Unit 5 FRQ 1

Homeowners can reduce their ecological footprint through conservation landscaping techniques. DESCRIBE how conservation techniques can reduce outdoor watering costs

Cover landscaped areas in mulch or add soil amendments that reduce evaporative water loss from soils surrounding trees and other landscaped vegetation.

Based on the info in the graph, IDENTIFY the category with the greatest energy-based expense in poultry farming

Electricity

DESCRIBE one environmental problem associated with the energy-based expense that is the second highest in the production of cotton and rice

Fertilizer, if overused, can leech into the ground and get into groundwater we get out for drinking. This could cause our drinking water to be contaminated.

Based on the info in the graph, EXPLANI why there is a difference in fertilizer costs between hog production and corn farming

Hog manure can contain nutrients to help grow feed, which reduces the overall need for fertilizer to be bought because the compost and manure already work as organic fertilizer.

A corn farmer wanting to decrease the ecological footprint of the operation decides to shift from producing a monoculture of corn to a polyculture of corn, soybeans, and wheat. EXPLAIN how this will effect the farm's ecological footprint

Polyculture crops work together to balance the nutrients in the soil. Some crops add nitrogen to the soil, and some take nitrogen from the soil. This means the farmer wouldn't need to use as much fertilizer on the farm, reducing the ecological footprint.

If the farmer feeds the hogs 2500 g per day, EXPLAIN why the farmer will not see maximum lean growth rate in the hogs.

The data show that hogs consume less food at higher temperatures, so at 30degree C the hogs would likely not consume all 2,500 grams of food per day and will not reach their maximum lean growth rate.

A poultry farmer is considering installing a wind turbine at the farm to reduce the farm's energy-based expenses. Considering the energy-based expenses in the graph, EXPLAIN why this would or would not work as an effective long-term approach for reducing energy costs.

This would be an effective long-term approach. Based on the graph, more than half of the energy-based expenses at the poultry farm are from electricity, so this could be a long-term solution to reduce electrical costs.

IDENTIFY one variable not mentioned in the description that could affect the investigation results.

amount of water given to each hog group

Based on the info in the graph, IDENTIFY the category of crops that has the highest average total energy-based expenses

cotton and rice

IDENTIFY the independent variable

temperature