Nuclear Meltdown

Front 1

What is the difference between “abiotic” and “biotic”, and what roles do they play in an ecosystem?

Back 1

Abiotic means “not living” and biotic means “living”. Thus, abiotic components make up the landscape, soil, and decide the availability of water or other important substances, while biotic components compose the food chain and interspecies or intraspecies relationships.

Front 2

Is “ethics” part of environmental science or environmental social science and humanities?

Back 2

Environmental social science and HUMANITIES.

Front 3

True or false: we use environmental indicators tell us what is harming an environmental system.

Back 3

False. We use them to determine there is a problem, but we must find out the source of the problem using other methods.

Front 4

Name two of the three scales of biodiversity.

Back 4

Genetic, species, and ecosystem biodiversity.

Front 5

What defines two animals as being of the same species?

Back 5

Individuals within the same species can produce fertile offspring.

Front 6

Name two major greenhouse gasses.

Back 6

Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.

Front 7

What does an individual’s ecological footprint measure?

Back 7

The amount of land required to produce all that a person consumes.

Front 8

What is the difference between accuracy and precision?

Back 8

Accuracy refers to how close together multiple measurements are, while precision refers to how close measurements are to the actual, accepted or proven value.

Front 9

If “kilogram” is a unit of measurement for mass, what does a “pound” measure?

Back 9

Force. If answered with “weight”, prompt “Weight is a what?

Front 10

What is the difference between “molecules” and “compounds”?

Back 10

Compounds must contain two or more different elements, while molecules include structures of multiple atoms of only one element, such as the diatoms O2 and N2.

Front 11

The quantity of what subatomic particle decides the element of an atom?

Back 11

Protons.

Front 12

What type of bond occurs between metals and nonmetals?

Back 12

Ionic bond.

Front 13

A substance of pH 9 would be a ______

Back 13

Base

Front 14

What decides if a molecule is organic or inorganic?

Back 14

Organic molecules have carbon-hydrogen bonds. Inorganic molecules do not.

Front 15

Explain one of the laws of thermodynamics.

Back 15

1. Second: when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes.

Front 16

What makes an organism an autotroph?

Back 16

Autotrophs produce their own food (plants are autotrophs)

Front 17

If a species is exclusively a primary consumer, what does it eat?

Back 17

Primary consumers eat autotrophs. “Plants” also acceptable.

Front 18

What is the more realistic version of the “food chain”, that takes into account more complicated interactions between animals?

Back 18

The food web.

Front 19

An ecosystem’s resistance measures how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter. What does “resilience” measure?

Back 19

The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.

Front 20

How much disturbance is optimal for species diversity? (low, intermediate, high)

Back 20

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis states that intermediate levels of disturbance foster the most species diversity.

Front 21

What is the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere?

Back 21

The “troposphere”.

Front 22

What causes rain shadows?

Back 22

Rain shadows are caused by mountains that block humid winds, causing a dry area behind them.

Front 23

What type of vegetation grows best in a tundra?

Back 23

Low-growing bushes and grasses. Short plants.

Front 24

What is the most diverse of the marine biomes?

Back 24

Coral reefs.

Front 25

What biome has the most annual precipitation?

Back 25

Tropical rainforests.

Front 26

What is the difference between artificial and natural selection?

Back 26

Artificial selection is when humans influence evolution by selecting which individuals will breed, usually to favor specific traits. Natural selection is the gradual shift of a genome based off of traits that allow the species to best adapt, survive, and reproduce in a given environment.

Front 27

What does a species’s realized niche refer to?

Back 27

A species’s realized niche is the conditions under which a species actually lives, more specific than the fundamental niche which is simply the conditions it can survive in.

Front 28

What is the difference between species evenness and species richness?

Back 28

Species richness refers to the number of species in an ecosystem while species evenness is how even the distribution of individuals is among the species represented.

Front 29

How many mass extinctions have there been and what percentage of the total species are now extinct?

Back 29

We have had five mass extinctions and we are in the middle of the sixth. Approximately 99% of the world’s species are extinct.

Front 30

Is allopatric or sympatric speciation more common and why?

Back 30

Allopatric speciation is more common because it is easier for a species to evolve separately when there is a geographic barrier than for the chromosomes of part of the species to change, as commonly in sympatric speciation.

Front 31

What is the theory of island biogeography?

