brah pt 2

Some scientists from Whoville conducted an environmental impact statement on a proposed industrial plant and found that there was a 50% chance that the plant would irrevocably pollute the drinking water for all residents of Whoville.  The science is uncertain, however, and there is a 50% chance that the plant will cause no harm.  Under these circumstances, the precautionary principle tells us that:

 

we should pause before granting approval for the plant, to allow time for more assessments, rather than potentially causing a catastrophe.

Human populations are rapidly urbanizing and now more than 50% of all people live in cities.  This: 

 

can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment

The carrying capacity of an environment represents?

 

The maximum number of a particular species that an environment can support

Human population growth rate underwent its greatest increase during which period of history? 

 

The late 20th Century

The human population growth currently is labeled as a logistic growth curve. This type of growth curve is characterized as:

 

an S-shaped curve that shows rapid growth

Improved sanitation, an increased food supply and control of disease spreading organisms has resulted in which effect on human population?

 

 

Accelerated population growth rate

Based on her knowledge of the theory of gravity a teacher walks into her science classroom and tells the students that if someone drops a ball off the roof of the building, it will fall to the ground. This is an example of: 

 

deductive reasoning

The manipulated variable is also called the:

 

independent variable

A scientific hypothesis:

 

is really just an educated guess at the answer to a question

An example of quantitative data is:

 

mass (in grams)

Which of the following is the correct sequence of steps, from beginning to end, in the Scientific Method:

 

Observations - hypothesis - controlled experiment - conclusions

Pseudoscience is:

Untestable, Lacks empirical evidence, Based on faulty reasoning

Like the scientific method, decision making using scientific data is:

 

A process of steps

Measurements without an estimate of uncertainty are:

Useless

Measurements allow scientists to:

Visualize relationships, Make predictions, Disprove a statement

Dr. Smith is stressed about waking up and making it on time to the airport in order to catch his plane. He sets the alarm on his digital watch (reads to 1/100 of a second) and arrives at 7:00:00.00am. Unfortunately, every other clock in the airport terminal reads about 7:20am. Dr. smith is unable to make it through security in time and missed his flight. Which of the following is a correct statement about Dr. Smith's watch?

 

it is precise, but not accurate

According to the concept of the "demographic transition", a population will go through a period of expansion, but later stabilize at:

 

at a population larger than before the transition, but with zero growth

In order to "think like a scientist" rather than "like a student" you should:

 

be critical of what you read or hear

The maximum number of individuals that an be supported by an ecosystem is referred to as the:

 

carrying capacity

A grand scheme that relates and explains many observations and is supported by a great deal of evidence is considered a scientific: 

theory

A group of individuals of the same species that live and interbreed in the same area are referred to as a:

population

Throughout history, the human population:

 

mostly increased, but included some decreases most notably during the Black Death (bubonic plague)

When data is numerical, it is considered:

 

quantitative data

A scientific hypothesis:

 

is really just an educated guess at the answer to a question

What do negative feedbacks lead to?

 

A stable system

The earth absorbs ___________ from the sun and emits _______________

short-wave radiation, long-wave (or infrared radiation)

The Coriolis effect is caused by:

the rotation of the Earth

There is more incoming solar radiation at the equator than outgoing long-wave radiation.  In polar regions, there is more outgoing long-wave radiation than incoming solar radiation.  This leads to:

 

Net transport of heat energy from the tropics to the poles

If everything else remained the same, but the surface ocean becomes warmer should we expect:

 

Hurricane intensity and frequency to both increase

 A lake has 10,000 gallons of water in it.   The lakes water level is constant, so that inputs = outputs.   The source of water to the lake is a small stream that flows into it from its southern end.   The stream delivers 1000 gallons of water every year (1000 gallons/year).   The residence time of water in the lake is:

 

10 years

Two types of plate boundaries are:

 

E. Both A and B

Which equation is the correct one for NEP  (net ecosystem production)? 

 

GPP – autotrophic respiration –  soil (heterotrophic) respiration

in 1911 this person proposed that the continents had once been together and that they had drifted apart.

