Earth's Natural Systems - Terminology (Week 1-2)

3. A region with exceptionally high variety of living things. These areas are priorities for conservation.
4. A worldview that places humans at the centre. Nature is valued mainly for how it benefits humans.
6. Energy received from the sun.
8. The variety of living things, including the number of species, the genetic differences within species, and the variety of ecosystems.
11. The impact of a large mass of water.
13. Areas of the Earth that no single country owns but that all nations share and rely on—such as the atmosphere, the high seas, Antarctica, and outer space.
14. A person’s or group’s set of beliefs and values about the world—shaping how they see the environment, people, cultures, and global issues.

1. A worldview that values nature (ecosystems, species, and natural processes) for their own sake. Humans are seen as part of the natural system, not above it.
2. The usefulness of something in nature to humans—such as resources (timber, minerals), ecosystem services (clean water), or economic benefits.
5. The influence of a large mass of land on a place’s climate.
7. Seas Parts of the world’s oceans that lie outside any country’s territorial waters. They are open to all nations and used for activities like shipping, fishing, and research.
9. The idea that something in nature is valuable simply because it exists, not because it is useful to humans.
10. The direction a downward slope faces.
12. A species that is found naturally in only one specific location and nowhere else in the world.