TEST 2 – MODEL ANSWERS Short Answer Questions 1. Using examples, define “megacity”, and identify the problems associated with them. A megacity is a city with a population at or above 10 million people. Rapidly growing megacities exceed their abilities to adapt. Populations experience limited water supply which threatens human health such as in Lagos, Nigeria. Populations can also be susceptible to disaster such as the risk of flooding in Mumbai, India. Air pollution such as in Jakarta, Indonesia threatens human health including respiratory inflammation and asthma leading to premature deaths. Some pollutants are potentially carcinogenic such as benzene. Jakarta also has problems with water pollution and solid waste disposal. A squatter settlement has no access to sanitation and clean drinking water; people tap into groundwater causing salt water to seep into the aquifer. Sewage is largely untreated and contaminated water leads to the spread of disease. In general shanty towns are particularly exposed to the negative aspects of megacities. Megactities in less developed countries have more problems than those in developed countries. In more developed countries problems include issues of planning such as gentrification and sprawl as opposed to problems of less developed countries cities such as pollution and sanitation that impact human health. 2. What is “biodiversity” and describe and explain its benefits. Biodiversity is the number of life forms in a given area and can be expressed in a number of ways; for example, species richness describes the number of species whereas genetic diversity describes the array of genes. Biodiversity tends to increase in habitats that undergo some disturbance such as fires (this is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis). Generally speaking worldwide biodiversity is on the decline even in families of organisms such as birds. Biodiversity has numerous benefits specifically that the interaction of species in an ecosystem tends to be more stable with greater diversity; particular species can play a greater role however (keystone species). By having great biodiversity, humans have access to a greater potential array of food sources so enhancing food security. Certain genes can also enhance food security by offering certain traits (for example salt tolerance in crops). A diverse biosphere is also the source of many drugs and medicines many of which cannot be artificially synthesized. Lastly, a diverse biosphere is also attractive to tourists which would enhance local economies. PAGE 1 OF 8 Fill in the blank questions 1. The plastic additive _Bisphenol A or bPA_ is used to harden plastics 2. The _Brandt_ line separates regions of global inequality into “North” and “South” 3. The role of government in developing economies is referred to as__mercantilism 4. The spread of cities in the more developed world into surrounding rural areas is referred to as sprawl__ 5. If irrigated soils are inadequately drained this results in _salinization__ 6. When food supplies are always low this is referred as a __chronic food insecurity problem 7. Where a single crop is grown over a very large area this is referred to as _monoculture__ 8. The pollination of plants by organisms is an example of _mutualism (or ecosystem service)__ 9. When a very small number of companies control the manufacture of single items such as computer microprocessors this is referred to as _product_ _concentration_. 10. An agent that induces abnormal development of a fetus is referred to as a _teratogen__ PAGE 2 OF 8 Multiple-­‐choice Questions 1. Plastics are based on which of the following molecular structures? a. Laminates b. PolymersX c. Bakelites d. Thermosets e. Elastomers 2. Which of the following is NOT used to make plastics (either traditional or organic)? a. Orange skins b. Corn c. Propane d. Ethane e. CoalX 3. Which form of plastic was initially introduced but was found to be explosive? a. Bakelite b. Acetate c. CelluloidX d. Phthalate e. Styrofoam 4. In the resin identification coding system, resin number 3 is which of the following plastics a. Polypropylene b. Polystyrene c. Polyethylene d. Polyvinyl chlorideX e. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) 5. Which of the following plastics is used to form most soda bottles? a. Polypropylene b. Polystyrene c. Polyethylene d. Polyvinyl chloride e. