| Answer Key Preserving Animal Life | |
| 1. In your own words, why is an ecosystem not a biome? | |
|
Answer: A biome is multiple ecosystems grouped together and is very large. Ecosystems are very specific collections of organisms that interact within a habitat.
|
|
| 2. What would happen to an ecosystem if all the plants disappeared? | |
|
Answer: If the plants disappear, the ecosystem crashes because it is unable to maintain its system as nothing is available to photosynthesize and there are no primary food sources.
|
|
| 3. Name two areas of the world that have experienced the heaviest population density increases over time? | |
|
Answer: Students should name India, Europe, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, or coastlines.
|
|
| 4. How many people does each tiny dot on the maps represent? | |
|
Answer: Each dot represents one million people.
|
|
| 5. What do you think happens to plant and animal populations when the human population increases so rapidly? | |
|
Answer: Industrialization reduces the plant and animal population and causes loss of the food supply, depletion of water and shelters, more infighting, and the inability to move elsewhere.
|
|
| 6. In a group of territorial animals, do you think the male or female animals have the hardest job? | |
|
Answer: Students will offer their own opinions. Some may choose the males since they have to defend the animal group and their territory while also capturing and bringing back food. Some students may decide that the females have a harder job since they must birth and care for the young.
|
|
| 7. Could you consider animals a limiting factor? Why or why not? | |
|
Answer: Animals can be a limiting factor if they provide food for other animals, and are no longer available; the predator must either switch to another food source or starve.
|
|
| 8. Describe one way in which humans serve as limiting factors to the ecosystem. | |
|
Answer: Housing developments, highways and roads, landfills, and pesticides are some human factors limiting the nature within an ecosystem.
|
|
| 9. We know that fossil fuels are irreplaceable. What are two suggestions for preserving these non-renewable resources? | |
|
Answer: A variety of responses may include a change in energy sources by using solar, wind, or other inexhaustible resources, to change human habits, or to synthetically make fossil fuels.
|
|
| 10. Describe two ways that heating the Earth’s atmosphere could disrupt nature’s ecosystems. | |
|
Answer: Answers will vary but might include that animals, plants, and crops cannot adapt quickly, water evaporates more quickly, glaciers melt, and normally moist or dry areas change.
|
|
| 11. Which natural disasters can have a negative impact on human populations? | |
|
Answer: Hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, tsunamis, are all natural disasters that destroy homes and can harm or kill humans.
|
|
| 12. Why are fish good indicator species? | |
|
Answer: Fish are highly susceptible to the variation in water conditions and cannot adapt to pollution and other chemicals in the water. Since fish cannot live anywhere else, their survival and ability to reproduce is only successful in a healthy habitat.
|
|
| 13. Based on the information in these pages, which would be the easiest for you to do to preserve resources—conserve, reduce, or recycle? Why? | |
|
Answer: Answers will vary based on personal preference and circumstances, but should include a detailed reason for why that particular option best suits that student.
|
|
| 14. What happened to the town each time you tried a new program? | |
|
Answer: Answers will vary based on the program attempted. For example, recycling programs will add bins, bags, and will make the areas look cleaner.
|
|
| 15. What happened to the town at the end of the program? | |
|
Answer: The town was cleaner, safer, and more organized.
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||