 

Alfred Wegener

Soil organic matter formation is a transfer directly from the biosphere to the ______

Lithosphere

Human conducted N-fixation is now roughly how much more than natural N-fixation:

2x

This compound ion  (NH₄⁺)  is:

Ammonium

Two elements that are considered "nutrient elements" for plants growth in the ocean and on land are:

 

Nitrogen and Phosphorous

What part of the ocean is considered net heterotrophic:

 

the deep dark zone below 500 meters

This compound ion  (NO₃^-)  is:

Nitrate

Earth in unique. What process maintain the earth as a habitable planet?

 

Temperatures that permit liquid water

Nitrogen has a very high concentration in the atmosphere and is cycled very slowly into and out of the atmosphere. Water vapor has a lower concentration in the atmosphere and is cycled quite rapidly. Nitrogen has a ________ residence time in the atmosphere than water vapor

higher

Hurricanes are sustained by:

 

The latent heat released when water vapor in warm moist air condenses into water droplets.

The Gulf Stream transports:

warm water from equatorial regions towards the north pole

Photosynthesis depends on

Sunlight and Nutrients

The life form that formed first on the early earth was:

Prokaryotes

T/F: Bovines are the only creatures capable of N-fixation.

False

Which of these does an ecosystem include:

1) The primary producers in a food web

2) The consumers in a food web

3) The decomposers in a food web

4) The abiotic (non-living) component of the environment

1, 2, 3, and 4

Dr. Fuentes goes out into the field and counts the number of sea turtles on a beach off of St. George Island.  Dr. Stukel goes out into the Gulf of Mexico and conducts a carbon uptake experiment to measure algae photosynthesis rates.  Which statement is true:

 

Dr. Fuentes measured biomass and Dr. Stukel measured production.

Which of the following changes to an ecosystem would lead to increased abundance of a top predator?

 

a) Increased primary production

 

b) The second law of thermodynamics

 

c) Increased number of trophic levels

 

d) Increased trophic level efficiency

 

e) Parasitism

a and d

Which factors affect the spread of a parasite?

1) Host abundance

2) Host accessibility and ecosystem diversity

3) Transmission rate of parasites

4) Length of life of an infected host

1, 2, 3, and 4

A forest that has developed on a new lava flow is an example of what?

primary succession

When two different species of coral are both trying to take up the same limited space on a rocky surface, this is an example of:

Competition

The open-ocean is often nutrient limited and hence dominated by the phytoplankton (algae) species that are best adapted to taking up nutrients from the seawater.  Often it is the taxa Prochlorococcus that dominates.  However, when a strong storm comes through it will mix deep, nutrient-rich water up to the surface.  In response to this disturbance, other phytoplankton will grow.  Often diatoms are the first to respond and will have a bloom that lasts for a couple of weeks.  As they start to deplete the available nutrients, another group of phytoplankton such as dinoflagellates or coccolithophores will take over.  Once the nutrients have been completely exhausted, Prochlorococcus will again take over the ecosystem.  This is an example of:

Secondary succession

When do individuals usually have an uniform distribution?

 

When they compete for space

What is an endmic species?

 

a species that is unique to a defined geographic location (e.g. it’s not found elsewhere)

What is evolution?

 

is a process that describes how living organisms change over time, resulting in changes to their genetic material and physical traits

The major force(s) causing the genetic divergence of two populations is/are:

 

mutation and natural selection

What do you NOT need to consider when designing a protected area

the weather at areas to be protected

Which characteristics is known to make a species more vulnerable to extinction?

Species with large bodies, slow population growth rates

Which of the following is a threat to biodiversity?

Habitat loss, overharvesting, climate change

What is restoration?

 

The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed

What differentiates predators and parasites?

 

Predators typically kill their prey. Parasites live & feed on or in their hosts but typically do not kill the hosts.

What is the term used to explain the concept that the biological and geological forces shaping dune formation are the same today that they were in the geological past?

Uniformitarianism

Crown of thorns starfish feed directly on corals.  What is this an example of?

 

Predator-prey relationship

Consider two ocean food chains:

1) Diatoms > copepods > sardines

2) Cyanobacteria > nanoflagellates > ciliates > copepods > sardines

What is true about these food chains?

 

Food chain 1 will transfer a higher proportion of primary production to sardines than food chain 2

Which of the following characteristics is known to make a species more vulnerable to extinction?

 

Species with large bodies, slow population growth rates

What does the entire scientific community agree on?

