Unit 1 - Science in the Environment
What is a renewable resource? Provide 3 examples.
What is a nonrenewable resource? Provide 3 examples.
What is a natural resource? Provide 3 examples.
Bonus Points - Which nonrenewable has zero carbon emissions? What material is used in this process?
Renewable - Can be replenished sustainably. Solar, Wind, Hydropower, Biomass, Geothermal.
Nonrenewable - Cannot be replenished, or at least not sustainably / in a reasonable amount of time. Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, Nuclear.
Natural Resource - A resource from the earth. All of our previous examples would work, but also stone, minerals, wood, metals, sand, etc.
Bonus - Nuclear. Uranium (usually).
What is the difference between biotic and abiotic? List 3 biotic factors in an environment. List 3 abiotic factors in an environment.
Bonus Points - Is a pinecone biotic or abiotic? Why?
Abiotic – Nonliving parts of an ecosystem (like soil and temperature). Ex - Water, wind, temperature.
Biotic – Living and once living pats of an ecosystem (or came from a living thing – like excrement). Ex - Plants, animals, bacteria.
Bonus - Biotic. Dormant living thing - grows into a living organism.
What are estuaries? Where do they get their nutrients from?
Bonus Points - Define eutrophication.
An area where freshwater from a river mixes with saltwater from the ocean. Very nutrient rich and productive ecosystems. This is because they receive fresh nutrients from rivers and oceans.
Bonus - An increase in the amount of nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem. Results in more photosynthetic organisms, as well as more bacteria, leading to cutting off oxygen from other living organisms in the water.
Compare developing nations to developed nations. Consider – health standards, rate of population growth, personal wealth, access to food, access to water, etc.
Bonus Points - What is an example of each a developed and developing country?
Developing nation – Lower health standards, higher rate of population growth, less personal wealth, less access to food, less access to clean water.
Bonus - Developed - USA. Developing - Nigeria.
What is the difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms?
Bonus Points - What are decomposers? What are two examples of them?
Gymnosperms – Woody evergreens with needles that produce seeds that are not enclosed in fruits – pinecones.
Angiosperms – Flowering plants that produce seeds in fruit – most land plants.
Bonus - Get nutrients by releasing chemicals that break down organic matter in order to absorb nutrients. Bacteria and Fungi
Define sustainability and ecological footprint. What is an example of a country with people that hold large ecological footprints? What is an example of something that is not sustainable?
Bonus Points - What is, by far, the largest change you can make to reduce your own carbon footprint? What is another large change you can make?
The ability to be maintained at a certain level or rate. USA. Fossil fuels, meat.
Bonus - Going vegetarian. Another large impact would be going vegan, using alternatives to fossil fuels such as electric appliances and cars (the cars aren't the best, nor is out infrastructure to support them, but you are factually reducing your CO2 emissions).
Where does the energy in most ecosystems come from? What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?
Bonus Points - What happens to the amount of energy available as we move up the food web? If a producer has 100% of energy available to them, then what % of energy would a tertiary consumer have available to them?
Sun - sunlight.
Autotroph – Organism that makes its own food through photosynthesis (“self-feeders”).
Heterotroph – Organisms that cannot make their own food and get energy by eating other organisms (“other feeders”).
Bonus - It decreases. Divide the amount by 10 each trophic level you move up. Tertiary would have 0.1%.
Most ocean pollution can be traced back to activity where? Where does most coastal pollution come from? Where does most human pollution come from?
Bonus Points - What notable pollutants do humans produce, on a literal level (your bodies)? You should be able to name two.
On land, as well as fishing.
Industrial waste and sewage.
Factories, heating homes, cars / transportation, animal agriculture.
Bonus - CO2 and CH4 (Methane)
Name three places or types of ecosystems that would be very biodiverse. Where are many of these places typically located close to? Where on earth are we seeing the greatest loss of biodiversity?
Bonus Points - What types of animals are most at risk of extinction? Like 2 characteristics surrounding their population.
Tropical rainforests, coastal ecosystems, coral reefs, islands.
The equator.
The same places - there are more species to go extinct.
Bonus - Animals that have small populations, have migration patterns, or live in specific habitats.
Where is most fresh water on earth located? What is a tributary? What contains all water near or on earth's surface?
Bonus Points - How does the water cycle work?
In ice caps and glaciers.
Small streams and rivers that flow into larger ones.
Hydrosphere.
Bonus - Water evaporates into water vapor, condenses into clouds, falls back down as precipitation.
In what layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur? In what layer is the ozone layer?
What is wind erosion and what can it damage?
Bonus Points - Why is air denser as it gets closer to earth's surface?
Troposphere. Stratosphere.
Wind erosion can lead to soil loss, damage plants, and propel dirt and sand to areas leading to erosion – such as chipping away at rocks.
Bonus - Gravity – Gas molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere are pulled close to Earth’s surface by gravity. There are more particles as you get closer to the surface, thus making the air denser.
What is primary succession? What is secondary succession? Which would happen more quickly, primary or secondary succession?
Bonus Points - What do we call the final, stable community at the end of succession?
Primary occurs on a surface where NO ecosystems existed before / there are absolutely no biotic remnants of an ecosystem. No soil.
Secondary occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed and there are still some biotic remnants of it. After a flood, fire, earthquake, storms, etc.
Secondary happens more quickly - faster to grow back an ecosystem on soil than it is on rock.
