human impact

Which of Earth’s systems do you interact with when you wash your hands?

• biosphere

• geosphere

• atmosphere

• hydrosphere

Which of Earth’s systems is polluted by exhaust gases from buses pollute?

• biosphere

• hydrosphere

• geosphere

• atmosphere

Why is it important to dispose of electronic devices properly?

• They decompose very quickly.

• . They are made only of materials that cannot be recycled.

• . They release acidic gases into the air

• They contain materials that are toxic.

Where do people interact with all four of Earth’s systems?

• at school

• at their home

• . in the cafeteria

• all of the above

When you throw away trash, it is taken to the landfill where it can decompose, or break into smaller pieces. Which of the following items is likely to take a long time to decompose?

• . tree leaves

• . food scraps

• paper towels

• plastic bottles

Cassie rides her electric scooter every day after school. Then, she plugs it in to re-charge the batteries. She knows this activity can affect several of Earth’s systems. Which of the following describes how this activity affects the geosphere?

• Smoke from the scooter pollutes the air as she rides.

• Roads and sidewalks where she rides pass through animal habitats.

• Electricity used to recharge the scooter comes from using fossil fuels

• Batteries in the scooter use toxic chemicals that can pollute air and water.

Your school has decided to replace all of the old metal desks with new wooden ones. Which of the following describes how using wooden desks affects the biosphere?

• Wood used to make the new desks comes from trees.

• Metal from the old desks was mined from Earth’s crust.

• Building and transporting new desks will use fossil fuels.

• Waste from factories making desks causes air pollution.

Every night after dinner, Sami helps load the dishwasher with dirty dishes. The dishwasher is made from plastic and steel. It uses water and electricity to run, and it sends soap and food waste down the drain. When it is finished, Sami opens the door to let the steam out so the dishes can dry. Which of the following Earth systems are affected by using a dishwasher to wash the dishes?

• atmosphere and biosphere

• atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere

• biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere

• . atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere

Your family got a new television and they are going to throw away the old one. When you throw the old television away, it goes to a landfill. Which of the following statements does NOT describe how this activity might harm the geosphere?

• New televisions use much less electricity to run than old ones

• Parts of the television contain toxic chemicals that pollute the land.

• Materials in the television do not decompose easily and become land pollution.

• Rare materials in the television require more mining of Earth’s crust to replace.

You are investigating how washing the dishes affects Earth’s systems. You compare hand-washing the dishes in the sink with using a dishwasher. The results are based on cleaning a full load of dishes versus hand-washing the same amount of dishes in the sink. You research how much water your dishwasher uses. Then, you compare how much water you use to hand-wash the same number of dishes. You also research how much energy (measured in kilowatt-hours) each method uses to heat the water used to wash the dishes. The chart shows the results of each method.

Based on the data in the table, which statement BEST describes the results?

• Dishwashers use less water and less energy than hand-washing.

• Dishwashers use more water, but less energy than hand-washing.

• Dishwashers use more water and more energy than hand-washing.

• Dishwashers and hand-washing use about the same water and energy.