Deck 24: Human Population, Planetary Resources, and Conservation

Question 1

What is the definition of biotic potential?

A) a relatively slow (lag) population growth
B) maximum growth rate under ideal conditions
C) maximum population the environment can sustain
D) the birthrate or natality
E) the death rate or mortality

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If the birthrate is 22 per 1000 per year and the death rate is 8 per 1000 per year, what is the population growth rate?

A) 2.2%
B) 0.8%
C) 1.4%
D) 14%
E) 22%

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In order to have a negative population growth rate,

A) the birthrate must exceed the death rate.
B) the biotic potential of the population must increase.
C) the death rate must exceed the birth rate.
D) the carrying capacity for the population must increase.
E) only replacement reproduction can occur.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is the current world's population?

A) almost 1 billion people
B) almost 3 billion people
C) almost 5 billion people
D) over 7 billion people
E) over 10 billion

Question 5

What happened to the death rate in LDCs following World War II? Why?

A) It increased due to the loss of infrastructure following the war.
B) It increased due to the spread of disease because of refugees from the war.
C) It decreased because of the introduction of modern medicine.
D) It decreased because people were no longer dying in World War II.
E) It stabilized due to fewer people dying in war.

Question 6

Which of the following is a renewable resource?

A) land
B) solar energy
C) fossil fuels
D) minerals
E) oil

Question 7

The age structure diagram of MDCs is shaped like

A) a pyramid.
B) an inverted pyramid.
C) a rectangle.
D) an oval.
E) a cube.

Question 8

How is the growth rate of a population determined?

A) birth rate
B) death rate
C) birth rate minus death rate
D) birth rate times death rate
E) birth rate divided by death rate

Question 9

Define an ecological footprint.

A) the total amount of resources used by an individual to meet their needs
B) the amount of food a person needs to eat
C) the amount of water a person needs to meet their needs
D) the amount of land a person needs to provide a place to live
E) the amount of energy a person needs to meet their needs

Question 10

What does the population growth for the United States look like?

A) increasing
B) decreasing
C) leveling off
D) an upside down pyramid
E) a rectangular column

Question 11

More women in the LDCs are entering the reproductive years than older women who are leaving them.

Question 12

At least 40% of the world population lives within 100 km (60 miles) of a coastline.

Question 13

If there are more women in the postreproductive years than in the reproductive years, and more women in the reproductive years than in the prereproductive years, what does the age structure diagram look like?

A) a pyramid
B) an inverted pyramid
C) a rectangle
D) an oval
E) a cube

Question 14

The population growth in less-developed countries is

A) modestly increasing.
B) dramatically increasing.
C) negative.
D) leveling off.
E) stable.

Question 15

Currently the world population growth is approximately 1.2%. If the birthrate in 2009 was 19.86 per 1000, what was the death rate?

A) 19.86
B) 7.86
C) 12
D) 1.2
E) 78.6

Question 16

Which of the following is not a way to reduce your ecological footprint?

A) drive an energy-efficient car
B) eat more beef
C) live in a smaller home
D) turn down the thermostat in the winter
E) do not water the lawn

Question 17

The carrying capacity of Earth for humans is approximately 8 billion people.

Question 18

If each couple only has two children, zero population growth will take place immediately.

Question 19

Birthrate and death rate are usually expressed as percentages (per 100 people).

Question 20

The more-developed countries have typically always had low population growth rate.

Question 21

It is considered a human right for people to have clean drinking water.

Question 22

Planting the same crop in straight rows prevents soil erosion.

Question 23

How much of Earth's land mass is already desert?

A) 1%
B) 10%
C) 40%
D) 50%
E) 65%

Question 24

Reducing your personal meat consumption would be beneficial to the environment.

Question 25

Overall, there is not enough water on the face of the Earth to meet the human population needs for water.

Question 26

"Green revolution" plants caused many ecological problems.

Question 27

Which organism would be most impacted by biomagnification?

A) eagles
B) rabbits
C) wheat plants
D) earthworms
E) corn

Question 28

Which of the following is not an issue for coastal areas?

A) loss of habitat for organisms
B) loss of buffer zone for storms
C) desertification
D) pollution
E) erosion

Question 29

How many more people could be fed on grain than on meat?

A) 20 times
B) 10 times
C) 5 times
D) 3 times
E) 2 times

Question 30

Most of the freshwater in the world is used for

A) drinking.
B) bathing.
C) irrigation.
D) watering lawns.
E) industrial needs.

Question 31

Which of the following is considered a benefit of a dam?

A) electricity use
B) alter river flow
C) loss of water by evaporation
D) seepage into underlying rock beds
E) sediment buildup

Question 32

Which of the following is not a harmful practice of modern farming?

