Systems Thinking Vocabulary

2. Links between system components.
4. Individual parts of a system.
9. A persistent disturbance of a system.
10. The rate of matter or energy movement (amount per unit time).
12. No change in any component or source/sink in a system as a function of time..
13. Describes whether a system is stable or unstable.
14. A set of attributes that characterize the system at a particular time.
15. A place where matter or energy resides.
18. Change in a system as a result of perturbation or forcing.
19. Matter and/or energy is lost from a system.
21. A temporary disturbance of a system.
22. A self-perpetuating mechanism of change and response to that change.
24. Amplifies the effect of disturbances.

1. If the flux of matter or energy out of a reservoir is greater than the flux in, the reservoir is a source.
3. The length of time for a system to return to steady state after being perturbed.
5. Diminishes the effect of disturbances.
6. If the flux of matter or energy into a reservoir is greater than the flux out, the reservoir is a sink.
7. Matter and/or energy are contained within a system.
8. A graphical and quantitative representation of a system.
11. The level or value at which a rapid change in the system state occurs.
16. A graphical representation of a system, showing system components and couplings.
17. The length of time a substance remains in a given reservoir.
20. An entity composed of diverse but interrelated parts that function as a complex whole.
23. Constant movement of material from one reservoir to another.