NUTR 402: Study Guide with Complete Solutions.
systems correct answers An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized and
achieves some purpose over time
- A regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole
- Natural, Engineered, or a Combination of both
models correct answers A representation of an object, a system, or an idea in some form other
than that of the entity of itself
- A simplification of reality
(could be statistical, physical, representative, computational)
- Never a perfect representation of a system, but rather a approximation suitable for a certain
purpose.
analysis correct answers A detailed examinantion of anything complex to understand its
nature or to determine its esstential features: a through study
- The process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a
better understanding
- May be qualitative or quantitative
Simple concept correct answers A well defined relationship exists between an event and its
outcome
Complicated concept correct answers Co-existence of multiple well defined relationships
between events and outcomes
Complex concept correct answers Co-existence of multiple relationships that are not well-
defined, linear, simple, or static
- Ex. the way energy availabilty and cost affects the availability of fridge and in turn food
choices
Reductionist concept correct answers A procedure or theory that reduces complex data and
phenomena to simple terms
- Explanation of complex life sciences processes and phenomena in terms of the laws of
physics and chemistry
holistic concept correct answers Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete
systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts
- Looking at the whole picture
System principle: Structure correct answers System structure is the source of system behavior
, - Outside forces push on a system, but the outcome (the way the system responds) depends on
its structure
- Understand system structure can shed light on system behavior
- Modeling for the purpose of predicting system responses/behavior requires knowledge of
system structure
System principle: Organized Complexity correct answers Concept of a system as an
integrated whole, whose essential properties arise from the relationship between its parts
- Emergent properties - those properties that arise at a certain level of complexity but do not
exist at lower level
- " The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
System principle: Hierarchy/nesting correct answers Systems within systems
- Ex. Food systems -> Farm -> Cow -> Rumen
- Shift from looking at a world of objects to a world of interconnected systems
System behavior: Oscillation correct answers To oscillate means to move back and forth
between two positions or ideas — like a pendulum swinging.
- When used to describe the food system, "oscillate" usually means that patterns or trends in
food production, consumption, or policy shift back and forth over time — instead of staying
stable or moving in one clear direction.
System behavior: Feedback loops correct answers A feedback loop is a chain of connections -
actions based on the state of a stock that flow back to and influence the stock
Balancing Feedback (+): Goal or equilibruim-seeking, give a system stability, resistance to
change
Reinforcing Feedback (-): Expotential growth is a classic example, "vicious cycle" "self-
fulfilling prophecy"
ex.
Pesticide use
System behavior: Buffering correct answers Stocks take time to change, dependent on the
rates of flow
- This can create lag:
ex. takes time to fill a bathtub
This also provides buffering (pseudo-stability):
- water in a reservoir is available even in times of reduced precipitation
- food storage allows availablity beyond a harvest season
Buffering can cause big problems when managing or mis managing complex systems
systems correct answers An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized and
achieves some purpose over time
- A regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole
- Natural, Engineered, or a Combination of both
models correct answers A representation of an object, a system, or an idea in some form other
than that of the entity of itself
- A simplification of reality
(could be statistical, physical, representative, computational)
- Never a perfect representation of a system, but rather a approximation suitable for a certain
purpose.
analysis correct answers A detailed examinantion of anything complex to understand its
nature or to determine its esstential features: a through study
- The process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a
better understanding
- May be qualitative or quantitative
Simple concept correct answers A well defined relationship exists between an event and its
outcome
Complicated concept correct answers Co-existence of multiple well defined relationships
between events and outcomes
Complex concept correct answers Co-existence of multiple relationships that are not well-
defined, linear, simple, or static
- Ex. the way energy availabilty and cost affects the availability of fridge and in turn food
choices
Reductionist concept correct answers A procedure or theory that reduces complex data and
phenomena to simple terms
- Explanation of complex life sciences processes and phenomena in terms of the laws of
physics and chemistry
holistic concept correct answers Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete
systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts
- Looking at the whole picture
System principle: Structure correct answers System structure is the source of system behavior
, - Outside forces push on a system, but the outcome (the way the system responds) depends on
its structure
- Understand system structure can shed light on system behavior
- Modeling for the purpose of predicting system responses/behavior requires knowledge of
system structure
System principle: Organized Complexity correct answers Concept of a system as an
integrated whole, whose essential properties arise from the relationship between its parts
- Emergent properties - those properties that arise at a certain level of complexity but do not
exist at lower level
- " The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
System principle: Hierarchy/nesting correct answers Systems within systems
- Ex. Food systems -> Farm -> Cow -> Rumen
- Shift from looking at a world of objects to a world of interconnected systems
System behavior: Oscillation correct answers To oscillate means to move back and forth
between two positions or ideas — like a pendulum swinging.
- When used to describe the food system, "oscillate" usually means that patterns or trends in
food production, consumption, or policy shift back and forth over time — instead of staying
stable or moving in one clear direction.
System behavior: Feedback loops correct answers A feedback loop is a chain of connections -
actions based on the state of a stock that flow back to and influence the stock
Balancing Feedback (+): Goal or equilibruim-seeking, give a system stability, resistance to
change
Reinforcing Feedback (-): Expotential growth is a classic example, "vicious cycle" "self-
fulfilling prophecy"
ex.
Pesticide use
System behavior: Buffering correct answers Stocks take time to change, dependent on the
rates of flow
- This can create lag:
ex. takes time to fill a bathtub
This also provides buffering (pseudo-stability):
- water in a reservoir is available even in times of reduced precipitation
- food storage allows availablity beyond a harvest season
Buffering can cause big problems when managing or mis managing complex systems