A) heavy use of pesticides and herbicides
B) polyculture planting
C) heavy use of fertilizers
D) generous irrigation
E) increased fuel consumption

Question 33

What do hydropower and wind power have in common?

A) Both require the building of dams.
B) Both lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
C) Both are renewable energy sources.
D) Both result in the depletion of fossil fuels.
E) Both require the use of photovoltaic cells.

Question 34

Which organism is more likely to suffer due to biological magnification?

A) earthworm
B) caterpillar
C) minnow
D) pelican
E) algae

Question 35

Why should pregnant women and small children not eat certain fish?

A) herbicide contamination
B) mercury contamination
C) pesticide contamination
D) lead contamination
E) PCB contamination

Question 36

Wind is to a wind farm as what is to hydropower?

A) flowing water
B) solar energy
C) hydrogen gas
D) steam
E) hot salt

Question 37

In MDCs, many people do not eat enough protein.

Question 38

The soil in the tropics is very rich and fertile and makes excellent land for agriculture.

Question 39

Which of the following is not associated with groundwater depletion?

A) subsidence
B) sinkholes
C) saltwater intrusion
D) lowering of the water table
E) sediment buildup

Question 40

What organization oversees the cleanup of hazardous waste sites in the United States?

A) NIH
B) NSF
C) USDA
D) EPA
E) USGS

Question 41

Which of the following is an indirect, as opposed to a direct, value of biodiversity?

A) medical use
B) food
C) consumptive use
D) ecotourism
E) agricultural use

Question 42

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a sustainable society?

A) multi-use farming
B) integrated pest management
C) mass transit
D) draining of wetlands for housing
E) recycling and composting

Question 43

Is it important to save the wild relatives of our current crop plants, even at great cost?

Question 44

Which of the following is an urban, not a rural, sustainability plan?

A) use low-flow or trickle irrigation
B) plant cover crops
C) use green roofs
D) use integrated pest management
E) plant multipurpose trees

Question 45

Which of the following is not a factor contributing to the loss of biodiversity?

A) alien species
B) increased carrying capacity
C) pollution
D) overexploitation
E) disease

Question 46

Decorative plants and exotic pets often suffer from overexploitation.

Question 47

The biggest problem in moving toward a sustainable society with the LDCs is overconsumption.

Question 48

What do indirect values of biodiversity all have in common?

A) They are all involved with the biogeochemical cycles.
B) They are all pervasive benefits provided by ecosystems.
C) They provide pleasure and relaxation for humans.
D) They all depend on an individual species.
E) They all undo some harm that humans have done.

Question 49

Which of the following is not a sustainability practice designed to conserve water?

A) use sediment traps for storm drains
B) use low-flow or trickle irrigation
C) build retention ponds
D) use nonporous surfaces for parking lots
E) use green roofs

Question 50

Which of the following is not an unsustainable practice of society?

A) reduction in population growth rate
B) eating more meat than vegetables
C) using more freshwater for agriculture than in homes
D) using large amounts of fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides
E) deforestation and desertification

Question 51

Which of the following is an alien species that has invaded the United States?

A) bass
B) oak trees
C) wolves
D) kudzu
E) buffalo

Question 52

Which of the following medicinal value pairings is mismatched?

A) rosy periwinkle--leukemia
B) armadillo--leprosy
C) viruses--antibiotics
D) fungus--penicillin
E) horseshoe crabs--limulus amoebocyte lysate

Question 53

How long does it take for a plastic grocery bag to degrade?

A) 1-2 weeks
B) 1-2 months
C) a year
D) 10-20 years
E) more than 50 years

Question 54

Fish are considered a nonrenewable resource.

Question 55

Which of the following would be an example of an organism that provides direct benefit by consumptive use value?

A) armadillos
B) rosy periwinkle
C) wheat
D) rice
E) trees

Question 56

Which of the following statements about the indirect value of trees is not true?

A) Globally, they stabilize the climate because they take up carbon dioxide.
B) They provide shade and reduce the need for fans and airconditioning.
C) In forests, they exert a natural "sponge effect" for provision of freshwater.
D) They break down dead organic matter and other types of wastes.
E) They retain soil and prevent soil erosion.

Question 57

A sustainable society is one that provides all of the goods and services desired by humans.

Question 58

When calculating the gross national product, economists consider whether an activity is environmentally harmful.

Question 59

Explain the consequences of groundwater depletion.

Question 60

Describe the factors that are contributing to the biodiversity extinction crisis we are currently experiencing.

Question 61

List and describe the criteria that are used to measure quality of life.

Question 62

Which of the following criteria of value are mismatched?

A) cultural value--language and history
B) option value--preserving for the future
C) educational value--experience of nature
D) aesthetic value--agricultural use
E) use value--entrance fees

Question 63

Measures that include noneconomic indicators are better at revealing our quality of life than the gross national product.