Download Unit 1 Reading Guide

Unit 1 Environmental Science Reading Guide – Answer these questions in your own words in full
sentences on notebook paper. Do not type the answers on a computer. You should also write down
things that you think might help you on the reading quiz.
Chapter 1 – You may skip writing the answers for this chapter, but make sure you know all of this!
1. Environmental Science is interdisciplinary. Read the list of major fields and distinguish between
(tell me what makes them different from each other) natural sciences, social sciences and
humanities.
2. Of the 16 subfields of study related to Environmental Science, choose 4 and describe an
experiment or observational study that would link them together in terms of Environmental
Science.
3. While you may already be familiar with the concept of natural resources, natural services aren’t
something you probably know a lot about. Choose 3 natural services and tell which of the
subfields of Environmental Scientists would study each.
4. Explain how an environmentally sustainable society would be different from current American
society in terms of a) how resources are used, b) how members of the society view their
resources and c) other philosophical differences.
5. Know the countries that are listed and be able to categorize them by developed, developing,
middle-income and least developed. There are _____ “low income, least developed” countries
and they make up ____% of the world population.
6. On p. S12 (see the supplement section at the back of your textbook), find figure 3. What trends
do you see? What surprised you? Look at figure 6 on the page following it. How would you
describe the relationships between these two maps?
7. Read figure 1-5 on p. 11 and use it to describe developed countries as compared with
developing countries.
8. What are the 3 types of property rights? How would you expect resource use to differ among
them?
9. Explain ecological deficit.
10. How is China changing and what will likely be the consequences of these changes?
11. How has human culture changed since the agricultural revolution and what will the
consequences likely be?
12. Compare and contrast input pollution control and output pollution control. Which is better and
why?
13. Poverty is one of the five causes of environmental problems. Explain several consequences of
poverty.
14. Affluence is also a cause of environmental problems. How so? What are positive consequences
of affluence?
15. Name three goods/items you’ve purchased that were probably priced too low (without regard
to environmental cost). Explain what costs were left out and why the sellers did that.
16. Distinguish between each of the three major environmental worldviews.
17. Summarize the Chattanooga case study.
18. How are the four scientific principles of sustainability related to the five causes of environmental
problems?
Chapter 2
1. In an experiment, what do scientists mean by a “control”? What does the control tell us?
2. Read the Science Focus about Easter Island. What questions would you like to have
answered about the environmental problems there? If you went there to do research, what
evidence might you look for to help answer these questions?
3. Answer the Critical Thinking questions on p. 48, numbers 4 and 5. Then answer the Data
Analysis questions on p. 49.
4. Read the Science Focus about global warming. A) what is the scientific consensus on global
warming? B) Why do you think media sources present information in the way the book
describes? C) Should it matter if the person quoted for a news story is an expert or not?
Explain.
5. Answer Thinking About on p. 35.
6. You are expected to know ALL of the info in section 2-2 of your book. Write down the ten
things you think you’ll be most likely to need to review before the next test. Pay special
attention to the yellow and green tables.
7. Section 2-3 and 2-4 are also expected to be remembered from your chemistry class. Choose
ten items likely to need review and write them down.
8. Feedback loops will be a constant theme in this class. You will often hear me say “positive
feedback loops are usually not good”. Explain this.
Chapter 3
1. Give four reasons that rainforests make good places to do field experiments.
2. Name three species (Homo sapiens should be one of them), and write a sentence about the
interactions each one has with both its biotic and abiotic environment.
3. Name two animals that live in the same habitat, but have different niches. Then name two
with similar niches but live in very different habitats. Some kids get confused between niche and
habitat. Explain the difference.
4. Natural pest control is one natural service of insects. Name two more.
5. Why is soil listed as part of both the biosphere and the lithosphere.
6. Explain how solar energy and gravity interact to cause the water cycle.
7. Ranges of tolerance affect all species. In what ways is humanity’s range of tolerance limited,
and in what ways have we been able to extend these limits over the years?
8. Name five limiting factors of terrestrial plants.
9. Describe which trophic level(s) you ate from at your last meal.
10. What is the difference between detritivores and decomposers?
11. Describe five natural services of microbes.
12. In figure 3-14, why is an arrow going from the elephant seal to the leopard seal? What does
this mean about the elephant seal?
13. Read figure 3-15 and answer the question in the caption.
14. Compare the NPP of estuaries versus the open ocean:
a. Show work to calculate how much more energy is stored per square meter per year.
b. Explain why such a difference occurs even though estuaries and the open ocean are physically
connected.
15. Give three reasons hydrogen bonding is important in the behavior of water.
16. Write out and describe the chemical reactions in the nitrogen cycle.
17. Describe the phosphorus cycle. In what way is it unique?