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Down With Dobie > Science Sect. 1 Focus Quizzes > Flashcards

Science Sect. 1 Focus Quizzes Flashcards

Science DemiDec Focus Quizzes 1-7

1
Q

What do environmental scientists aim to understand?

A

How humans influence the natural environment.

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2
Q

What constitutes an environment?

A

All biotic and abiotic factors in an organism’s surroundings.

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3
Q

What are examples of components of the environment?

A

Predators, prey, and weather.

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4
Q

How is environmental science best described?

A

Interdisciplinary.

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5
Q

How does measuring environmental health differ from measuring human health?

A

Environmental systems have more complexity than the human body.

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6
Q

What is an environmental indicator?

A

It shows the state of an environmental system.

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7
Q

What environmental indicator is commonly used to measure global environmental health?

A

Species diversity.

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8
Q

How is ecological footprint measured?

A

In hectares of land.

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9
Q

What percentage of species in Earth’s history have experienced extinction?

A

99.9.

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10
Q

What is the current primary cause of extinction?

A

Human-caused habitat deterioration.

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11
Q

Which species have been the target of restoration efforts?

A

The American bison, peregrine falcon, and California condor.

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12
Q

What conclusions can be drawn from modern species diversity?

A

Current declines in species diversity indicate that changes to environmental quality are worsening.

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13
Q

As of November 2022, what is the world human population?

A

Eight billion people.

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14
Q

In which decade did the global human population stop growing exponentially?

A

1960s.

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15
Q

How many years did it take for the human population to grow from three billion to four billion?

A

14.

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16
Q

What does the human population size suggest as an environmental indicator?

A

Environmental health will decline because of greater resource needs and pollution caused by population growth.

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17
Q

What comprises over half of global human caloric consumption?

A

Grains.

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18
Q

What is a key condition of sustainable use?

A

Current resource use does not excessively deplete resources needed for future generations.

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19
Q

What percentage of total energy is used by the twenty percent of the population in developed countries?

A

Fifty-eight percent.

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20
Q

Where does the majority of human-created carbon dioxide come from?

A

Fossil fuel combustion.

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21
Q

How are increasing carbon dioxide levels best described?

A

Anthropogenic.

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22
Q

By how much did carbon dioxide levels increase between 1960 and 2020?

A

Approximately 100 ppm.

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23
Q

What is one of the hardest challenges for environmental scientists?

A

Determining ancient levels of chemicals.

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24
Q

How do environmental scientists determine historic global temperatures?

A

By measuring oxygen isotope proportions.

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25
Q

Which samples do researchers use to determine historic gas levels?

A

Ice cores.

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26
Q

What has an especially adverse effect on developing brains?

A

Lead.

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27
Q

What do lead concentrations indirectly imply?

A

Human activity can cause environmental harm.

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28
Q

How did clean air legislation in 1975 decrease lead emissions?

A

A transition from leaded to unleaded gasoline caused a decrease in lead pollution from automobile use.

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29
Q

Why is lead often present in houses built before 1960?

A

Its use in paint.

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30
Q

Why are lower-income communities more commonly affected by lead pollution in water?

A

Due to plumbing fixtures.

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31
Q

What is the first step of the scientific method?

A

Observe the world.

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32
Q

Which experimental design is an example of a manipulation experiment?

A

To understand predator-prey interactions, scientists play recordings of different bird species and analyze the resulting frog behaviors.

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33
Q

In a study of forests before and after wildfires, what are the controls?

A

The seven forests without a wildfire.

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34
Q

In a water acidity experiment, what is the experimental variable?

A

Location next to a refinery.

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35
Q

According to the USAD Science Resource Guide, what is the sixth major step of the scientific method?

A

Report findings.

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36
Q

How do scientific laws differ from scientific theories?

A

Scientific laws are thought to hold true in all conditions.

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37
Q

What must a scientific finding do to gain credibility?

A

Be replicated.

38
Q

What is the PRIMARY limitation facing environmental scientists?

A

The missing baseline for comparison.

39
Q

Which unit do scientists use to measure energy?

A

Joules.

40
Q

What value judgment would an advocate for paper bag use instead of plastic bags likely support?

A

Benzene is more harmful to the environment than chlorine.

41
Q

How many years passed before the average fuel efficiency of U.S. cars increased from thirteen miles per gallon to over thirty miles per gallon?

A

46.

42
Q

What happened to average fuel efficiency in the 1990s?

A

It decreased because of consumer preferences for vehicles with lower fuel efficiency.

