Do not delete any part of this document. (I need it all for grading purposes.)
Format: This Word document is already formatted correctly for spacing, width, and font type and font size. I’ve placed three “returns” or blank lines after each question, so you can place your cursor at the second “return” and begin to type; this will keep you within the 6-in margins and in proper format.
Do not bold or italicize your answers. Keep your answers left justified within the 6-inch text width and keep the single spacing. Do not indent your response. Points will be subtracted if I have to edit your document. It takes time to edit all your documents!
Citing your textbook: For most answers, you’ll be using your textbook, so it is only necessary to cite it once at the bottom of the document, but you must include page numbers after each answer. If you are using an older edition, you must indicate this in the citation.
For essay questions: You are graded for work completed on your own and using your own words. If you do choose to copy directly from your textbook, cite the page number and use quotation marks around copied sections. Failure to do so is plagiarism, which will result in a grade of zero. Use quotes sparingly, as they do not count toward your length requirement. I do not recommend finding your answers on the internet unless specified. It will lead to trouble. If you insist, please fully cite your references.
How much to write: You know how in-depth you must be by looking at the number of points assigned for each question. Use this generalization: 58 – 68 words per point, depending on how concise you are; so a 3-point question requires around 175-200 words to answer fully; a 5-point question requires around 290- 330 words. That’s about one-half page of text or more in this format.
Essay questions (17 points)
1. Describe the harmful and beneficial environmental effects of affluence. What are the harmful effects of poverty on the environment? In turn, what are the effects of environmental degradation on the health of the poor? (3 points)
2. What are the basic beliefs behind your environmental worldview? Are your actions consistent with your worldview? (2 points) (At the end of the semester, return to your answer to see if your worldview has changed.)
Critical Thinking Essay on Energy Flow in Food Chains
Trophic levels are governed by the interaction of bottom-up forces (light, nutrients, climate, and very importantly, the amount of producers like plants and phytoplankton). But they’re also governed by top-down forces (top keystone predators keeping lower-trophic animal numbers in balance and extremely fit). All this is very important to maintaining biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, and to prevent species extinction. This essay addresses some important scientific concepts essential for you to go forward. These concepts will appear again and again, so answer the questions carefully.
Please weave your answers into one cohesive essay. The average reader should be able to understand all terms by reading your essay. If you copy definitions word-for-word from in your text, use quotation marks and cite the page number. However, if you only give a list of cut-and-paste definitions, you will not earn much credit. Points will be given for your understanding of how the concepts relate to each other.
3. Explain how the following concepts connect to each other to illustrate what happens to energy in a food chain: Net Primary Productivity, Biomass, Pyramid of Energy Flow, and The Second Law of Thermodynamics. Include a full explanation of why food chains rarely have more than four trophic levels, and why top predators (usually keystone species), are often the first to go extinct. What are the benefits to humans, wildlife, and entire ecosystems when humans eat at lower trophic levels? (6 points)
Biodiversity and evolution
4a) What are amphibians?
4b) In your own words, summarize the three reasons scientists give for why we should care about amphibian decline. (3 points)
5a) What is the precise scientific definition of biological evolution? (OK to quote.)
5b) Two major steps in the process of evolution are: First, the development of genetic variety through mutations; and next, natural selection. Explain these steps in your own words. (3 points)
Extra credit: Only students who don’t skip any essay questions above can earn this extra credit.
The poor who live in the U.S. and the poor who live in some of the poorest nations face different risks and also impact the environment in different ways. What differences can you think of? If you consult sources, please cite them. (Up to 3 points)
Short answer (23 points) Note: These are not essays, so you may copy definitions and lists from your text or textbook figures, but please cite the page number(s). Older editions may have a different number of factors, so give edition in your citation.
Footprint Questions (2 points)
6. What is the precise definition of an ecological footprint?
7. When you took the Ecological Footprint Quiz, what was your footprint score, in acres or hectares? (That is, how much land do you need to live your current lifestyle?) I don’t expect you to remember your results exactly, so if you haven’t saved your results, go to the footprint dropbox and retrieve your attachment there.
_____ acres OR _____ hectares
8. You either took a quiz on Myfootprint.org or on the Earth Day website. Since they calculate things differently, it’s a bit more difficult to ask the same questions. If you took the Ecological Footprint quiz at Myfootprint, what was the greatest contributor to your footprint score – food footprint, carbon footprint, housing footprint, or goods and services? _____
If you used the Earth Day website, which is higher – food, shelter, mobility, goods, or services? _____
9. What can you do to reduce your footprint in the specific subcategory from question 8 above?
10. List the eight natural resources and the ten natural services that make up natural capital according to your textbook figure “Natural Capital”. (2 points)
11. List the nine ways we are degrading our natural capital according to your textbook figure “Natural Capital Degradation”. (0.5 point)
12. Distinguish between a scientific hypothesis, a scientific theory, and a scientific law (law of nature). (2 points)
13. Systems respond to change through feedback loops. (2 points)
a. Define negative feedback and describe one example found in nature.
b. Define positive feedback and describe one example found in nature.
14. List the basic causes of environmental problems according to your textbook. (0.5 point)
Nutrient cycles: Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, and water cycles have been altered by human activities. Please fill in the blanks and give short answers to the following questions. (6 points total)
15. According to your textbook, human activities release large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in what four ways?
16a. Human activities release large amounts of nitrogen oxide (NO) to the atmosphere in what two ways? Why is this harmful?
16b. Humans remove large amounts of nitrogen gas (N2) from the atmosphere to make NH3 (ammonia) and NH4+, which are used to make fertilizer. In addition to adding excess nitrogen to soils, humans also add excess nitrates (NO3-) to bodies of water in what two ways?
17. Humans remove large amounts of phosphate from the earth to make fertilizer, which runs off fields, lawns, and golf courses, carrying phosphate ions into streams, lakes, and oceans. What other two human activities contribute to phosphate runoff?
18. Why is nitrate and phosphate runoff harmful to ecosystems?
19. Human activities release large amounts of sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere in what three ways? Why is this harmful to ecosystems?
20. List the three major ways humans alter the water cycle and give the harmful effects of each of these.
21. List 4 misconceptions about evolution through natural selection as well as the realities behind these misconceptions. (In other words, “One misconception is…, when in fact…”) (2 points)
Definitions (4 points total) Be complete!
22. Compare and contrast artificial selection with genetic engineering.
23. Compare and contrast nuclear fission with nuclear fusion.
24a) What is the electromagnetic spectrum? b) List the forms of EM radiation, in order, from highest energy to lowest. c) Which has the shortest wavelength? d) Which has the lowest energy?
25. Compare and contrast generalist with specialist species.
26. What are fossils, and how do scientists use them?
Tragedy of the Commons (If you consult the Guest Essay by Garrett Hardin or other outside sources, please cite them.)
27a) What is the Tragedy of the Commons, and why/how does it occur? (1 point)
27b) List 3 examples of open-access renewable resources and 3 examples of shared renewable resources given in your textbook. (1 point) (Older editions are not as specific as the 15th ed.)
27c) Extra credit: In what ways are you specifically contributing to the tragedy of the commons? What “commons” are you using more than your fair share of, and what solutions can you think of? (Up to 3 points)