Review Vocabulary

Review Vocabulary

Biomass A measure of equal value. (p. 960)

Butterfly effect A small change in initial conditions of a system making an enormous difference later on. (p. 973)

Carrying capacity The maximum population size that can be supported indefinitely by the available resources. (p. 946)

Chaos Complex but deterministic behavior that is unpredictable in the long run. (p. 972)

Cobweb diagram A kind of graphical portrayal of the evolution of a dynamical system, such as a population. (p. 964)

Compound interest formula Formula for the amount in an account that pays compound interest periodically. For an initial principal and effective rate per year, the amount after years is . (p. 944)

977

Continuous interest formula For a principal in an account at a nominal annual rate , compounded continuously, the balance after years is . (p. 944)

Decay constant For a substance decaying exponentially, the fraction that decays per unit time. (pp. p. 955 p. 956)

Deterministic A system is deterministic if its future behavior is completely determined by its present state, past history, and known laws. (p. 972)

Dynamical system A system whose state depends only on its states at previous times. (p. 971)

Economy of scale Costs per unit decrease with increasing volume. (p. 967)

Equilibrium population size A population size that does not change from year to year. (p. 961)

Exponential reserve How long a fixed amount of a resource will last at a constantly increasing rate of use. A supply , at an initial rate of use that is increasing by a proportion each year, will last

years. (p. 952)

Half-life For a substance decaying exponentially, the time that it takes for one-half of a quantity to decay. (p. 956)

Isotope A form of a chemical element whose atomic nucleus contains the same number of protons as other forms (the atomic number of the element) but a different number of neutrons (giving it a different atomic weight). (p. 956)

Iterated function system (IFS) A sequence of elements (numbers or geometric objects) in which each next element is produced from the previous one by applying a consistent function (rule) to the previous element. (p. 973)

Logistic model A particular population model that begins with near-geometric growth but then tapers off toward a limiting population (the carrying capacity). (p. 948)

Maximum sustainable yield (harvest) The largest harvest that can be repeated indefinitely. (p. 963)

Natural increase The growth of a population that is not harvested. (p. 961)

Nonrenewable resource A resource that does not tend to replenish itself. (p. 950)

Population structure The division of a population into subgroups. (p. 946)

Rate of natural increase Birthrate minus death rate; the annual rate of population growth without taking into account net migration. (p. 945)

Renewable natural resource A resource that tends to replenish itself; examples are fish, forests, wildlife. (p. 960)

Reproduction curve A curve that shows population size in the next year plotted against population size in the current year. (p. 960)

Savings formula Formula for the amount in an account to which a regular deposit is made (equal for each period) and interest is credited, both at the end of each period. For a regular deposit of and an effective interest rate per year, the amount accumulated after years is

Static reserve How long a fixed amount of a resource will last at a constant rate of use; a supply used at an annual rate will last years. (p. 951)

Sustainable yield A harvest that can be continued at the same level indefinitely. (p. 962)

Sustainable-yield harvesting policy A harvesting policy that could be continued indefinitely to maintain the same yield. (p. 963)

Yield The amount harvested. (p. 962)