Enviromental Science Exam 1-Hisey

The field of environmental science is best described as:

the study of science and non-science disciplines to understand how human society interacts with and impacts the natural world

Why are environmental problems often called wicked problems?

Potential solutions almost always create additional problems

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a sustainable ecosystem?

Relies on non-renewable energy sources

If a society hopes to function sustainably, it should do all of the following EXCEPT:

focus on short-term benefits to meet our immediate needs and wants

A fisherman who takes more than he should from the ocean, thinking, "If I don't do it, someone else will", is caught in the social trap known as:

the tragedy of the commons

Which of the following is NOT a question suitable for scientific inquiry?

Is it ethical to put heavily polluting industries in low-income neighborhoods?

Bats found with white-nose syndrome appeared to die because:

the fungal infection caused them to wake more often and use up their fat reserves, so they died of starvation

Scientists avoid saying that a theory has been proven because:

It suggests that we have the final answer. AND Alternative hypotheses may turn out to have stronger support.

In an observational study

Researchers gather data in a real world setting without manipulating conditions.AND Researchers test whether their data fit predictions generated by a hypothesis.

In an experiment, the control group is used to:

Provide a baseline for comparison with the test group

If I find dead frogs in Australia infected with chytrid fungus, and in South America, and in North America, I could infer that chytrid fungus is related to global frog declines. This would be an example of

inductive reasoning

Which of these statements is correct?

If the data contradict the predictions of the hypothesis, that hypothesis has been falsified

What scientific topics do you think have a bit of a "certainty mismatch" between scientists and lay people? Write in:

Climate Change, Evolution, Dietary Supplements, Radiometric dating,

What kind of organisms are on trophic level TL 3?

Secondary consumer

biodiversity communities have

high species richness and high species evenness

Butterflies visit flowers to drink nectar. They also pollinate the flowers. The relationship between the butterfly and flower is:

mutalism

Keystone species:

Are particularly important for the survival of other species in the community

What trait determines whether a toxin is likely to bioaccumulate in an individual

Whether it is fat or water soluble

Which of the following is an example of a secondary source of information?

A Scientific American article that reviews the Nature article

LD-50

where 50% of population is killed off

An endocrine disruptor

affects the hormone system of the body

To logically assess the quality of information or a claim, we should do all of the following EXCEPT

listen to lots of people and go with what the majority say

In 2012 the FDA banned the use of BPA in infant sippy cups and baby food jars, even though there was still some disagreement between studies as to whether BPA is actually toxic in humans. This is an example of:

the precautionary principle

When toxic substances act synergistically

the total effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects

Which of these are in the world's top 10 most populous countries

India, United States, Brazil, Indonesia

Nigeria has high population momentum

The age structure is biased towards young people who have not entered reproductive age

Which of these usually happens FIRST in the demographic transition?

death rates fall

What generally happens to a population's total fertility rate (TFR) when infant mortality (death) rates decreases?

it decreases

Carrying capacity

depends on resource availability

Why does high infant mortality increase population growth rather than decrease it?

Due to infant mortality, it causes parents to feel they need to have more children to compensate if they do not survive.

Which of these lists represents the levels of ecological organization from smallest to largest?

Population, Community, Ecosystem

Why must Earth receive a constant input of solar energy to fuel life?

Energy cannot be recycled - it is lost as heat as it passes from one organism to another

Biomes are defined as distinctive types of ecosystems determined and identified by

Climatic factors such as precipitation and temperature AND The predominant plants and other organisms that live there.

The range of tolerance for a species identifies things like the:

highest and lowest temperatures that individuals of a population can withstand.

What is the purpose of cellular respiration, a part of the carbon cycle?

It is a way to release the chemical energy of a sugar molecule.