43
Q

How are systems defined?

A

A researcher chooses a system of study.

44
Q

What do all environmental systems exchange?

A

Matter or energy.

45
Q

What best defines an open system?

A

A system that allows matter or energy to enter or leave respective to other systems.

46
Q

How does the Earth differ from an ecosystem in terms of system analysis?

A

The Earth is a closed system with respect to matter.

47
Q

What is system analysis analogous to?

A

Managing a checking account.

48
Q

What do all elements of a system make up?

A

The system’s pool.

49
Q

What are flux calculations for materials in a system used for?

A

Mass balance analysis.

50
Q

In a system with 85 joules of energy input and an output of 20 joules, what is the flux?

A

65 joules.

51
Q

What state is a system in when it has equal inputs and outputs?

A

Steady state.

52
Q

Which system has a flux of zero?

A

Water in the atmosphere.

53
Q

What term best describes Mono Lake?

A

Terminal.

54
Q

Where does Mono Lake’s inflow originate?

A

Melting snow from the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

55
Q

What best expresses the flux of the salinity of Mono Lake?

A

Positive input and no output lead to a positive net flux of salt into the lake.

56
Q

What organisms are at the base of Mono Lake’s food chain?

A

Algae.

57
Q

From the 1940s to the 1980s, what was the flux of water levels in Mono Lake?

A

-40 ft.

58
Q

Who were the first individuals to respond to the changes in Mono Lake?

A

Ecologists.

59
Q

What do mean residence time calculations require?

A

That a pool is in a steady state.

60
Q

Which gas has the LOWEST atmospheric lifetime?

A

Methane.

61
Q

What is the accumulation rate of a pollutant?

A

Its net flux.

62
Q

Which example describes a negative feedback loop?

A

As the number of brine shrimp in Mono Lake increases, the rate of predation by gulls increases as well.

63
Q

What is the ideal value for a parameter of an environmental system?

A

Its set point.

64
Q

Why does overshoot occur in environmental systems?

A

Responses to changes in a system are often delayed, allowing a system to outpace its set point.

65
Q

How is net population change best described?

A

The flux of a population.

66
Q

What stressor contributes MOST to the decline of the African elephant population?

A

Habitat loss.

67
Q

What policy resulted from the 1989 CITES?

A

Prohibition of the ivory trade.

68
Q

What type of relationship exists between elephant deaths and the value of ivory?

A

A positive feedback loop.

69
Q

In which habitat do MOST elephants of southeastern Kenya live?

A

Tsavo National Park.

70
Q

What is red spruce mainly used for in industries?

A

Pulp and paper.

71
Q

In which decade did red spruce populations decrease excessively?

A

1980s.

72
Q

What association did environmental scientists notice regarding red spruce deaths?

A

Acid rain.

73
Q

What term describes the quantity and size of red spruce trees?

A

Basal area.

74
Q

What conclusion did scientists reach from a system analysis of red spruce?

A

Sulfate pollution increased red spruce’s vulnerability to cold temperatures.

75
Q

What is the size of the Florida Everglades watershed?

A

Over 50,000 km^2.

76
Q

What best explains the alligator hole subsystem?

A

Small pools surrounded by marsh plants.

77
Q

What did the Water Resource Development Act of 2000 include?

A

Plans to restore the Florida Everglades.

78
Q

What flaw would an opponent of the Everglades Landscape Model likely cite?

A

Short-term economic development.

79
Q

Who primarily studies how humans have changed the environment?

A

Environmental scientist.

80
Q

In which decade did population growth first slow down?

A

1960s.

81
Q

What is the estimated current extinction rate?

A

40,000 species per year.

82
Q

What does the present state of biodiversity confirm?

A

Environmental scientists’ claims of a sixth mass extinction.

83
Q

When did air and water pollution in the United States first decrease?

A

In the 1970s.

84
Q

Which statement about resource use is TRUE?

A

Present-day resource consumption suggests a decline in environmental health.

85
Q

Which system is closed to matter?

A

The Earth.

86
Q

What does a steady-state system have?

A

A constant pool.

87
Q

Which example describes a positive feedback loop?

A

Evaporation from oceans contributes to greenhouse gases that warm the planet.

88
Q

What do delays between signal creation and response in an environment lead to?

A

Overshoot.

89
Q

What is the maximum ideal number of individuals in a population called?

A

Carrying capacity.

90
Q

Where can environmental scientists study red spruce?

A

In the northeastern United States.

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