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Intro to Environmental Science Study Guide

Total questions: 16

Worksheet time: 12mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Match the Definitions with the correct word/phrase

a)

All living and nonliving things that humans interact with.

1.

Environment

b)

The actions of people and governments have unexpected effects.

2.

Law of Unintended Consequences

c)

A shared resource or area that is not owned by any individual.

3.

Commons

d)

The moral relationship between humans and the environment.

4.

Environmental Ethics

e)

A degradation of the atmosphere that is harmful to living organisms.

5.

Air Pollution

2.

Categorize each of these as a commons (C) or privately owned (P).

Categorize the following

International Waters

Groundwater

The Atmosphere

Parking lot of a nearby drug store

Large Soybean Farm

Apartments in a skyscraper

Commons
Private
3.

Match the following types of resources and an example.

a)

Inexhaustible

1.

Sunlight

b)

Renewable

2.

Timber (wood)

c)

Nonrenewable

3.

Fossil Fuels

d)

Recyclable

4.

Glass

4.

For each of the public land designations below, list what is permitted and not permitted. National Park National Wildlife Refuge National Forest

a)

These areas are to be kept unaltered from their original state. No fishing, logging, hunting or livestock grazing.

1.

National Park

b)

These areas allow commercial logging and recreational hunting and fishing. Permit required to prevent overexploitation.

2.

National Forest

c)

These areas allow hunting and fishing with a permit, but no commercial activities.

3.

National Wildlife Refuge

5.

Match the definition with the word

a)

Human centered; human interests come first

1.

Anthropocentrism

b)

Nature centered; preserving ecosystems comes first

2.

Ecocentrism

c)

Greatest good of the greatest number in the long run.

3.

Hetch Hetchy Debate

d)

Dam was built

4.

Hetch Hetchy Result

6.

Matching vocabulary

a)

A substance that increases the rate of cancer

1.

Carcinogenic

b)

A degradation of surface or groundwater that is harmful to living organisms.

2.

Water Pollution

c)

The number of different species present in an area.

3.

Biodiversity

d)

A widespread shortage of food in a population.

4.

Famine

e)

Waste substances that are especially dangerous to living organisms.

5.

Hazardous Waste

7.

Place in the correct category

Categorize the following

Economically poor

Less educated

Higher fertility rates

Lower standard of living

Lower rates of consumption

Transitioning

Economically wealthy

More educated

Lower fertility rates

Higher standard of living

Higher rates of consumption

Underdeveloped
Developing
Developed
8.

What is the principle of Supply and Demand?

a)

Prices go up when supply is high and demand is high

b)

Prices go down when supply is low and demand is low

c)

Prices go up when supply is low and demand is high

d)

Prices go up when supply is high and demand is low

9.

Categorize each statement that would increase/decrease your ecological footprint. .

Categorize the following

Driving alone to school.

Printing hard-copies of all emails

Saving digital copies of emails and receipts to an online cloud service.

Carpooling with two other people that live nearby to school.

Eating a vegetable stir-fry for dinner.

Eating steak for dinner.

Keeping your thermostat in the winter set to 72F

Keeping your thermostat in the winter set to 66F

Drinking from a reusable water bottle and the school refill stations.

Drinking from a disposable single-use water bottle.

Increase ecological footprint
Decrease Ecological Footprint
10.

Organize these options into the right categories by world views

Categorize the following

Humans “rule” the Earth

Technology and ingenuity will prevent the loss of resources

Economic potential is unlimited

Human needs come first but we must care for other species too

Conserve resources for future generations when possible

Prefer economic growth that does not harm the environment

Humans are no more important than any other species

Resources are finite; wastes do not “go away”

Our survival depends on sustaining the Earth

Planetary Management
Stewardship
Environmental Wisdom
11.

Match the following

a)

Explicitly permit or prevent certain actions

1.

Laws

b)

Require payments to discourage certain behaviors or fund other programs

2.

Taxes

c)

Direct payments to reward certain actions

3.

Subsidies

12.

Match the following

a)

The monetary value of the goods and services produced per person per year.

1.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

b)

The number of children born to an average woman over her lifetime.

2.

Total Fertility Rate

c)

The number of years an average newborn will live.

3.

Life expectancy

d)

The amount of materials, energy, and services used per person.

4.

Consumption

13.

What changed about human society during the agricultural revolution?

a)

People started shopping in stores

b)

People started farming

c)

Peopled started having jobs

d)

People started going driving tractors.

14.

What technology enabled the beginning of farming?

a)

Tractors

b)

Combines

c)

Irrigation

d)

Fertilizer

15.

What is the Law of Unintended Consequences?

a)

Decisions are permanent

b)

Decisions can be changed

c)

Decisions only affect certain people.

d)

Decisions have unexpected effects

16.

Which of these was an example of carcinogenic materials?

a)

Love Canal, NY

b)

Marshall Islands Atom Bomb testing

c)

DDT used as pesticide

d)