gas, or
5. SOIL PROTECTION – Methods for the
coal-mine methane is a form of natural
assessment of soil quality and the
gas extracted from coal beds.
impact by substances using various
Sweet gas – term refers to methane
chemical and Eco toxicological
adsorbed into the solid matrix of the
indicators of soil pollution
coal
6. CLEANER PRODUCTION & WASTE
Coalbed methane is distinct from a
MANAGEMENT – contributes to the
typical sandstone or other conventional
area of waste site management and
gas reservoir, as the methane is stored
remediation in terms of pollution
within the coal by a process called
identification through the analysis of
adsorption
environmental samples
Methane is in a near-liquid state, lining
7. POLICY – link between chemical
the inside of pores within the coal
behavior and chemical effects is used to
(called the matrix)
decide on allowable levels of a pollutant
Open fractures in the coal (called the
in the environment
cleats) can also contain free gas or can
be saturated with water
 QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL – analysis is
4. SHALE OIL – which is an unconventional
a key part of environmental chemistry,
oil produced from oil shale rock
since it provides the data that frame
fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation,
most environmental studies
or thermal dissolution
 Common analytical techniques used for
quantitative determinations in
 Term "shale oil" is also used for crude
oil produced from shales of other very
low permeability formations
5. GAS HYDRATES – crystalline solids in
which gas molecules are encased in
cages of water molecules
The gas molecules, called a guest,
stabilize the solid structure in these
hydrates
6. CALORIFIC VALUE – represents the
amount of heat or energy in each
volume of gas. It is a measurement of
energy or heat released
7. GROSS CALORIFIC VALUE (GCV) –
amount of heat released by the
complete combustion of a unit of
natural gas; also known as Higher
Heating Value (HCV)
Renewable Resources
1. SOLAR ENERGY
o Solar power is used for large-
scale energy production and
power generation for single 64
homes and with the massive
advancement of technology
o Sun is the energy source used
to detect reflective energy of
ground surfaces in the visible
and near infrared regions
o Solar is the first energy source
in the world.
o Solar energy is one the
alternative energy source that
is used most widely across the
globe
o Passive solar energy basically
uses duration, position, and
sun’s ray’s intensity to its
advantage in heating an area.
o Solar energy does not create
any pollution and is widely used
by many countries; hence it is a
viable source of producing
alternative energy.
2. WIND ENERGY
o Used in sailing ships making it
possible for our early explorers
to navigate the world
o Several windmills that are used
to generate required energy
mostly for industrial uses
3. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
o Another alternative source
where ‘Geo’ means Earth and
‘thermal’ means energy
o Geothermal energy means
energy drawn or harnessed
from beneath the earth. It is
completely clean and
renewable
o The earth contains a molten
rock called magma.
4. HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY
o The energy of the moving water
can then be captured called
Hydroelectric power
o Hydroelectric power stations
capture the kinetic energy of
moving water and give
mechanical energy to turbines
5. TIDAL ENERGY
o Tidal power basically involves
using kinetic energy from the
incoming and outgoing tides
o Tidal energy generator captures
the kinetic motion of the tides
and converts them into
electrical energy
6. BIOENERGY
 oRenewable energy made
available from materials
derived from biological sources
o Biomass is any organic material
which has stored sunlight in the
form of chemical 69 energy
o Biomass is renewable source of
energy as we would be able to
produce it if crops, plants, and
waste exist
7. NUCLEAR ENERGY
 NUCLEAR FUSION
 – combination of two or more atoms to
create one large atom
The mass of nuclear fuel present in the
reactor reaches the so-called critical
mass
 BIOFUEL – a type of renewable energy
source derived from microbial, plant, or
animal materials
Environmental Impacts of Energy Use
1. Energy Consumption and Economic
Development
2. Impacts of Energy Exploitation to
Wildlife
3. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Energy
Production
4. The Problem with Wind Energy
5. The Problem with Solar Energy
6. The Problem with Hydropower
7. Risks Associated with Nuclear Power
Current Transportation Technologies and
Infrastructure
1. Self-Driving Automobiles – are still
undergoing the earliest stages of
development and testing, but they are
already present on our nation’s
roadways.
o Nuclear power is one of the
most abundant forms of
alternative energy that gives a
number of direct benefits in
terms of discharges and
efficiency
 NUCLEAR FUEL – is the material used
for the generation of nuclear energy
 NUCLEAR FISSION – the division of a
larger atom into two or smaller atomic
particles
2. Smart Cars – Many consumers already
own smart vehicles
3. Next-Gen GPS Devices – calculate total
mileage and provide an estimated time
of arrival to a final location
4. High-Speed Rail Networks
5. Hyper loop – an underground rail that
shows speeds up to 240 mph in early
tests
6. Gyroscopic Vehicles
Emerging Transportation Technologies
1. Self-driving drone taxis – Autonomous
drone taxis that drive themselves are
currently being tested before being
released on the market
2. Maglev trains (short for “magnetic
levitation”) – trains hover about 4
inches above their tracks and are
propelled by electrically charged
magnets
3. Hyper loop transportation systems
4. Satellite-based air traffic control
systems – Satellite-based control
systems allow air traffic controllers to
be more efficient
5. Self-driving electric buses – Automated
city buses and shuttles will be in
operation in the near future
6. Elevated buses – The elevated bus is a
vehicle that “straddles” traffic.
7. Flying hotel pods
8. Smart roads – Roads are the foundation
of the future of transportation,
providing society with smart mobility.
9. Ground level pedestrian lights –
pedestrian traffic lights that would light
up the pavement in red or green to
signal when it is safe or not safe for
pedestrians to cross the street safely
10. Bicycle share programs – allow riders to
pay a small fee to ride a bike from one
point to another, leaving the bike at the
ride share station

 ELECTRICITY – an invisible and naturally

occurring force that can be seen in such
natural phenomena as lightning and the
shock you sometimes get when you
touch metal
 Urban outdoor air pollution refers to
the air pollution experienced by
populations living in and around urban
areas, i.e. cities
 Indoor air pollution refers to the
pollutants found in indoors
Main cause of indoor air pollution is
inefficient fuel combustion from
rudimentary technologies used for
cooking, heating, and lighting
 Urban outdoor air pollution can be an
important contributor to the indoor air
quality, especially in highly ventilated
homes, or in homes near pollution
sources