Back 31

The theory of biogeography refers to the size and distance of a habitat in relation to species richness. The larger the ecosystem, the more species reside in it. The smaller the distance between the ecosystem and the source of the colonizing species, the higher the species richness.

Front 32

What is a common result of population overshoot?

Back 32

When a population experiences overshoot, the amount of individuals peaks above what the ecosystem can maintain, or the carrying capacity. As a result, there is usually a die-off that follows, reducing a population back to sustainable levels.

Front 33

What are the differences between K-selected species and R-selected species?

Back 33

K-selected species have a low intrinsic growth level, increasing slowly until carrying capacity, and are usually larger and take more time to reproduce, only reproducing one offspring at a time. R-selected species are smaller and produce more offspring at a time and more often. Their population growth is characterized by overshoots and die-offs.

Front 34

How has human activity disrupted metapopulations?

Back 34

As metapopulations are populations of the same species living in different areas connected by individuals occasionally moving in between them. Human activities such as roads and cities can cut off access between these populations, reducing diversity and increasing the species’s risk of extinction.

Front 35

Why are keystone species important?

Back 35

Keystone species are species that play extremely important roles in their respective ecosystems, regardless of the amount. They are important in the overall health of an ecosystem and can cause seriously detrimental effects.

Front 36

What is replacement level fertility?

Back 36

Replacement level fertility is the amount of children each woman needs to have to have a stable population. If every woman has two children, those two will grow up to replace her and the father and the population will not have a large increase of decrease.

Front 37

What happens when the theory of demographic transition reaches its final stage?

Back 37

In phase 4 of the theory demographic transition, a highly developed and affluent country, such as Japan or Italy, the crude birth rate is lower than the crude death rate and the total population begins to decline.

Front 38

What do age structure diagrams help predict about a population?

Back 38

Age structure diagrams show the spread of a population over age groups. They help predict how a population will change in the future based off where the largest percentage of the population is and, sometimes, the ratio of females to males.

Front 39

Define population momentum.

Back 39

Population momentum explains why a population will continue increasing even after the crude birth rate has declined. The population will continue to increase because for some time there will be a larger amount of women becoming ready to give birth and this takes time to decline again.

Front 40

How does the gross domestic product influence population?

Back 40

The GDP is connected to how affluent and developed a country is. If a country is poorer, it is going to be at a different phase of demographic transition than a highly developed one.

Front 41

What is the Richter scale and what type of scale is it?

Back 41

The Richter scale measures the strength of an earthquake. It is a logarithmic scale which means that for each unit on the scale, the strength of the earthquake increases by a factor of 10. Thus, an 8.0 earthquake has a magnitude 100 times that of a 6.0.

Front 42

What is a result of divergent plate boundaries?

Back 42

Divergent plate boundaries, usually located under the ocean, pull apart, allowing magma to bubble to the surface and creates new rock while bringing important elements to the surface.

Front 43

What are the advantages and drawbacks of subsurface mining compared to surface mining?

Back 43

Both surface and subsurface mining cause ecosystem destruction. However, while surface mining threatens to contaminate water and land as well as leaving behind potentially toxic tailings and subsurface mining has slightly fewer risks in those areas, subsurface is much more damaging and dangerous to the workers.

Front 44

What is the lithosphere and where is it located?

Back 44

The lithosphere is the 100 km thick layer closest to the surface of the Earth, including the solid upper mantle and the crust. It is comprised of several large plates over the convection cells of the asthenosphere and contains most of the chemicals that allow life to exist on Earth.

Front 45

What is chemical weathering and is it positive or negative for the environment?

Back 45

Chemical weathering is when rocks or minerals are broken down through chemical reactions or the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks. It is extremely useful and necessary for the environment because it releases nutrients for plants and other organisms to use.

Front 46

What are aquifers and what is the difference between confined and unconfined aquifers?

Back 46

Aquifers are small collections of groundwater between permeable layers of rock and sediment. Confined aquifers do not allow water to flow in and out while unconfined aquifers are situated to allow this.

Front 47

What is a cone of depression and how are they formed?

Back 47

A cone of depression is an area where there is no longer groundwater due to the faster pumping of a deep well that dries up shallower ones.

Front 48

What is the defining difference between oligotrophic, mesotrophic, and eutrophic lakes?

Back 48

The defining difference is the amount of productivity, usually connected to nutrients available, in each type of lake. Oligotrophic lakes have the least amount while eutrophic have the most.

