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There will not be any essay questions. Point spread: True/False: 17@ 2 pets each Multiple choice: 22 @ 3 pets each Fill in the blanks: 5 @ 5 pets each 34 points 66 points 25 points TOTAL: 125 points As for what to study, below are some general guidelines regarding the past few sections studied, organized by section. Once again, these are very general suggestions! You need to know the broad concepts, but also be aware of the details underlying them. Remember to read (if you haven’t already) the chapters listed in the syllabus for each section. What is Science? What is science – a body of knowledge, a process, a way of thinking, or what?
What are hypotheses? Facts? Laws? Theories? How are these related? How do they differ? What is involved in “doing” science? What is “empirical science”? What are “historical sciences”? How do these sciences differ from one another? Science, Environment, and Problems NCSC 310 STUDY GUIDE 3 By candied What is the environment? What is environmental science? What is the history of the environmental movement? Be ready to compare the three forms of conservation we discussed in class: utilitarian conservation, obstetric inspiration, and environmentalism. Matter, Energy, and Life What is ecology?
What are living organisms made of? How do matter and energy differ? What makes organic molecules different from other molecules? What is the key element involved? Why is this element so critical? How does photosynthesis work? (As discussed in class. ) How and where is energy stored? How is this energy released? What are atrophic levels? What are food webs? How are these characterized? Biological Communities and Biomass What are biological communities? What are species? What are populations? What are ecosystems? How do these differ from one another? What are niches? What are predation, parasitism, etc.?
How about competition? Symbiosis? What are the different kinds of symbiosis, and how do they differ? What are the properties of communities? Evolution – History and Significance What is evolution? Why is it considered a scientific theory? How is this different from a “hunch”- or “guess”-type theory? Who first proposed evolution by means of natural selection? On what observations did he (or they) base his (or their) theory? What are the components of evolution? At what level – individual, population, species, etc. – goes evolution work? What does the scientific theory of evolution explain? What does it not explain?
What supporting evidence for evolution is now available to us? Why is an understanding of evolution and how it works so important in environmental sciences? Population Growth and Regulation What is exponential growth? How does it differ from arithmetic growth? What is Malthusian growth? (After whom is this kind of growth named? ) What is irruptive growth? What is logistic growth? Human Populations (Past, Present, and Future) As with the first exam, we didn’t really get into this in any detail in class so, I am not owing to ask you questions on this topic. Resource Economics What are resources?
What are the broad categories of resources we discussed in class? What is the “Tragedy of the Commons”? Who proposed this, and when? How did this individual claim the tragedy could be avoided? Was he right? What responsibilities do businesses have to protect the environment or save resources beyond the legal liabilities spelled out in the law? What are internal costs in an economic transaction? What are external costs? Who pays for each? Can you think of any examples beyond those we discussed in class? Environmental Health and Toxicology What is health? What is disease? What are allergens? Mutagens? Teratology?
Neurotics? Carcinogens? What are their effects? Know these and the other categories discussed in class. What various effects do pesticides have? Are these effects all by design? How do organisms respond? (Hint: think evolution). What are some of the problems with pesticides? What is the “grasshopper effect”? What are fasciculation and pontification? Food and Agriculture Nah, forget this too. Biological Resources What is biodiversity? How is it measured? How is species diversity assessed? What is the difference between species richness and species evenness (or relative abundance)? How are species defined?
What are the differences among the various ways in which species are defined? What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of these approaches? Is extinction normal? What can cause extinctions? What are mass extinctions? (I asked you to remember two of these. ) Air Resources What is the difference between weather and climate? What are the different layers of the atmosphere? What are some characteristics of each? I mentioned in class that you should focus on knowing about two of these atmospheric layers in particular. What are “criteria pollutants”? Know them. What is the “greenhouse effect”? How does it operate?
What elements contribute to Water Resources Where does our water come trot. 7 Ha s en hydrological cycle, & now does it work? How much global water (in percentage) is locked up in the oceans, or in snow, or in lakes and rivers? Know these proportions. What are the three major ways in which humans use water? What are the ways in which domestic water is used? What activity constitutes the largest use of domestic water? Global Climate Change What are the differences between weather and climate? What are Annihilation cycles? How do these cycles affect global climate? What other global factors have an influence on global climate?
What is the overall tend observed in global temperatures over the past thirty years or so? What is the projected trend over the next few decades (if things remain otherwise unchanged)? How much of a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was recommended by the Nun’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (EPIC)? What emission reductions were proposed during the Kyoto climate summit? Energy Production and Fossil Fuels What is “peak oil”? When will we completely run out of oil? What is hydrological fracturing, or franking? Can the Unites States become energy independent? If so, what needs to be done to make this possible?
If not, why not? Sustainable Future What are some “one liner” objections to addressing environmental concerns? (We covered two in class. ) What are some of the assumptions underlying these objections? Are these assumptions Justified? On the next page is an example of the “fill in the blanks” portion of a previous exam, with one question (out of the original five) provided. You do not need to know the trial presented in the question below, but hopefully it will give you a feel for this portion of the upcoming final. (Again, this paragraph & question will not be used on your exam! “The Departed Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico flowed for three months in 2010. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil ‘gusher’ resulting from the 20 April 2010, explosion of the Departed Horizon, a mobile offshore drilling platform operated by Transoceanic Ltd. (an offshore drilling contractor), leased by BP (a global IL corporation), and undergoing installation to new equipment by Hallucination Energy Services (an oilfield services contractor). At the time of the explosion, the Departed Horizon was drilling on the BP-operated Macon Prospect.
The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others. On 15 July 2010, the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead, after it had released about 4. 9 million barrels of crude oil. An estimated 53,000 barrels per day escaped from the well Just before it was capped. “The spill caused extensive damage to marine and wildlife baits and to the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. In late November 2010, 4,200 square miles (11,000 km) of the Gulf were re-closed to scrimping after tar balls continued to be found in shrimps’ nets.
The amount of Louisiana shoreline affected by oil grew from 287 miles (462 km) in July to 320 miles (510 km) in late November 2010. In January 2011, an oil spill commissioner reported that tar balls continue to wash up, oil sheen trails are seen in the wake of fishing boats, wetlands marsh grass remains fouled and dying, and crude oil lies offshore in deep water and in fine silts and sands onshore. A research team found oil on the bottom of the seafloor in late February 2011 that did not seem to be degrading.
Skimmer ships, floating containment booms, anchored barriers, sand-filled barricades along shorelines, and dispersant continue to be used in an attempt to protect hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries from the spreading oil. Scientists also report immense underwater plumes of dissolved oil not visible at the surface as well as an 80-square-mile “kill zone” surrounding the blown well. “On 5 January 2011, the US White House oil spill commission found that BP, Hallucination, and Transoceanic had tempted to work more cheaply and thus helped to trigger the explosion and ensuing leakage.
The report states: Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Hallucination, and Transoceanic made that increased the risk of the Macon blowout clearly saved those companies significant time (and money). ” *** 1 . Oil released into an ocean environment has the potential to adversely impact marine organisms. Many of these organisms – fish, crustaceans (like crabs and lobsters), and mollusks (such as clams, oysters, and scallops) – are also sources of seafood for humans.
Oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Pass) that are selectively absorbed by cells of living organisms – a process technically known as . Many of these Pass are known to have the potential to cause cancer in humans, and so are treated as . Some Pass are also – meaning that they alter genetic material in organisms – and so have the potential to dramatically affect future populations. A) pontification / carcinogens / teratology d) fasciculation / carcinogens / mutagens b) fasciculation / mutagens / pathogens e) sequestration / mutagens / carcinogens c) filtration / carcinogens / teratology