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)X 6. Which of the following is added to plastics to make them more flexible and squeezable? a. Fossil fuels b. Polyethylene c. Bisphenol A PAGE 3 OF 8 d. Halogens e. PhthalatesX 7. Who predicted that the future of humanity would be that of “famine, conflict and misery”? a. Thomas MalthusX b. Garrett Hardin c. Charles Darwin d. M. King Hubbert e. Thomas Friedman 8. How many people are there living in the world today? a. 500 million b. 1 billion c. 3 billion d. 6 billionX e. 12 billion 9. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Normally there are slightly more girls than boys in a human population b. Normally there are slightly more boys than girls in a human populationX c. The number of live births per 1,000 people is referred to as the Total Fertility Rate d. The number of children a woman will have in her fertile years is referred to as the Crude Birth rate e. The age structure of a human population is always shaped like a triangle, widest at the base. 10. The 1951 Convention on Refugees excludes which of the following types of refugee? a. Environmental b. Economic X c. Agricultural d. Disaster e. Political 11. What role do the Zabaleen play in the city of Cairo, Egypt? a. Manage squatter populations b. Collect garbageX c. Control wildlife d. Drive buses and taxis e. Arrange microloans PAGE 4 OF 8 12. The motivation to develop cities was in response to all of the following EXCEPT? a. Agricultural trainingX b. Protection c. Trading agricultural surpluses d. Division of labour e. Concentration of resources 13. Which of the following is NOT an example of a city that has a squatter settlement? a. TokyoX b. Jakarta c. Lagos d. Mexico City e. Mumbai 14. Which of the following nutrients is responsible for the fundamental energy cycles that enable living systems to function? a. Ammonia b. Nitrogen c. PhosphorousX d. Calcium e. Tantalum 15. Of the following crops, which is pollinated by insects? a. Beans X b. Wheat c. Rice d. Corn e. Peanuts 16. Removal of river water for irrigation has led to shrinking of which of the following water bodies? a. Mediterranean Sea b. Black Sea c. Sargasso Sea d. Aral SeaX e. Caspian Sea 17. What can be result of a deficiency in vitamin A? a. Lack of energy b. Loss of hearing c. Anemia d. BlindnessX PAGE 5 OF 8 e. Brittle bones 18. Growing crops to generate fuels has which of the following consequences? a. Increased genetic diversity b. Decreased soil erosion c. Increased food pricesX d. Reduced irrigation e. Increased greenhouse gases 19. Which of the following tropical crops is endangering rainforest and organisms that live in them such as the orangutan? a. Coffee b. Chocolate c. Oil PalmX d. Tea e. Corn 20. The Californian Condor is an example of which of the following types of species a. Common b. Ubiquitous c. Extinct d. Extirpated e. Ecologically extinctX 21. Where in the world are we seeing “hypoxia”? a. Sarawak, Malaysia b. Gulf of MexicoX c. Aral Sea d. British Columbia e. China 22. How much original Prairie still exists today? a. 90% b. 75% c. 45% d. 10% e. 1%X 23. Which of the following is likely NOT the cause of the decline in honeybees? a. Contaminated corn syrup b. Climate changeX c. Pathogens d. Pesticides e. Infection by a virus PAGE 6 OF 8 24. Which of the following is NOT a consequence of globalization? a. National governments gaining greater controlX b. Spread of the English language c. Increased connectedness d. Uniform cultural landscapes e. Homogenization of cultures 25. A score of 0 in the Gini Coefficient represents which of the following: a. Perfect inequality of income in a nation b. Perfect equality of income in a nationX c. Low levels of foreign debt for an individual nation d. High levels of foreign debt for an individual nation e. A nation’s inability to pay back foreign debt 26. Which of the following toxins can be found in old paint? a. Mercury b. Cadmium c. LeadX d. PCBs e. DDT 27. Which of the following toxins can accumulate following the development of a hydroelectric reservoir? a. Dioxins b. Cadmium c. Lead d. PCBs e. DDT [TYPO: EVERYONE GETS A POINT – THE ANSWER OF COURSE IS MERCURY] 28. Which of the following is an example of a pesticide? a. Mercury b. Cadmium c. Dioxins d. PCBs e. DDTX 29. The Ames test is used to identify which of the following: a. Teratogens b. MutagensX c. Hormonally active substances d. Bioaccumulated heavy metals e. Pesticide residues PAGE 7 OF 8 30. Which of the following is an example of a Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP)? a. Mercury b. Lead c. Polychlorinated biphenylsX d. Cadmium e. Selenium PAGE 8 OF 8