Reference no: EM132442417

INTRODUCTION ENVRIMENTAL SCIENCE

MOD 5

1. Choose at least three significantly different types of toxic substances, give examples of each, and discuss their effects on human health and ecosystems.

2. What is the difference between biomagnification and bioaccumulation? Where are toxins most likely to be found? Be specific.

3. What are tectonic plates? In what ways do they affect Earth's various landforms and people's lives? Use events from the last year to support your answer.

4. Compare and contrast the different mining and other resource extraction methods, including their impacts on the environment, and approaches to mitigating those impacts.

MOD 6

1. Describe three major forms of pollution in the oceans and consequences of each.

2. Describe the composition, structure, and function of Earth's atmosphere. In what part of the atmosphere is the ozone layer? Why is tropospheric ozone harmful to people, whereas stratospheric ozone is beneficial?

3. What are the major causes of increased air pollution over very large cities? How have these cities approached improving their air quality? Is the developing world learning from our mistakes or duplicating them? Use events from the last year to support your answer.

4. What are the two most significant greenhouse gases? What conditions and activities are contributing to their rise, what approaches are being considered to address the rise of these greenhouse gases, and are these approaches uniformly effective around the world?

MOD 7

1. What are fossil fuels, and by what processes do we obtain energy from them?

2. Compare and contrast the benefits and impacts of using the different fossil fuels and nuclear power. What are some of the challenges of safely using these fuels while minimizing their adverse impact on the environment and on society?

3. What are the sources of bioenergy and in what ways is it used? What would be the impact of using it as our sole alternative, renewable energy source, especially as reliance on it increases due to depletion and costs of fossil fuels?

4. How is solar energy harnessed and how is it converted to electricity? Provide at least two different examples.