ESC 1500 Chapters 1 5 questions with
solutions
Clean Water Act of 1972 - answersEstablished the basic structure for regulating
pollutant discharges into U.S. waterways
7.6 billion - answersWhat is Earth's human population as of 2018?
Famine, Disease, War, Lack of Resources, Economy, and Harmful Resources -
answersWhat are some factors that affect population?
J Curve - answersA growth curve that depicts exponential growth; the larger the
population gets, the faster it grows
S Curve - answersA growth curve that levels after it reaches its peak; no more growth,
no more increasing population
Carrying Capacity (K) - answersLargest number of individuals of a population that a
environment can support
Resources, disease, environment, and accumulation of waste - answersWhat is
carrying capacity dependent on?
Monocropping - answersTaking down forests in order to grow 1 type of profiting crop
Deforestation - answersDestruction of forests
Loss of oxygen/ clean air; loss of biodiversity; reduced rainfall; drier climate;
temperature increase - answersWhat are some effects of deforestation?
Burning Forests - answersProduce harmful gases and toxins within trees (carbon)
Ecosystem Resilience - answersan ecosystem's ability to recover from disturbance;
affected by biodiversity
The more species there are, the more likely the ecosystem can withstand a disturbance
- answersWhy is ecosystem resilience affected by biodiversity?
They burn up fuel, plant debris, and dead trees to make room for health, young plants
and other vegetation to thrive; returns nutrients back to soil - answersWhy are natural
forest fires necessary?
,Highly Developed Countries (HDC) - answersComplex industrialized bases, low
population growth, high per capita incomes
Less Developed Countries (LDC) - answersLow level of industrialization, very high
fertility rate, high infant mortality rate, low per capita income
Nonrenewable Natural Resources - answersA resource that cannot be replaced within a
human lifespan
Metallic minerals (gold and tin)
Nonmetallic minerals (salt, phosphates, stone)
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) - answersWhat are some examples of nonrenewable
resources?
Renewable Natural Resources - answersNatural resources that are replenished over
short periods
Direct solar energy
energy of winds, tides, flowing water
Fertile Soil
Clean Air
Fresh Water
Biological diversity (forests, food, crops, fishes) - answersWhat are some examples of
renewable natural resources?
Consumption - answersHuman use of materials and energy
Unsustainable Consumption - answersOccurs when the level of demand on a county's
resources damages or depletes the resource enough to reduce the quality of life for
future generations
Ecological Footprint - answersThe average amount of land, water and ocean required to
provide that person with all the resources they consume
Earth's Productive Land and Water - answersA bank account that's constantly being
depleted and being drawn from by everyone.
I=PxAxT - answersImpact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Environmental Sustainability - answersThe ability to meet current human need for
natural resources without compromising the needs of future generations
Understanding of the effects of our actions on earth and that the earth's resources are
not infinite - answersEnvironmentally sustainability requires:
, Tragedy of the Commons - answersA parable that illustrates why common resources
are used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole
Garrett Hardin (1915-2003) - answersWho wrote Tragedy of the Commons?
Short term Welfare and Long term environmental stability and societal welfare -
answersSolving environmental problems is a result of the struggle between:
Common pastureland in medieval Europe - answersWhat did Garrett use to illustrate
the struggle between short term welfare and long term environmental stability?
Sustainable Development-Systems Concept - answersEconomic development that
meets the needs of the present generation without compromising future generations
Environmental Science - answersAn interdisciplinary study of human relationship with
other organisms and the earth
Biology, Ecology, Geography, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Economics, Sociology,
Demography, and Politics - answersWhat the disciplines of environmental science?
- answersWhat the disciplines of environmental science?
System - answersA set of components that interact and function as a whole
Global Earth Systems - answersClimate, atmosphere, land, coastal zones, and ocean
Negative Feedback - answersChange triggers a response that counteracts the changed
condition.
Positive Feedback - answersChange triggers a response that intensifies the changing
condition
Cyanobacteria - answersPhotosynthetic, oxygen-producing bacteria (formerly known as
blue-green algae).
Microcystin Toxin - answersWhat does cyanobacteria produce?
Fertilizers and fossil fuel production - answersWhat caused the rise in cyanobacteria in
Lake Erie?
Microcystin - answersDestroys the human liver/cost money to remove, lowers tourism,
fishing, etc.
