Concepts Ch 19
How are the CFCs dangerous to the environment?
breaking O3 to make O2
Which example would best demonstrate the law of unintended consequences?
building levees on the Mississippi River
Which are products of burning fossil fuels in the atmosphere?
carbon dioxide and water, nitrogen oxides and sulfur compounds, water vapor and sulfur compounds, carbon dioxide and NOx
It takes more than 100 years for an economy to change its industrial municipal fuel choices (T/F)
false
Life moved to land on earth only after the greenhouse shield formed several hundred million years ago (T/F)
false
The ozone hole was first detected over Antarctica because of a chlorine research project located there (T/F)
false
The ozone levels must be sampled directly from aircraft flying into the region under study (T/F)
false
The total warming in the northern hemisphere since the last ice age is 5 degrees fahrenheit (T/F)
false
The treaty that came out of the 1986 international environmental conference in Montreal created for an immediate global ban on CFC (T/F)
false
If the annual temperature of Washington DC warms 2 degrees celcius, its climate would be most like
georgia
Which of these groups are listed as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trophic level order?
grass, deer, mountain lion
The creation of NOx requires nitrogen, oxygen, and
heat
Which of the following initiated the law of unintended consequences at Lake Victoria in Africa?
introducing the Nile perch
A national recycling program is inhibited by
lack of market for some recycled products, each type of trash requires unique chemical process to be recycled, the sheer volume of trash needing to be processed, America's "use it and lose it" attitude
What are some ideas proposed to decrease global warming?
limit the burning of fossil fuels, pass laws with strict auto-emission limits, nothing- global warming is a natural process, plant trees to take in extra carbon dioxide
Earth's atmosphere is transparent to visible light and UV but opaque to infrared wavelengths (T/F)
true
Global climate models are not reliable for long term predictions because the resolution of the data cells is too coarse (T/F)
true
Scientists are unable to predict the consequences of the greenhouse effect with certainty (T/F)
true
Since introducing Nile Perch to Lake Victoria, the shore tree density has decreased (T/F)
true
The Everglades Restoration Plan will change the flow of water in Florida (T/F)
true
The US did not sign the international Kyoto Accord (T/F)
true
Without the greenhouse effect, the earth's average temperature would be -20 degrees celcius (T/F)
true
An ecosystem can be as large as the earth and as small as an aquarium (T/F)
true
Carbon Dioxide causes the rainfall to be naturally acidic (T/F)
true
CFC replaced Freon as a coolant in refrigerators and air conditioners (T/F)
false
Why do scientists believe that global warming is occuring?
15 of 20 years since 1980 were warmer than normal, sea level is rising, glaciers are melting, 1998 was the warmest year on record
How far above the earth would we find the highest concentration of "good" ozone?
20 miles
What were the principles of the Kyoto accords?
Decrease in carbon dioxide emissions on a global scale
Carbon dioxide protects the earth's surface from harmful radiation (T/F)
false
What were the results of the Montreal Treaty of 1986?
Industrial Nations would decrease then stop their production of CFCs
Why is any effort to control the greenhouse effect so difficult?
The global economy depends on fossil fuels, its natural phenomenon necessary to keep its average temperature on earth above freezing, the global climate models are not yet dependable enough to determine energy policy, there is no reliable substitute energy source available to the average citizen on a global scale
According to the equilibrium hypothesis, introducing a new species to an isolated ecosystem will
cause another species to go extinct
Urban landfills use procedures that
decrease the decomposition rate for newspapers
The flow of energy in an ecosystem
decreases by 90% at each trophic level
Acid rain is known to cause problems by
destroying statues and limestone buildings
What do scientists think will happen if the earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are doubled?
earth's average temperature will increase 2-6 degrees celcius, the oceans will take up extra carbon dioxide, the plants will increase in biomass productivity, the earth will become cloudier
Which term refers to the particular way an organism obtains energy?
ecological niche
Which statement about an ecosystem is correct?
matter is recycled by an ecosystem
How are scientists determining atmospheric ozone levels?
measuring spectral lines from satellites, collecting samples with specifically outfitted airplanes, analyzing data collected in ground-based labs
The value of the ozone layer to earth's citizens is
protection from UV rays
Daniel Simberloff & E. O. Wilson supported theory of Island Biogeography. What happened at the end of the experiment?
the island biota were replaced by similar but different species of animals
The amount of solid waste produced by an average American each year equals
the weight of 2 large dump trucks
A list of ecosystem components would include the abiotic as well as the biotic parts (T/F)
true
