Homework Questions

Question 1

Who is credited for articulating the conservation ethic and for founding the U.S. Forest Service?

Answer 1

Gifford Pinchot

Question 2

______ gives inherent value to certain living things or to the biotic (living) realm of the earth in general; both human and nonhuman lives have ethical standing.

Answer 2

Biocentrism

Question 3

The process by which several researchers review another researcher’s manuscript prior to
publication to ensure research quality is referred to as ________.

Answer 3

Peer Review

Question 4

In a controlled experiment, ________.

Answer 4

The researcher controls for the effects of all variables except one.

Question 5

Academic environmental programs that emphasize the social sciences are often called ________ programs.

Answer 5

Environmental Studies

Question 6

To determine your specific impacts on the environment, you can ________.

Answer 6

calculate your ecological footprint

Question 7

Today there are about___

Answer 7

8 Billion people on earth

Question 8

None renewable resources include all but:

Answer 8

Wind

Question 9

Issues of ________ are environmental issues whose dimensions include differential exposure to risk
from toxic wastes and air pollution or differential access to the natural beauty of parks based on
ethnicity or race.

Answer 9

environmental justice

Question 10

Ruben has a new puppy and wants to feed it the best possible food. He decides on an experiment
where he will feed it the very best canned food plus a dietary supplement of vitamins recommended
by a veterinarian. Which of the following best describes Ruben’s project?

Answer 10

This is not an experiment there are no controls or replicas

Question 11

Secondary Succesion____

Answer 11

Occurs after a fire or flood.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of resource partitioning?

Answer 12

Two species of birds forage together, with one eating insects on tree trunks while the other eats insects in the outer branches.

Question 13

A coyote, which can alter its food intake to match seasonal abundance of plants, fruits, or small animals, is considered to be ________.

Answer 13

A generalist

Question 14

The energy content and biomass of ________ is lowest in any terrestrial food web.

Answer 14

Top Carnivores

Question 15

When the organisms of a particular population seek habitats or resources that are unevenly spaced, the distribution of the individuals in the population tends to be ________.

Answer 15

Clumped

Question 16

Grazing animals such as deer are___.

Answer 16

primary consumers

Question 17

The relationship between flowering plants and bees is best described as ________.

Answer 17

mutualism

Question 18

A niche specialist is ________.

Answer 18

more likely to go extinct than a niche generalist

Question 19

A trophic cascade is the effect of ________ on ________.

Answer 19

top consumers; lower trophic levels

Question 20

Carrying capacity is the ________.

Answer 20

maximum sustainable population size that a given environment can support

Question 21

The species-area relationship describes the ___________.

Answer 21

relationship between habitat area and the number of species in that area

Question 22

Biological nitrogen fixation is carried out by ________.

Answer 22

specialized bacteria

Question 23

Which ethical perspective ascribes value to nature only to the extent that it benefits humans?

Answer 23

Anthropocentrism

Question 24

Which statement accurately describes the atomic structure?

Answer 24

The electron orbits the dense center of the atom, which consists of protons and neutrons.

Question 25

An example of a positive feedback loop ________.

Answer 25

is melting arctic snow exposing dark surfaces that heat up and cause further melting

Question 26

Electrically charged atoms or combinations of atoms are called ________.

Answer 26

ions

Question 27

DNA is composed of units called ________.

Answer 27

nucleotides

Question 28

Heavy rains and mudslides cause a river to change course, isolating two groups of lizards of the same species from one another. Over a long period of time, ________.

Answer 28

the groups will probably diverge genetically, and speciation may occur

Question 29

One example of artificial selection is ________.

Answer 29

broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts bred from Brassica oleracea

Question 30

What is the ecological phenomenon called when the loss of top predators leads to primary consumers overconsuming producers and changing the ecosystem?

Answer 30

Trophic cascad

Question 31

The pyramid energy pattern illustrates why eating at the _____ trophic levels—being vegan or vegetarian, for instance—decreases a person’s ecological footprint.

Answer 31

lowest

Question 32

Gross domestic product (GDP) is ________.

Answer 32

the total monetary value of goods and services produced by a country