Human Impact

The primary cause of invasive species introduction is

• too much food

• human actions

• weather events

• asteroids

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Which way can people best reduce land pollution caused by large amounts of waste dumped in landfills?  

• They can use a water filter to use fewer water bottles.
• They can recycle their plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard items and only throw away non-recyclable items.
• They can watch less television, reducing electricity use and allowing their electronics to last much longer.
• They can refill large plastic containers, like those used for laundry detergent, instead of throwing them away.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.10

CCSS.RI.5.10

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

Salt water is an abundant resource but unusable for irrigation and drinking. As demands on freshwater sources increase, the use of desalination processes to remove salt from ocean water is increasing. A concern of desalinating water is the large amounts of recovered salts that are returned to the ocean. Which of the following describes the most likely impact of desalination on the surrounding ocean environment? 

• Methane gas would pollute the ocean environment as shoreline organisms begin to die and decay.
• Alteration in ocean salt levels would cause loss of species and unbalanced populations in marine food webs.
• Nonrenewable resources in the ocean environment would become depleted and upset the ecosystem's balance.
• Increased levels of salts and minerals in the ocean would result in overpopulation of marine bivalves due to strengthened shells

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS3-4

NGSS.HS-LS2-6

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

A community is concerned about the water quality of a nearby lake. Increased sedimentation in the lake is endangering the native habitat. The increased sedimentation is most likely caused by which of the following?

• trees planted along the shore of the lake
• construction of homes along the lake
• the amount of sunlight on the lake
• the amount of fish in the lake

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Which human activity is correctly paired with its likely future consequence?

• overfishing in the Atlantic — increase in supply of flounder and salmon as food for people 
• development of electric cars or hybrid vehicles — increased rate of global warming 
• use of fossil fuels — depletion of underground coal, oil, and natural gas supplies 
• genetically engineering animals — less food available to feed the world’s population

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Conservation is the act of conserving, or protecting the environment, plants, and animals. What are some things you can do to help conserve our environment? 

• leave water on, leave TV on, run dishwasher with 1 plate
• run the washing machine with 1 shirt
• leave the refrigerator door open
• turn off water, turn off lights, turn off TV

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

After the Aswan High Dam was built on the Nile River, the rate of parasitic blood-flukeinfection doubled in the human population near the dam. As a result of building the dam, the flow of the Nile changed. This changed the habitat, which resulted in an increase in its population of a certain aquatic snail. The snails, which were infected, released larvae of the fluke. These larvae then infected humans. This situation best illustrates that:

• the influence of humans on a natural system is always negative in the long term
• the influence of humans on a natural system can have unpredictable negative impacts
• human alteration of an ecosystem does not need to be studied to avoid ecological disaster
• human alteration of an ecosystem will cause pollution and loss of finite resources

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

A builder is proposing a new housing development in an area of western Massachusetts. Construction of the housing development will destroy the wetland habitat in the area.
Which of the following would be the most likely consequence of the wetland’s destruction?

• The wetland plant species would disperse to adjacent meadow habitats.
• The populations of wetland animals would be unable to survive in that area.
• The wetland animal species would survive by interbreeding with non-wetland species
• The populations of wetland plants would evolve to disperse seeds by wind rather than water.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Albert wants to practice conservation. He has decided to examine his lifestyle in order to identify areas in which he can reduce the resources he consumes, reuse resources he already has, and recycle resources that he cannot reuse. In which of the following ways can Albert best reduce the resources he currently consumes?

• Use paper grocery bags as gift wrap
• Ride a bike to work instead of taking his car
• Subscribe to a daily rather than a weekly newspaper
• Use an organic rather than synthetic fertilizer in his garden

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

When fertilizers run off farmland into streams and ponds, the nitrogen content of the water increases. This can lead to rapid growth of algae in a process called eutrophication. How can this process affect other organisms in the water?

• Oxygen is used up as algae is decomposed, reducing the amount available to other organisms.
• The water becomes better able to support aerobic organisms.
• The algae provide food for fishes and other organisms, leading to decreased algae populations.
• The extra nitrogen provides additional food for the other organisms, increasing their population.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4