The Earth’s climate changes naturally, CO2 levels in the atmosphere are rising incredibly rapidly due to humankind’s actions, All else being equal, increased CO2 would lead to increased global temperatures, The Earth’s temp has risen rapidly over the past half century

The satellite remote sensing record of earth's temperature extends:

 

40-50 years into the past

Which of the following are indirect methods of estimating global temperature changes:

–1) The Mg/Ca ratio of foraminifera in marine sediments

–2) Buoys in the ocean

–3) Thermometers on land

–4) Isotopic changes in ice cores

–5) Tree rings

1, 4, and 5

What pieces of the historical record can be used to piece together climates from the 1100s – 1500s?

A) Records of extreme droughts

B) Descriptions of frozen river events

C) Thermometer measurements of ocean temperature

D) Records of crop yields

A, B, and D

Which of the following is a climate proxy that can be used to study temperature changes from millions of years ago.

 

Isotopic ratios of oxygen elements in microscopic marine foraminifera

Where is most of the heat from global warming going?

Ocean

Which of the following is a positive feedback on climate change?

 

Increased water vapor (a greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere

What is radiative forcing?

the change in net downward radiative flux at the top of the atmosphere

Radiative forcing is proportional to

temperature change, although the constant of proportionality depends on feedbacks in the climate system

Radiative forcing is measured in

units of watts per meter squared

Where is most of the heat from global warming going?

Ocean

What is an example of a positive feedback on climate change?

 

Increased water vapor (a greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere

Climate models must model feedbacks associated with the carbon cycle.  What portions of the earth system affect the global carbon cycle?

Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere

One way that scientists can assess what drivers are responsible for climate change is to:

 

build a climate model and then perturb the model by removing different processes (i.e, by keeping carbon dioxide concentrations constant at preindustrial levels)

Examples of climate change impacts on ecosystems:

Range expansion, Changes in the timing of seasonal patterns such as migration or leaves falling, Extinction of many species, Changes in drought and fire frequency in forests

Let’s say that you started to get worried about the impacts of climate change on your favorite animal. So you went out every year to a nice preserve near your house, and you counted how many of your favorite animal there were.  Over 30 years (as climate change continues), you find that they are decreasing (even though preserve management has remained the same).  What is a fair conclusion?

 

This species is being affected, but we don’t know whether we are seeing a shift in where the species lives, or a decline in the species

Examples of a climate change impact on society:

Droughts and flooding could lead to agricultural losses, Sea level rise will cost many people their homes, More intense storms may have large economic costs

True statement about Hurricane Michael:

 

Climate change makes the likelihood of an extreme weather event such as Hurricane Michael more likely

Which of the following is NOT a cause for polar amplification:

 

More people will move into a warmer Arctic

Factor that does not contribute to increased frequency of wildfires

Melting sea ice

Which of the following are reasons for sea level rise:

–I) Thermal expansion of seawater

–II) Melting ice bergs

–III) Melting glaciers

–IV) Increased precipitation

–V) Melting sea ice

I and III

Climate is:

 

the average weather, usually referring to average weather conditions over long periods

Which of the following statement(s) are true about isotopes:

–1) Isotopes are atoms that have a positive or negative charge

–2) Isotopes are atoms that have the same number of neutrons, but different numbers of protons

–3) Isotopes are atoms that have the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons

–4) Isotopes of an element behave similarly with respect to most of their chemical reactions

–5) Isotopes of an element can react slightly faster or slower than other isotopes, leading to chemical fractionation

3, 4, and 5

Most of the excess heat that has entered the earth system as a result of climate change is stored in the:

oceans

Oceans play an important role in climate because:

I. Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water

II. Water has a much higher heat storage capacity than air

III. There are large net carbon dioxide emissions from the ocean

I and II

One way that scientists can assess what drivers are responsible for climate change is to:

 

build a climate model and then perturb the model by removing different processes (i.e, by keeping carbon dioxide concentrations constant at preindustrial levels)

Examples of climate change impacts on society

Droughts and flooding could lead to agricultural losses, Sea level rise will cost many people their homes, More intense storms may have large economic costs

Expected climate change impacts on Florida

5-times higher frequency of very hot days (over 95 Farenheit), Increased frequency of tropical diseases spread by mosquitos, Sea level rise flooding the Florida Keys, Sea level rise contaminating drinking water in Miami