Geology Exam #1 Flashcards
What are the basic steps in the scientific method?
Make an observation, ask a question, gather existing information, formulate a hypothesis, collect and analyze data, consult existing information, discuss data, and draw conclusions.
(observe & gather data, form a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, develop a theory).
What happens after a hypothesis is deemed to be supported by testing?
Communicate and share information with one another to compare results.
How do we get trusted science?
Peer reviewed journals & everyone coming to a scientific consensus that a theory is true based on research, testing, and data.
Earth can be described as a “system.” What does that mean?
A system is interconnected. There are many “components functioning together as a whole.”
What are four main parts of the Earth system that work together to make up the whole?
Biosphere (living organisms), Lithosphere (rock), Atmosphere (air), Hydrosphere (water).
The Earth system has three key traits. Name and define each one:
Openness: degree of isolation. Earth is open to energy transfer from the stars/sun, but it is closed to all matter. Matter cycles through the earth and never leaves.
Integration: the strength of interactions among the parts of the system. If you take a piece out, will the rest of the system still work? This causes a cascade of issues to happen, each one less predictable than the last.
Complexity: how many kinds of parts a system has. (ex: the human body has so many different parts to keep it working from cells to the brain.) The earth is HIGHLY complex.
Complexity makes the effects of disturbances to the environment ___ to predict down the road.
Difficult
What does the statement “We can never do merely one thing” mean in the context of the Earth System?
If you do one thing in the Earth system, how many other things will you affect? There is always a cascading effect even if it is not immediately obvious. Moderate integration and high complexity hinder the responses to environmental issues.
How does industrial burning of coal affect fish species in the Smoky Mts? Describe the chain of events.
Burning coal releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere which forms acid rain that kills vegetation, poisons water, and kills the fish.
What is the equation for environmental impact?
I = P x C, where p = population & c = consumption
Why have impacts increased since the 1800s?
There has been a huge rise in population since the 1800s due to the switch to agriculture, the industrial revolution, and even the Green revolution. More people and more consumption = more impact.
What is meant by “The Tragedy of the Commons?”
This means common resources will be overused until they are depleted entirely. People will overuse common property.
Looking at the Source → Sinks box model, what are the keys for best use of Earth’s resources?
Input reduction (reducing amount putting in), interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving (variety of people working on one issue), and local involvement on issues (air/water quality)
When market prices don’t reflect all the costs of a product, what term do we use to describe it?
Market failure
What are 4 examples of services that are provided by the environment that are never included in the costs of production?
Land lost, supplies used, emissions, using a car.
What are some approaches to including environmental costs into products and services?
Green fees, recycling (reduce, reuse, recycle), input reduction, and imposing fees/deposits on known damaging goods (ex: carbon fee on purchasing oil).
Describe the individual’s role in sustainability. What must individuals think about when making decisions?
Consuming more sustainably produced products.
What is the typical difference in per-capita consumption patterns between more developed (richer) and less developed (poorer) nations?
More developed countries tend to have a much higher consumption rate than the poorer countries due to technological dispersal, education, etc. It does not always depend on the population. (Ex: True or False: Typical differences in per-capita consumption patterns depends on population. The answer is false. Why? India is a huge population, but they use less because they are not as developed.)
What are simple things you might do to reduce personal impact, or reduce your personal footprint?
Convert to more efficient lighting (LEDS), micro irrigating or low flow dual flow toilets (reduce monthly water use), reduce, reuse, recycle, or substitute all together.
What does sustainability mean?
Sustainability means meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of the future generations.
What is “overshoot” with respect to population?
Overshoot means exceeding carrying capacity for a specific area.
What is “carrying capacity?”
Amount of living organisms that can be supported by the resources in an area without experiencing heavy degradation.
What are the estimates for the carrying capacity of Earth for people?
The lower end is 8 billion, but with technological advances, in the next 5-10 years, we can hit 15 billion and be okay. However, geologists are worried about what resource use would look like at 15 billion.
Human history contains clues to the reasons for human population growth. What are the key events that led to the exponential growth seen in the modern population curve? Explain why each caused an increase in population.
The industrial revolution, baby boom post WWII, and the Green revolution. All of these events led to a huge increase in population as there were more technological advancements and products made.
Do diseases and war permanently slow population growth?
No. Diseases slow population growth for a little, but the population will continue to grow rapidly eventually.
Describe what a population age structure is:
A population age structure is the distribution of ages of individuals within a population at a given time point according to sex. These structures change over time.
How do population age structures help us predict what population growth or decline might occur in the future? Give an example of a more developed and less developed nation’s age structure (quick sketch might be helpful here).
These structures help us predict population growth or decline in the future based on how large a certain age group is. For example, what years will have the most working population or least childbearing age population? A graph that is super large at the bottom will eventually have a huge childbearing, working, or old population. A super skinny structure at the bottom will be struggling (China). More developed will be evenly distributed, while less developed will rely heavily on younger generations.
Population growth can be described in terms of rate, called the “growth rate.” What factors go into accounting for the growth rate?
Time, population, births, recruitments, death, immigration, etc
