Topic 7 - Ecosystems

 

The Sciences:Ý Chapter 18 and 19

 

1) Where is "good" ozone found?Ý Where is "bad" ozone found?Ý Why do we call some ozone "good" and some "bad"?

 

Answer:Ý Good ozone is found high in the stratosphere where it forms a shield that reduces the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching earth (pg 429).Ý Bad ozone is pollutant in the air at the earth's surface (in the trophosphere).Ý Ozone damages human respiratory system and is a product of smog..Ý

 

2) Give an example of a human activity that has overwhelmed a natural cycle and explained how we overwhelmed it.

 

Answer:Ý One example is the carbon cycle by rapidly burning fossil fuels and destroying forests.

Overwhelmed the ability of decomposers to recycle matter by the sheer volume of garbage and the fact that much of it is not subject to bacterial or fungal decomposition.

 

3) If you were the president of a developing country which had a rapidly growing population, which of the following strategies to produce food for your population would you support and why?

 

A) Use the land to graze animals and eat primarily an animal-based diet.

B) Use the land to grow crops like wheat or rice, and eat primarily vegetarian diet.

 

Answer:Ý More people can be adequately fed if they eat at the trophic level of an herbivore than that of a carnivore because the closer an organism (human) eats to the producer level (plants that harvest energy from the sun), the more food there is available and the less energy is wasted.Ý

 

Q1=The "bad"ozone is found over the poles.Ý The "good" ozone is found over the rest of the world.Ý Some of it is called "good" because it developes correctly and protects the earth from uv rays.Ý Some is called "bad" because it is breaking down and does not protect the earth from the dangerious uv rays.

Q2=We have overwhelmed the water cycle because we try to trap water into aquifers.Ý We then drill into theses wells to suppy water for cities and agriculture.Ý The problem with this is it takes many thousands of years to fill them but only a few years to drain them.

Q3=I would chose to to use the land to grow crops and eat a vegetarian diet because during years of plenty you can harvest these crops and store them.Ý During years of drought you can eat these storied crops.Ý If you went with a meat diet you really can't store the beef and during times of drought there won't be any food for the amimals to eat and therefor no food for the people.

 

1.Ý There are 2 layers of ozone in the atmosphere. The good ozone is in the stratosphere. It is the highest layer. The bad ozone is located closer to the Earthís surface in the troposphere. We call some ozone good and some bad because one is good and one is bad. The reason we have bad ozone is because of smog and other pollutants that destroy it.

2.Ý An example of how human activity has overwhelmed a natural cycle is the deterioration of rain forests. We have cut down trees and destroyed many of these places that serve as homes for plant and animal life. The cycle can no longer continue as it has naturally.

3.Ý I would choose to grow crops instead of livestock. By growing crops money and time are saved. These efforts would have been doubled to support the needs of animals that need plant life to survive.

 

Q1=The bad ozone is over the South Pole where the ozone hole is.Ý The good ozone is closer to the equator.

Q2=Acid Rain.Ý All of the air pollution that people create with factories runs off into water sources.Ý When the sun soaks up some of the water during the natural process of the water cycle, pollutants are also taken in.Ý This creates acid rain.Ý Acid rain damages the ecosystems of the earth.

Q3=A) Use the land to graze animals and eat primarily an animal-based diet.Ý The people could still have gardens and then have a more well-rounded diet.

 

Q1=The bad ozone is found over Antarctica.Ý This area has a concentration of ozone above this area decreases at different amounts different years. The good ozone is all the other ozone found in the ozone layer.Ý We call them this because of their tendancies and characteristics.

Q2=Humans now a days are less likely it seems to walk somewhere.Ý We seem to always want to drive, take the bus, or some other form of transportation.Ý As these forms of transportation become more frequently used we are producing more and more polution.Ý We continue to pollute our airs with exhast from vehicles.

Q3=I would probably choice option b as the plants would help keep the carbon cycle going better than animals would.

 

Q1=Where ozone has not been deteriorated is where one can find "good" ozone. Where deteriorated ozone is found that is "bad" ozone.Ý The "good" ozone is considered "good", because the ozone allows less ultraviolet rays through from the sun into our atmosphere.Ý Ultraviolet rays are harmful and dangerous to people and our skin.Ý Where the ozone is deteriorating and considered "bad" ozone it allows the ultraviolet rays through into our atmosphere.

Q2=One example of a human activity that has overwhelmed the natural cycle is CFC's (chloroflorocarbons).Ý CFC's can be found in such things as aerosol cans that contain things like hairspray & spray paint.Ý These aweosopl produvts are put into our atmosphere and cause parts of the ozone to deteriorate.

Q3=I would go with a) and eat an animal-based diet.Ý I would use this plan for my country, because there are always animals, and they reproduce.Ý However, you don't know if the weather conditions will permit for growth of any crops in any given year.Ý Animals are going to be a consistent source of food all year long.Ý Crops may not be able to grow year long depending on the weather and environmental conditions.

 

1.Ý Well I think that the "bad" ozone is referring to the ozone hole. The ozone hole is a place in the atmosphere where the ozone has significantly decreased.Ý The ozone hole is found in Antartica, there for the rest of the ozone layer would be considered the "good" ozone. The Ozone hole is "bad" becuase the ozone layer is needed in our atmosphere to absorb the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.Ý

2. One example of that would be how factories (human activities) let off pollutants into the air and cause a break down of the ozone (a natural cycle).Ý This in effect causes holes in the ozone more problems which means it has overwhelmed the natural cycle.

