FNR 125 Old Missed Exam Questions

About how many species are here on Earth, just considering those known to science?

About 1.8 million

The most common factor that has been associated with population declines of threatened and endangered species is

Habitat loss and fragmentation

Most terrestrial biomes of the world are named after their

climax community

Aquatic systems designated as "wild and scenic rivers" are part of the federal

national wilderness system

Benefits or costs of an economic transaction that are not reflected in the transaction's price are called

externalities

Although it varies depending on the specific example, edge effects can be estimated as extending ___ from the edge into the remaining patch of habitat

100 meters

As defined by economists, only renewable resources can be used sustainably

False

People who run private businesses inside the National Parks typically pay about ___ of their gross receipts to the National Park System for the right to run the business

10-15%

Sales of timber from our National Forests generally make a large profit annually because the quality of the wood is very high

False

The Purdue men's football team had an excellent first game. In your excitement about the team, you live with hundreds of other students to a dorm specially designed for excited Purdue fans. But when we lost to Notre Dame first loss, only a few students stayed in the dorm. The rest scattered across the state to hide and mutter in disappointment. The small group of students who remained in the dorm probably lost genetic diversity through the mechanism called:

population bottleneck

One consequence of the "10% rule" is that:

most top predators are rare

One of the products that was discussed in class to show how humans gain from having healthy ecosystems was teosinte. This is a plant that:

might be a source of genes to modify modern corn

In 2014 ecological economists estimated that the annual worldwide market value of ecosystem services performed by healthy environments (for free) could be at least:

an amount that is double the combined economies of all the nations of the world

The number of species native to the United States that are listed on the Endangered Species List is about:

698

Harvesting timber using the technique called a selective cut results in a forest that is

Uneven-aged

An estimated ____________ species may be going extinct each year in the world's tropical rain forests.

500

There are no rain forests in North America - they are only found in tropical nations such as Brazil

False

Artificial wetlands

can help purify water and also provide recreational opportunities

Raw sewage discharged into a stream would most likely produce which of the following conditions

Decreased living organisms due to lower dissolved oxygen level

A country's renewable water supplies are generally made up of

Surface water and infiltration into accessible aquifers

Which of the following is true about the water table?

The water table has a similar shape to topography but is more subdued

In a relatively wet climate such as ours in north-central Indiana or in most of the eastern half of North America, a lake or river level typically tells you what about the groundwater in the land immediately surrounding these surface water features?

A lake or river is typically at the same level at the top of the saturated zone of the aquifer to either side of the surface water body

Pathogens and waterborne diseases enter drinking water supplies from

Poorly treated wastewater and animal wastes from feed lots

A key characteristic of aquatic dead zones is ________.

A low concentration of oxygen

Data indicate that the present rate of freshwater consumption in most developed countries is ________.

Unsustainable

One of the principal ways lakes suffer from acid deposition is that

Fish eggs die and fish populations fall

What percentage of Earth's fresh water is found in oceans?

0%

Which of the following is one of the major pollutants of groundwater?

agricultural chemicals

Which of the following episodes in geologic time occurred before there were abundant animals with hard parts?

Precambrian

The angle of repose is:

The maximum slope angle at which unconsolidated matieral is stable

A neighborhood is built on tightly packed but unconsolidated sediment that is partially saturated with groundwater. During an earthquake, several structures sink into the ground and/or topple over during the shaking causing the ground to become pooled with water. This phenomenon is referred to as

Liquefaction

The lithosphere consists of ________.

The uppermost matle and the continental and oceanic crust

Longer projected lifetimes for scarce minerals can be achieved with all of the following, EXCEPT:

Lowering prices for products using these materials

In the 1970s, sources of CFC pollution in the United States included all of the following EXCEPT:

Coal-burning power plants

The goal of the Montreal Protocol was to ________.

Prevent statospheric ozone depletion

Near the equator, the patterns of convection currents are called

Hadley cells

The Coriolis effect contributes to ________.

global wind patterns

A major source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is

Incomplete burning of hydrocarbons

In the troposphere, ________.

ozone levels decrease with altitude

The Montreal Protocol ________.

Resulted in significant reduction in the production of CFCs by signatory nations

__________ is not an example of an aerosol

Ozone

Which of the following is a secondary air pollutant?

Ozone

Maximizing waste at its source is called source reduction and is the best way of dealing with the waste stream.

False

What type of waste is dominant globally?

Food and green wastes

Global food production has kept up with population growth (True / False).

True

This question is about where carbon is stored on the planet? (Identify the correct response.)

The amount of carbon in the soil is greater than the amount of carbon found in the atmosphere and plant biomass combined

Overall crop yields have increased by about 800% since 1940. This is attribtuted to: (identify the incorrect response)

Hydroponic technologies

Glyphosate (Roundup) is (identify the incorrect response)

Has eliminated herbicide-resistant weeds

What is the grasshopper effect?

Reflects the movement of contaminants around the globe based on atmospheric transport processes resulting in the contaminants being found in places where they have never been used

Globally, increases in meat production and consumption correlate to which of the following?

Increased corn and soybean production & Wealth - A and B above

During the past 225 years, the highest global population growth rate occurred during what time period?

1950-2000

Why do some argue that we live in a false economy?

Because the price of goods and services does not include the cost of waste and pollution

PCBs, PAHs and dioxins are examples of

Legacy chemicals

In Prof. Ron Amundson's review of the documentary Kiss the Ground, he noted which of the following.

Argued that we have no magic solutions to food security and climate change—and that soil is not a silver bullet to offset anthropogenic carbon emissions as implied in the documentary.

Purdue University has about 60,000 students and staff. How much waste will the students and staff of Purdue generate in one semester? (Average person generates about 3 kg of waste per day and the semester is 120 days long)

22,200,000

If ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) fertilizer is applied to Midwest soil, which of the following is likely to occur following rainfall the next day?

Leaching of nitrate (NO3-)

In 2016 the United Nations began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the transformative plan of action based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. Which of the following is correct?

SDG Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) currently indicates that 1 in 3 people struggle with moderate to severe food insecurity.

Which statement is true about our ecological footprint.

If everyone in the world lived like we do in the USA, we would need about 3.5 Earths

Soil is a living resource of astonishing complexity and frailty. It is estimated that one gram of soil (less than a teaspoon) contains how many bacteria?

100 billion

One component of our Ecological Footprint is the term "carbon footprint". What does this term represent?

The area of land required to sequester the CO2 emissions each person produces

Of the seven different types of recyclable plastics (Symbols 1-7) which statement is incorrect?

All types of plactics, regardless of their symbol, are effectively recycled