17th and 18th Centuries - answersFrontier Attitude: Natural resources seemed
inexhaustible and widespread environmental destruction
solutions
Clean Water Act of 1972 - answersEstablished the basic structure for regulating
pollutant discharges into U.S. waterways
7.6 billion - answersWhat is Earth's human population as of 2018?
Famine, Disease, War, Lack of Resources, Economy, and Harmful Resources -
answersWhat are some factors that affect population?
J Curve - answersA growth curve that depicts exponential growth; the larger the
population gets, the faster it grows
S Curve - answersA growth curve that levels after it reaches its peak; no more growth,
no more increasing population
Carrying Capacity (K) - answersLargest number of individuals of a population that a
environment can support
Resources, disease, environment, and accumulation of waste - answersWhat is
carrying capacity dependent on?
Monocropping - answersTaking down forests in order to grow 1 type of profiting crop
Deforestation - answersDestruction of forests
Loss of oxygen/ clean air; loss of biodiversity; reduced rainfall; drier climate;
temperature increase - answersWhat are some effects of deforestation?
Burning Forests - answersProduce harmful gases and toxins within trees (carbon)
Ecosystem Resilience - answersan ecosystem's ability to recover from disturbance;
affected by biodiversity
The more species there are, the more likely the ecosystem can withstand a disturbance
- answersWhy is ecosystem resilience affected by biodiversity?
They burn up fuel, plant debris, and dead trees to make room for health, young plants
and other vegetation to thrive; returns nutrients back to soil - answersWhy are natural
forest fires necessary?
,Highly Developed Countries (HDC) - answersComplex industrialized bases, low
population growth, high per capita incomes
Less Developed Countries (LDC) - answersLow level of industrialization, very high
fertility rate, high infant mortality rate, low per capita income
Nonrenewable Natural Resources - answersA resource that cannot be replaced within a
human lifespan
Metallic minerals (gold and tin)
Nonmetallic minerals (salt, phosphates, stone)
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) - answersWhat are some examples of nonrenewable
resources?
Renewable Natural Resources - answersNatural resources that are replenished over
short periods
Direct solar energy
energy of winds, tides, flowing water
Fertile Soil
Clean Air
Fresh Water
Biological diversity (forests, food, crops, fishes) - answersWhat are some examples of
renewable natural resources?
Consumption - answersHuman use of materials and energy
Unsustainable Consumption - answersOccurs when the level of demand on a county's
resources damages or depletes the resource enough to reduce the quality of life for
future generations
Ecological Footprint - answersThe average amount of land, water and ocean required to
provide that person with all the resources they consume
Earth's Productive Land and Water - answersA bank account that's constantly being
depleted and being drawn from by everyone.
I=PxAxT - answersImpact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Environmental Sustainability - answersThe ability to meet current human need for
natural resources without compromising the needs of future generations
Understanding of the effects of our actions on earth and that the earth's resources are
not infinite - answersEnvironmentally sustainability requires:
, Tragedy of the Commons - answersA parable that illustrates why common resources
are used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole
Garrett Hardin (1915-2003) - answersWho wrote Tragedy of the Commons?
Short term Welfare and Long term environmental stability and societal welfare -
answersSolving environmental problems is a result of the struggle between:
Common pastureland in medieval Europe - answersWhat did Garrett use to illustrate
the struggle between short term welfare and long term environmental stability?
Sustainable Development-Systems Concept - answersEconomic development that
meets the needs of the present generation without compromising future generations
Environmental Science - answersAn interdisciplinary study of human relationship with
other organisms and the earth
Biology, Ecology, Geography, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Economics, Sociology,
Demography, and Politics - answersWhat the disciplines of environmental science?
- answersWhat the disciplines of environmental science?
System - answersA set of components that interact and function as a whole
Global Earth Systems - answersClimate, atmosphere, land, coastal zones, and ocean
Negative Feedback - answersChange triggers a response that counteracts the changed
condition.
Positive Feedback - answersChange triggers a response that intensifies the changing
condition
Cyanobacteria - answersPhotosynthetic, oxygen-producing bacteria (formerly known as
blue-green algae).
Microcystin Toxin - answersWhat does cyanobacteria produce?
Fertilizers and fossil fuel production - answersWhat caused the rise in cyanobacteria in
Lake Erie?
Microcystin - answersDestroys the human liver/cost money to remove, lowers tourism,
fishing, etc.
17th and 18th Centuries - answersFrontier Attitude: Natural resources seemed
inexhaustible and widespread environmental destruction
