Pollution and Ecology

Which of the following is the most likely cause of algal bloom?

• Humans dumped their trash directly into the pond, causing the water to become unclean

• A seasonal algal cycle caused the water to have too many organisms living in it

• Fertilizers from nearby fields drained into the pond, causing an excess of nutrients

• Acid rain transported pollution from nearby bodies of water through the water cycle.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

___________________ washes agricultural wastes, including animal wastes, fertilizers, and pesticides, into bodies of water, causing algae to grow.

• Runoff

• Peak flow

• Groundwater

• Municipal sewage

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

All the organisms in a particular location, including their nonliving environment

• ecosystem

• carnivore

• niche

• population

An ______ includes all living and nonliving things together in an area.

• population

• ecosystem

• consumers

• producers

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The model shows an area near a lake. Community leaders are planning new laws to help protect the lake from pollution. One proposed law will make it illegal to dump trash on the shore of the lake, but the aw still allows trash to be placed in the area labeled "Flow-through wetland". Which statement about the proposed law is supported by the model?

• The proposed law will protect the lake because plant roots between the wetland and the lake will stop pollution.

• The proposed law will not protect the lake because groundwater will carry pollution from the wetland directly into the lake.

• The proposed law will not protect the lake because animals that live in or near the lake will add pollution to the lake.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

How do the industrial, agricultural, and residential activities of humans most likely affect the groundwater in the area?

• The activities prevent most of the water from evaporating into the atmosphere.

• Pollutants from the activities percolate through the soil and enter the water table.

• The activities replace the groundwater used.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Before the Industrial Revolution in England, the peppered moth was commonly found on tree trunks that had light-colored lichen on the bark. Most of the peppered moths were a light gray-brown color similar to that of the lichen. A few of the moths had a mutation that made them a dark gray-brown color. During the Industrial Revolution, coal-burning factories produced black soot that covered the trees and killed the lichen in and near the cities. In these areas the number of dark peppered moths increased, while the number of light peppered moths decreased. What contributed to this change?

• The soot-covered trees camouflaged the dark moths.

• Bird populations increased in the areas near the factores.

• The dark moths laid fewer eggs than the light moths

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The movement of colored water through the gravel best models --

• condensation of water vapor

• surface runoff of precipitation

• conservation of water

• pollution of groundwater

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Giant salvinia is an aquatic plant that floats on water and reproduces rapidly. When they die, decomposition by bacteria affects oxygen levels in the water. As more plants die, less oxygen is available in the water. Which statement is the best prediction the students can make about the immediate future of the pond?

• The depth of the water in the pond will increase.

• Fish populations in the pond will begin to decrease.

• The number of different types of plants around the pond will increase.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Some area of an ocean are known as dead zones. These zones form when excess organic material decomposes. This increased decomposition uses up the oxygen from the water. Which human activity is most affected by the increasing number of dead zones in the ocean?

• Offshore oil drilling, because water in dead zones is toxic.

• Commercial fishing, because fish cannot survive without oxygen.

• Commercial shipping, because dead zones change the course of ocean currents.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS2-7