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Sustainability, Conservation, Methods of Science 7th Period

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 39mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

If it is true that too many people living in an area causes degradation and a destruction of natural resources, then why is it that people who live in the large metropolitan areas in the United States able to have so many more material possessions than those living in the countries to the south of US?

a)

Our population has stopped growing and theirs is continuing to grow.

b)

People living in these metropolitan areas have more money to spend to buy the goods.

c)

We are using the natural resources of less developed countries to keep us supplied with goods and produce.

d)

We recycle most of our goods.

2.

Which of the following describes the relationship among population growth, consumption of natural resources, and environmental degradation?

a)

When individual demands on natural resources are far greater than the requirements for mere survival, people in affluent nations deplete resources and degrade the global environment through increased consumption of nonessential items to satisfy their desires.

b)

Rapid population growth does not overwhelm and deplete a country’s soils, forests, and other natural resources when the amount of resources essential to an individual’s survival is small.

c)

Rate of resource consumption affects the environment far less that the explosion in population

d)

There is no relationship between population growth, consumption of natural resources, and environmental degradation.

3.

Which of the following factors is as important as population in determining the environmental impact of humans?

a)

climate of the region

b)

level of resource consumption

c)

wealth of the nation

d)

amount of pollution produced

4.

Sustainable development can occur only within the limits of the environment. What conditions are necessary to live within these limits?

a)

all of these choices

b)

population growth must be held at a level that we can sustain

c)

the wealthy must stabilize their use of natural resource

d)

the wealthy must reduce their use of natural resources to a level that can be maintained

5.

Renewable resources are:

a)

resources such as fossil fuels that replenish within a reasonable duration on the human timescale.

b)

resources such as fish that can be replaced by natural processes on a fairly rapid scale provided they are not overexploited in the short term

c)

resources such as forests that are impossible to overexploit as trees grow so fast

d)

resources such as minerals because we can efficiently extract, refine, and recycle them

6.

The interdisciplinary study of humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the non-living physical environment is termed:

a)

ecology

b)

sociology

c)

environmental science

d)

political science

7.

What is the environmental significance of the process of “consumption”?

a)

Consumption can outstrip the natural resources available and lead to overexploitation of the environment.

b)

Extravagant consumption can create an environment of raising one’s status among peers.

c)

The process of consumption is an economic act, providing the “demand” necessary for the “supply” of the environment.

d)

Consumption can generate economic growth that relies significantly on the importation of natural resources, which benefits the environments of less-developed countries.

8.

Which of the following terms refers to the number and variety of Earth’s organisms?

a)

ecosystem services

b)

biological diversity

c)

species distribution

d)

none of these choices

9.

When did many U.S. naturalists first become concerned about conserving natural resources?

a)

during the 1700s and early 1800s

b)

during the 19th century

c)

the early 20th century

d)

the late 20th century

10.

What does an ecological footprint measure?

a)

Natural resources used by each person in an area.

b)

Products bought and used by each person in an area.

c)

The amount of people that can live in a given area.

d)

how many bugs you can squash with each footstep

e)

The amount of people that can live in a given area.

11.

Which of the following has been subjected to the highest degree of investigation, is accepted by all scientists, and is the closest to ‘proof ’in science?

a)

Pseudoscience

b)

Theory

c)

Scientific Law

d)

Hypothesis

e)

Opinion

12.

Examples of non-sustainable human activities or behaviors include:

a)

recycling

b)

attempts to limit human population growth

c)

using technology to improve car mileage

d)

use of non-renewable fossil fuels

13.

Why is it inadequate to rely solely on science to solve environmental problems?

a)

Science can’t prove anything so it cannot be used to solve problems.

b)

Science can only inform decisions, but ethics are necessary to help us decide what we ought to do.

c)

The statement is incorrect - science is the only discipline necessary to solve environmental problems.

d)

Politics and economics are the real tools used to solve environmental problems.

14.

Which of the following statements about scientific theories are TRUE?

a)

Theories cannot be tested.

b)

Theories are the same as hypotheses.

c)

Theories can be used to predict the existence of as-yet unobserved things or phenomena.

d)

Theories are ethical principles based on a religious foundation.

15.

How would a scientist respond to the statement that “The theory of natural selection is really just an educated guess at what is happening.”

a)

She would agree because theories really are just guesses about the scientific world.

b)

She would disagree because scientific theories refer to broadly conceived, well-supported explanations of scientific phenomena.

c)

She would agree because there is not enough support to accept the hypothesis of natural selection.

d)

She would use the scientific method to conduct her own experiment to test the theory before accepting it as fact.

16.

All of the following describe the process of science EXCEPT

a)

Science seeks to reduce complexity of the natural world to general principles which are used to provide new insight

b)

Scientific data is collected through observation and experimentation and thus questions of science are limited to testable questions.

c)

Conclusions inferred from collected data are often based on faith, emotion, or intuition.

d)

Confirming the validity of new results by repeatability is a requirement of science.

17.

The total set of carbon emissions caused by an individual.

a)

carbon cycle

b)

carbon handprint

c)

carbon footprint

d)

carbon summary

18.

Human activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, therefore we are carbon ________.

a)

sinks

b)

sources

19.

Select all that apply.

You can help decrease your carbon footprint by...

a)

buying and eat locally-produced food

b)

lessening your amount of driving

c)

recycling

d)

decreasing your water and electricity usage

20.

Select all that apply.

Which of the following are carbon sinks.

a)

soil and rocks

b)

fossil fuels

c)

forests

d)

oceans