NC Biology Essential Standard 2.2

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

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New fuels are being produced by converting corn and grasses into compounds containing alcohols that can be broken down for energy in various engines. The purpose of this research is to

•  reduce the use of nonrenewable resources.
• increase the rate of air pollution.
• reduce the rate of homeostasis in organisms.
•  cause a loss of biodiversity in the rain forests.

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The northern elephant seal was almost hunted to extinction in the 1800s. By the late 1890s, approximately one hundred seals were left, reducing the gene pool of the population. What will be the consequence of this reduction?

•  Competition within the population will increase.
• The surviving elephant seals will be better able to adapt.
•  Inbreeding will be less frequent among the remaining population.
• The elephant seals will be more vulnerable to environmental change. 

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NGSS.HS-LS4-2

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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.

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The diagram shows the carbon cycle.  If many trees are removed from a forest by logging, what is the most immediate effect on the carbon cycle in that forest?

•  increase in the rates of decomposition
• increase in the rates of atmospheric carbon dioxide
• decreased combustion of fossil fuel
•  increase production of organic compounds

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NGSS.HS-ESS2-6

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One way that humans could have a positive impact on local environments is to:

• generate waste products as a result of technological advances
• use resources that are renewable
• increase planting large areas of one crop
• increase the use of pesticides

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NGSS.HS-ESS3-4

NGSS.HS-LS2-7

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.

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The primary cause of invasive species introduction is

• too much food

• human actions

• weather events

• asteroids

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Why are fossil fuels a nonrenewable resource? 

• they take millions of years to replace 
• they can be used over and over again
• they are used to heat and light homes 
• they cause air and water pollution 

Identify the process shown in this diagram.

• Extinction
• Toxin Accumulation
• Pollution
• Biomagnification