Front 49

What is the purpose of levees and dikes and what is the difference between the two?

Back 49

Levees and dikes prevent the flooding of land. Levees are used for rivers while dikes are used to keep ocean waters at bay.

Front 50

What is the purpose of fish ladders?

Back 50

Fish ladders are used when dams prevent fish species from reaching their usual breeding grounds, therefore damaging populations. They are a series of stairs that water can flow over that the fish can swim up.

Front 51

Clear cutting has which distinct disadvantages?

Back 51

Clear cutting destabilizes soil, reduces biodiversity, and leaves replanted trees at the same age.

Front 52

What is tragedy of the commons?

Back 52

Tragedy of the commons is the trend of public resources becoming depleted or corrupted. One such example is overfishing international waters.

Front 53

What is an externality?

Back 53

Externalities are the costs or benefits not considered in purchase costs.

Front 54

Define maximum sustainable yield.

Back 54

Maximum sustainable yield is the greatest population that an ecosystem can produce

Front 55

Should forest fires be suppressed?

Back 55

Suppressed forest fires temporarily decrease risk, while increasing risk of a catastrophic fire. Prescribed burns increase frequency and decrease the severity.

Front 56

What is agroforestry?

Back 56

Agroforestry is the practice of growing crops among trees, which decreases erosion and produces fruit, nuts, or firewood.

Front 57

Bioaccumulation is what, and how is it dangerous in the conventional agricultural system?

Back 57

Bioaccumulation is the increased concentration of toxins as predator tier increases. This is dangerous in agricultural practice, because pesticides become more concentrated in the higher sections of the food chain.

Front 58

The pesticide treadmill is the process by which

Back 58

Insects develop resistance to broad spectrum pesticides, forcing new pesticides to be developed to counter this.

Front 59

Famine is formally defined as how many deaths, per 10,000 people, per day?

Back 59

5 deaths per 10,000 people

Front 60

What is energy subsidy?

Back 60

Energy subsidy is the amount of energy input compared to energy in food.

Front 61

Energy intensity is what?

Back 61

Energy intensity is the energy use per unit of GDP

Front 62

What form of degraded petroleum is extracted from oil sands?

Back 62

Bitumen is extracted, then refined into finalized petroleum product

Front 63

The Hubbert Curve represents what?

Back 63

The Hubbert curve predicts the reserves, and the amount available at any given time. It predicts a gradual build to a maximum, then steady irreversible decline.

Front 64

How does a conventional nuclear reactor function?

Back 64

A conventional nuclear reactor reacts fissile material, often Uranium, within a series of control rods to moderate the reaction. This reaction generates heat, which converts water to steam, which runs a turbine.

Front 65

What is cogeneration?

Back 65

Cogeneration is a process in which electricity and applicable heat are generated. This reduces waste of energy diffused into the environment.

Front 66

Why is ethanol a questionable fuel source?

Back 66

Ethanol both burns hotter than gasoline, and less efficiently. Also, ethanol fuel is derived from food crops

Front 67

How is electricity generated from hydroelectric power?

Back 67

Dams create reservoirs, which allow a constant flow of pressurized water around a gravity intensified turbine.

Front 68

What is the difference between modern carbon and fossil carbon?

Back 68

Fossil carbon has been kept separate from the carbon cycle for millions of years.

Front 69

Photovoltaic cells have several advantages: name three.

Back 69

Portability, modularity, low maintenance, constantly decreasing costs

Front 70

Hydraulic fracturing is a technology that:

Back 70

Allows for extraction of oil in shale pockets deep underground, without massive excavation. Pressured water is forced into horizontal pipes deep below the surface, releasing the oil stored in pores.

Front 71

Using the rule of 70, how long would it take for a population to double if it had a growth rate of 5% per year?

Back 71

70/5 = 14 years

Front 72

If the global average for ecological footprint is 2.7 ha per capita but the Australian average is 7.8 ha per capita, how many times more land does an Australian use to support him/herself then the average?

Back 72

About three times (2.888 repeating).

Front 73

Wolves eat deer, who eat grass. If 95% of energy is lost in each trophic level, what percent of the energy the grass produces ends up being usable by the wolves?

Back 73

5% (grass to deer) * 5% (deer to wolf) = 0.25% (grass to wolf)

Front 74

The half-life of Uranium-238 is 4.468 billion years. How long will it be until an eighth of a supply has all broken down?

Back 74

1.117 billion years.