Listed below are the major topics for the first exam. Please be aware that questions may be asked covering topics not on this list and not every topic listed will have a question asked about it. However, the ones listed are those that should be emphasized during your exam preparations.

I. Chapter 1: Environmental Problems and Their Causes

1) Exponential Growth

2) Inequitable Distribution of Global Wealth and Population

3) Sustainability and Resources

4) Types of Resources and Pollution

II. Chapter 2: Basic Concepts of Ecosystems

1) Systems and Models and Their Components

2) Positive and Negative Feedback Loops

3) Matter and Energy Quality and Their Change

4) The Four Global Spheres

5) Ecosystem Resources and Components

6) Producers and Consumers

7) Energy Flow in Ecosystems

8) Energy and Biomass Pyramids

9) Productivity Rates

10) The Five Major Nutrient Cycles: C, N, P, S, and H₂O

1) Types of Life

2) Evolution and Natural Selection

3) Speciation and Extinction

4) Mass Extinction and Adaptive Radiation

5) Species Niches and Roles

IV. Chapter 3: Species Interactions. Population Dynamics, and Ecological Succession

1) Types of Species Interactions

2) Ecological Succession

3) Theory of Island Biogeography

4) Carrying Capacity

5) Logistic Growth

6) Reproductive Strategies: R and K

V. Chapter 5: Important Ecosystems

1) Biome Controls

2) Major Biomes: Deserts, Grasslands, Forests, and Mountains

3) Major Aquatic Life Zones: Coastal, Open Sea, and Freshwater