Sustainability and Environmental Science Questions

1. What is the role of decomposers?
ANS:
When consumers die, their nutrients are broken down and recycled by decomposers to be used as
nutrients by producers.

PTS: 1 DIF: Knowledge

2. Why is the per capita ecological footprint for Japan much larger when compared to its total
ecological footprint? (Examine large part of Figure 1.23)

ANS:
While Japan is a small island with a small population, it is a highly industrialized nation and each
individual consumes a large portion of resources.

PTS: 1 DIF: Analysis

3. How can college campuses save money and cut costs while promoting sustainability?

ANS:
There are several ways but the easiest way is to reduce energy waste.


4. If you observe some natural phenomena occurring and want to understand what is going on, what
is the basic scientific method?

ANS:
Formulate a hypothesis and test it.

PTS: 1 DIF: Comprehension

5. What is a sodium atom called when salt (NaCl) is dissolved in water?

ANS:
A positively charged ion.


1.If a certain species of bacteria is capable of reproducing quickly enough that it could cover the earth in
a one foot layer in two days, why hasnt this happened?

ANS:
Limiting factors such as temperature, the availability of food, and abundance of predators keep its
growth in check.


2. Our current agricultural technology is based on using large amounts of fossil fuels, particularly
petroleum. Propose a hypothesis that predicts what will happen if we run out of petroleum.

ANS:
If we do not find a suitable energy replacement, then the human population might decline, and
some scientists have predicted that a crash is possible.

PTS: 1 DIF: Evaluation

3. How are we depleting groundwater stored in aquifers?

ANS:
We are extracting it from the ground (with wells) quicker than it can replenished (by percolation).


4. What are two major reasons we should care about human population growth.

ANS:
Since we depend upon the earths life support system for our livelihood, having more people
places a strain on this finite resource base and there is solid scientific evidence that we are
degrading the capacity of the planet to support not only more people but its current population.


5. How is dumping radioactive waste in the oceans a tragedy of the commons?

ANS:
Since the oceans are a commons area that is shared by all people on the planet, this resource is
degraded when human use overwhelms the natural systems and impairs the rate of replenishment.

PTS: 1 DIF: Application

Identify one negative consequence of transferring water from water-rich areas to water-poor areas?

ANS:
It has impaired the ecosystems of the water-rich areas by degrading their wildlife habitats and
natural services.


2. Where is most of the worlds pollution generated? This includes air pollution, water pollution,
and solid wastes.

ANS:
urban areas


3. Urban areas create large amounts air, water, and soil pollution, as well as large amounts of solid
waste. Name two other types of pollution that are more common in urban areas compared to rural
areas.

ANS:
Noise and light pollution.


4. What kind of urban growth involves the use of energy efficient buses and neighborhoods that are
more pedestrian and bicycle friendly?

ANS:
smart growth


5. What is the term for water that is used twice: first to wash your dishes and then second to water
your yard?

ANS:
gray water

1.List the three most common types of crops.

ANS:
wheat, corn, and rice


2. Most egg-laying chickens in the U.S. are confined to small cages their entire lives in densely
packed large buildings. What is the industry name for these structures?

ANS:
confined animal feeding operations


3. What is the name of the large aquifer that underlies the central states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas
and Nebraska?

ANS:
Ogallala


4. What substances are being overused in feedlots causing a reduction in the effectiveness of
antibiotics used in treating infections in humans?

ANS:
antibiotics for the animals


5. What scientific law explains why vegetarians have a much lower environmental impact than meat
eaters?

ANS:
Second Law of Thermodynamics


What are the two most common biofuels?

ANS:
Biodiesel and ethanol


2. List an environmental problem caused by the building of a dam with regard to biodiversity.

ANS:
Plant and animal habitats are destroyed.


3. What process captures steam produced by a factory that makes tennis balls and uses it to heat that
factory and possibly other buildings?

ANS:
cogeneration


4. What do you call a house with window panes that automatically darken or lighten depending
upon the outside temperature?

ANS:
smart house


5. Which renewable resource has the largest potential that is currently been barely tapped to replace
coal burning power plants as our primary source of electricity?

ANS:
Wind power

PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis

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1. What is the role of decomposers?

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