3. I think that I would choose option A because animals can be used for more than just their meat like dairy products.Ý Another reason would be that if there was a drought or flood or other factors in farming, the entire crop could be ruined where animals would not necesarily be harmed.Ý Crops are also seasonal and animals can be kept all year-round. With these reasons I think that Option A would be best.

 

Q1=Good Ozone is found in the troposhpereÝ Bad Ozone is in the Startosphere layer The good ozone is made up of trace gasses used in the air we breath Bad Ozone has high levels of radiation in it.

Q2=One natural cycle that has been over whelmed by humans would be the land.Ý Tilling farming has caused a great deal of soil erosion, plus the growth of the crops uses up the minerals and is not replaced by humans back into the soil

Q3=I would say B. Growing crops would support aÝ larger poplulation, plus giving some variety to the diet. I think that growing primarily livestock would errode the land to quickly.

 

Q1=Good ozone is found where the ozone has not been deteriorated and bad ozone is found where it has been deteriorated.Ý We call the good ozone god because these areas allow less ultraviolet rays from the sun into our atmosphere.Ý These ultraviolet rays are dangerous to us and our skin.Ý The bad ozone are the areas where the ozone is depleating and allows many of the ultraviolet rays into our atmosphere.

Q2=We have put many CFCs or chloroflorocarbons into the atmosphere.Ý In turn this has caused parts of the ozone to deteriorate.Ý These chloroflorocarbons are from aerosol cans that carry anything from hairspray and many other things.

Q3=I would use the land to graze on animals and eat primarily an animal-based diet.Ý I would do this because From year to year percipitation changes and you never know if you are going to get enough rain and sunlight or too little of them.Ý When you eat the animal based diet you are more likely to have some food every year.Ý Also they can live year long and the plants and crops depend on the environment to live and may not have the environment they need all year long.

 

Q1=At an altitude of about 20 miles the ozone is good in most every location around the world.Ý Bad ozone is located over the contintent of Antarctica.Ý It is located in other places, but this is the most prevelant.Ý We call some good and some bad because of the strength of the ozone.Ý Ozone is like a special layer, and in places where the layer is thick and strong, we consider it good because it helps stop harmful radiation.Ý But in places where it has been depleted for some reason/s, we call it bad because it lets a larger amount of radiation through.

Q2=Rocks have taken millions of years to form.Ý As the earth formed, the rocks formed with it.Ý But as it ages, the rocks aren't forming like they used to due to the lesser amount of heat that accompanies it now.Ý We have used these rocks for many aspects of human life.Ý We have mined almost every kind of material that could be mined.Ý Limestone, marble, and granite being three common types of materials mined by humans.Ý We have taken over many of the beautiful landshapes that formed millions of years ago.

Q3=I would use the land to grow crops like wheat or rice, and eat primarily vegetarian diet.Ý It would be hard to keep land set aside just for animal grazing, especially in a small country.Ý It would be more cost efficient to grow crops because animals would probably be to expensive.Ý Moreover, the land could be used more times with the growing of crops than with animals.

 

Q1="Good ozone could be found in remote regions of the world, such as the remote jungle of the rainforests, the dry desert, or above the mountains.Ý Of course, contrary to this assumption is that over the Antarctic continent, the "bad" ozone is found.Ý What is meant by good/bad ozone is the amount of ozone molecules in the atmosphere, forming a protective layer against the sun's ultraviolet rays.Ý The less there is of ozone molecules forming the layer, the worse the ozone is.Ý The Antarctic is a good place to find this because the set of circumstances in the southern pole are cohesive to the destruction of ozone.Ý Clouds of crystalized chlorine form during the months of least sunlight,waiting for the ultraviolet light to create the necessary energy to set the chlorine off, rapidly destroying the ozone.Ý The Antarctic is an excellent example of the accumulation of chlorine in the atmosphere from the CFCs that we have used in air conditioners, spray cans, and refrigerators for years.Ý We are seeing the end result.Ý

Q2=One example of how human activity has overwhelmed a natural cycle is with the groundwater supply.Ý The fresh groundwater supply makes up 1% of the Earth's total water reservior.Ý While salty ocean water makes up 96%, only 1% makes up groundwater.Ý In some places, people rely on the groundwater to survive or for their own interests.Ý They may set up fountains or discover an aquifer--a natural water fountain.Ý People use the groundwater to drink by digging wells or building fountains or use it for their farm or for recreation.Ý The problem of this is that once the wells are dried up, they will not have water filled them back to where they originally were until hundreds or thousands of years down the road.Ý Also, polluting the groundwater by chemical use or some accidental circumstance, the water will be bad for large area.Ý The problem is, humans must conserve their resources better by not using up all of the ground water or polluting it.Ý We must be careful with what we have.

Q3=I would support b) Use the land to grow crops like wheat or rice, and eat primarily vegetarian diet.Ý While I would rather have a balance of the two types of food production, I would rather have a more vegetarian diet in order to cut costs of processing animals in one way or another and the feeding of animals costs more.Ý It takes more land to feed animals than it does to grow 1,000 bushels of wheat.Ý The animals would graze over too much of the land, looking for food to eat, destroying the environment worse than a cultivated field.Ý While the problems with growing crops would be the chemical run off, the soil erosion, and probably the deforestation that would occur, the animals would also be apt to create soil erosion by eating away the grass and hurt the environment by eating certain plants.Ý The amount of feed they would need would leave the country trying to find more space, whereas with crops a certain area can plant crops or areas, and the whole land wouldn't be needed to such as large a scale as livestock, and the raising of crops wouldn't cost as much as animals.Ý Economically speaking, as the leader of a developing country, I would take this course of action.