ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE



ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Unit 1 Free Response Questions

Directions: One of these questions will be on your unit test. You can answer one or all ahead of time for extra points. The questions will be graded according to the AP rubric with a scale of 0 to 10. Any points earned will be added to your overall test score.

1. The theory of evolution helps explain the changes in a species over time. Charles Darwin used natural selection to explain the evolutionary process which allowed the differentiation of species in the Galapagos Islands. The process of evolution is important in explaining the effect of the interaction between man and nature.

a) Identify and describe one activity of man that directly causes evolution in other species and the evolutionary step of that species.

b) Explain how the introduction of a exotic or introduced species would cause the evolution or extinction of a native species.

c) Describe TWO ways each of the following species interactions could cause evolution without interaction with man.

(i) Predation

(ii) Mutualism

(iii) Competition

2. An ecological community is defined as a set of populations sharing the same habitat or environment. Communities in the mountains of North Carolina tend to be mature pine forests.

a) Identify and describe FOUR properties used to describe a community

b) Suppose a community located in the forests of North Carolina were to be destroyed by forestry. Explain the changes to the forest and the stages that would be expected as the community regrew.

3. Biogeochemical cycles describe the movement of certain elements (typically bound with other elements in compounds) through Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. These elements and their compounds are necessary components of all life, and because they cycle, they can be used repeatedly by new generations of organisms. Each biogeochemical cycle has different pathways with various reservoirs (sources and sinks) where elements may reside for days or millions of years.

a) The atmosphere is one important carbon reservoir.

(i) Describe a biological process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and converted to

organic molecules.

(ii) Describe a biological process by which carbon is converted from organic molecules to a gas and

returned to the atmosphere.

b) Oceans and terrestrial systems are also important carbon reservoirs.

(i) Explain how atmospheric carbon is incorporated into two oceanic sinks

.

(ii) Identify one terrestrial sink, other than fossil fuels, that stores carbon for thousands to millions of

years.

c) The burning of fossil fuels has been shown to increase the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.

Discuss TWO other human activities that increase the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.

d) Identify an environmental problem that results from elevated atmospheric carbon concentrations.

Discuss one consequence of the problem you identified.

e) Phosphorus is another element important to all organisms.

(i) Describe one major way in which the phosphorus cycle differs from the carbon cycle.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

AUGUST 20, 2004

Time – 60 minutes

2 Questions

Point Rubric: (10 point maximum per question)

Question 1

a) Identify and describe one activity of man that directly causes evolution in other species and the evolutionary step of that species.

(2 points, plus one possible elaboration point)

1 point for identifying an activity of man which would(has) cause another species to evolve.

1 point for explaining the evolutionary change which would(has) occur

1 additional point for explaining the process through which the evolutionary change would(has) occur

b) Explain how the introduction of a exotic or introduced species would cause the evolution or extinction of a native species.

(2 points)

1 point for identifying what an exotic species is

1 point for explaining how the species would cause an evolutionary change

c) Describe TWO ways each of the following species interactions could cause evolution without interaction with man.

(i) Predation

(ii) Mutualism

(iii) Competition

(6 point maximum)

1 point each for describing or providing an example of a evolutionary change that results from the interaction.

Question 2

a) Identify and describe FOUR properties used to describe a community

(8 points maximum)

1 point for identifying and 1 point for describing each of four properties from the list below

|PROPERTY |DESCRIPTION |

|Productivity |Amount of biomass the community creates |

|Abundance |Number of different organisms in a community |

|Diversity |Number of different types of species in a community |

|Complexity |Number of trophic levels and species in each trophic level |

|Connectedness |Number of relationships between different species in a community |

|Resilience |Ability to return from a major change |

|Stability |Ability to resist change |

|Structure |Effects of edges and boundaries |

b) Suppose a community located in the forests of North Carolina were to be destroyed by forestry. Explain the changes to the forest and the stages that would be expected as the community regrew.

(2 points)

½ point for describing the loss of plant life

½ point each for describe the following stage

- Pioneer community grasses and shrubs reappear

- Young immature forest forms

- Climax community mature forest forms

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