Bonus - Climax community.
Where do we often find desert biomes located? How do animals in the desert escape from the heat / minimize their exposure to heat?
Bonus Points - What type of vegetation tends to grow in places with higher temperatures and less precipitation?
On the dry side of mountains.
Nocturnal - They go out at night when it is cooler.
Bonus - Shorter and less dense vegetation.
What is the difference between mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism? Provide 1 example of each.
Bonus - As population increases, how is competition affected? When would competition not exist?
Mutualism - Two members of different species benefit each other. Ex – Acacia trees and ants – Trees house and feed the ants, while the ants defend the trees against herbivores.
Commensalism - One organism benefits while the other is unaffected. Ex- Remora fish attach to large animals like sharks, allowing them a free ride and to feed off of scraps from kills. Does not harm the shark.
Parasitism - One organism benefits while the other is harmed. Ex – A tick sucking the blood of a deer.
Bonus - As population increases, competition increases. Competition would not exist between animals that are in completely different places.
What major factors led to the human population experiencing exponential growth during the industrial revolution? Due to decreasing birth rates, at what number will the human population begin to stabilize?
Bonus Points - How does educating women worldwide lead to decreased birthrates?
Better access to medicine, food, and hygiene.
~9 Billion
Bonus - Better family planning skills and knowledge of contraceptives.
How does matter move in the environment? What do we call this system?
How does energy move in the environment? What do we call this system?
Bonus Points- What are the three types of energy transfer in the atmosphere?
Matter cycles, never created nor destroyed. Closed system.
Energy moves in one direction, gets used up, and can flow in and out of earth. Open system.
Bonus - Radiation, Conduction, Convection
What gas makes up 78% of our atmosphere? What process takes this gas out of the atmosphere and turns it into a solid - and what organism carries out this process?
Bonus Points - What problem does excessive use of fertilizers pose to the environment? What is in fertilizers?
Nitrogen. Nitrogen Fixation. Bacteria.
Bonus - Putting too much nitrogen and phosphorus into local ecosystems, throwing their cycles off. Can lead to some species doing too well, such as algae, resulting in others suffering.
What is permafrost? Why is it important?
Bonus Points - Why is the melting of permafrost considered a positive feedback loop?
A layer of soil that is permanently frozen beneath the topsoil. Prevents runoffs, as well as traps organic carbon – when this is exposed and allowed to decompose, it releases CO2 and Methane.
Bonus - The more permafrost that melts, the more methane and CO2 are released, further heating the planet, which results in more permafrost melting, and the cycle continually ramping up.
What is population density? What is the different between density dependent and density independent factors? List 1 example of each.
Bonus Points - What is population dispersion?
The number of individuals per unit area or volume.
Density dependent – These factors affect more crowded populations. Ex – Disease, competition, predation. Density independent – These factors affect populations the same regardless of density. Ex – Severe weather, natural disasters.
Bonus - The relative distribution / arrangement of individuals within the population in a given space.
What is an endangered species? What are the major human causes of extinction?
Bonus Points - How many species are estimated to be living on earth?
Species identified as likely to become extinct.
Habitat destruction and fragmentation, invasive species, pollution, hunting and poaching.
Bonus - Between 5.3 million and 1 trillion.
What is the greenhouse effect? How is it different from global warming?
Bonus Points - Why is there such a focus on limiting CO2 over other greenhouse gases? There are multiple reasons, but I am looking for at least 2 of the bigger topics.
The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when energy from a planet's host star goes through its atmosphere and warms the planet's surface, but the atmosphere prevents the heat from returning directly to space due to being blocked by greenhouse gases, resulting in a warmer planet. Global warming is the same concept, but with too many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trapping too much heat.
Bonus - CO2 stays in the atmosphere longer than any other greenhouse gas, and we produce way more of it than anything else - it is the most prevalent aside from water vapor.
What is resistance? What is resistance determined by? Why would bacteria be especially good at developing resistance?
Bonus Points - What are the six kingdoms of life?
The ability of organisms to tolerate a particular chemical designed to kill it. Due to genes. There are so many of them, and they reproduce so quickly, that mutations are more rapid.
Bonus - Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Fungi, Protists, Plants, Animals.
What are three environmental functions of wetlands?
Bonus Points - What are most biomes threatened by? List at least 2 things.
Removes pollutants from water improving water quality, controls flooding by absorbing extra water during floods, plants trap CO2, and serves as spawning location for fish and home for migratory birds.
Bonus - Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, overgrazing / farming.
What is the difference between logistic and exponential growth? What does a population pyramid show you about growth?
Bonus Points - What four things contribute to population growth rate?
Exponential – Resources are unlimited. The larger the population, the faster it grows. J-shaped graph. Logistic – After exponential growth, when a population’s growth slows and then stops. When resources become limited. S-shaped graph.
Distributes ages of the populations in a country at a given time on a graph.
Bonus - Birth rate, death rate, immigration, and emigration.
What did the U.S. endangered species act of 1973 do? What animal did it reintroduce to the northwestern U.S.?
Bonus Points - What are 2 examples of diseases that are often spread through unsafe public water sources?
Strong legislation that imposed further requirements on the U.S. fish and wildlife service to compile lists of all endangered and threatened species, as well as regulations to further protect these species. Grey wolves were reintroduced.
Bonus - Dysentery, cholera, typhoid.