unit 1: introduction to environmental science · unit 1 test environmental science / mendenhall...

Name: _______________________________

Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Science

Big Ideas...

Organisms are linked to one another in an ecosystem by the flow of energy and the cycling of materials. Humans are an integral part of the natural system and human activities can alter the stability of ecosystems.

Science is a way of thinking about and investigating the world in which we all live. Questions...

What is environmental science? Why and how do we study it? Topics...

1. Organisms and their environments are interconnected. 2. Changes in one part of the system will affect other parts of the system. 3. Humans can alter the living and nonliving factors within an ecosystem, thereby creating

changes in the overall system. Vocabulary

environment environmental science ecology ecosystem sustainability natural capital natural resources natural services nutrient cycling solar capital

photosynthesis natural income economic growth economic development developed countries developing countries resource conservation perpetual resource renewable resource

sustainable yield environmental degradation nonrenewable resource ecological footprint pollution point source pollution nonpoint source pollution biodiversity nutrient cycling exponential population growth

What you should know and be able to do...

1. Define environmental science and explain why we study it 2. Understand the history of human impact on the environment 3. Explain the five basic causes of environmental problems 4. Identify the main environmental problems facing our world today 5. Explain how we can avoid the Tragedy of the Commons 6. Apply the scientific method. 7. Work safely in the lab.

Environmental Science / Mendenhall UNIT 1: Introduction to Environmental Science 1 / 26

Standards

5.1/12 A4; 5.3/12 C1; 5.5/12 A1; 5.6/12 A18, B12 (Source: BHPS Environmental Science Curriculum Guide Scope and Sequence)

Date Activities & Homework

Activities Course introduction Big Ideas & Environmental Issues (due ________ ) Homework Study and sign the Laboratory Safety Contract (due ________ ) Complete and sign the ES Parent/Guardian Contact Sheet (due _______ )

Activities Tragedy of the Commons lab Homework Watch one of the 12 videos on the Ted Earth, appreciated playlist. Each video is between 7 and 27 minutes. Be able to explain why you chose the video, give a quick summary of it, and explain how it relates to environmental science. http://www.ted.com/playlists/151/earth_appreciated (due ________ )

Activities Video highlights Jigsaw Chapter 1 (pp.522): Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Activities Ecological footprint calculator http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_basics_overview/ http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

Activities Tragedy of the Commons vignettes Video (:02) Chalk Talk: Tragedy of the Commons http://ed.ted.com/on/hqLi4DFd

Activities Notes...Environmental history timeline

Activities Jigsaw Chapter S5 (pp.S23S30): Overview of U.S. Environmental History

Activities Design Your Own Experiment

Activities Review

Activities Unit 1 Test


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhpsnj.org%2FPage%2F821&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHgyq9KEh7KXOgqcr2NuHG1Z4-7bA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ted.com%2Fplaylists%2F151%2Fearth_appreciated&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEDxFPpXyBBWjeJl8WdtqVf3Aikqg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footprintnetwork.org%2Fen%2Findex.php%2FGFN%2Fpage%2Ffootprint_basics_overview%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGeuk5TTmjI9OD04aLWFpHH_a_Ybg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footprintnetwork.org%2Fen%2Findex.php%2FGFN%2Fpage%2Fcalculators%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH1cIha22HwCTio9EOHc67rCF1ttA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fed.ted.com%2Fon%2FhqLi4DFd&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFPZLR9t5weG49HyuU23KGfe3jaQg

Date Do Now


Environment 1. What does “environment” mean to you? 2. Which of the following do you feel is the most important environmental issue today? How would you define the issue? And why is it the most important?

Atmosphere Water Land Energy Ecosystems Humans Other?


3. Your group’s issue: _______________________________

Definition:

Why you chose it:

What you know about it:

What you would like to know:


Tragedy of the Commons

Part 1: Commons Pond Procedure

Work in groups of four. Imagine this scenario. Each person represents the head of a starving family, which requires food. The only food source for these four families is a small fishing hole that can accommodate an unknown amount of fish. Fortunately, after each round of fishing by the four family heads, each remaining fish is able to spontaneously reproduce. Each person is allowed to take as many or few fish as you want, but if you take only one fish, your family will starve.

In this simulation, our pond is a beaker, and our fish are goldfish crackers. Fish are caught using straws. Each fishing round will last for 1 minute. You should rotate your fishing order every round so that everyone has a chance to go first. The simulation will continue for three rounds. The pond will be covered with a fabric sleeve, so that it is not possible to tell how many fish have been taken before you fish. No talking is allowed in this part. Record all data in the following table.

Data Table 1: Commons Pond

Round # of fish at beg. of round

# of fish taken by 1st fisher

# of fish taken by 2nd fisher

# of fish taken by 3rd fisher

# of fish taken by 4th fisher

total fish left at end of round

1

2

3

Total


Questions 1. What happened to the common resource in the in Part 1? Why? 2. Explain the rationale for your fishing technique in this part. 3. What factors lead to uncertainty in this round?


Part 2: Commons Pond and Private Pond Procedure

In this part, you will have access to two ponds, one common and one private. The rules for the common pond are the same as before. However, talking and strategizing is allowed in this part. The cloth sleeve will be removed so that you will know exactly how many fish are in the ponds at all times, and how quickly the fish will reproduce. The carrying capacity for the common ponds is 16 and for the private ponds is 4. You must remove at least one fish from each pond each round. As before, you may catch as many fish as you would like from both ponds during each round. Data Table 2: Commons Pond


# of fish taken by 1st fisher

# of fish taken by 2nd fisher

# of fish taken by 3rd fisher

# of fish taken by 4th fisher

total fish left at end of round

1

2

3

Total

Table 3: Private Pond


# of fish taken this round

# of fish at the end of round

1

2

3

Total


Questions 1. Did you get different results for the pond in Part 2? Why? 2. Explain the rationale for your fishing technique in this part. 3. If you cooperated with other fishers, what was the result of that cooperation? 4. Did you use different fishing strategies in the common pond and the private pond? 5. Why does common usage lead to exploitation?


6. What would be the ideal way to manage the common pond? 7. How would this simulation have been different if you didn't know the students in your group? 8. What are the strategies that help to prevent the "tragedy of the commons"? 9. If a new student had joined your group in the middle of Part 2, how would that affected your strategy and the use of the resource? 10. Why is the private pond easier to manage for longterm success?


Watch one of the 12 videos on the Ted Earth, appreciated playlist. Each video is between 7 and 27 minutes. http://www.ted.com/playlists/151/earth_appreciated Answer the following questions: Why did you choose the specific video? What is the video about? How does it relate to environmental science?


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ted.com%2Fplaylists%2F151%2Fearth_appreciated&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEDxFPpXyBBWjeJl8WdtqVf3Aikqg

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Chapter 1 (pp. 621)

Directions: This is a jigsaw where you get to be the teachers. You will start in a home group. Each member of the home group will be assigned one chapter section. You will then break up into expert groups to learn and prepare to teach the material to your home group. You will then return to your home group to teach your classmates what you have learned. Please work quietly and efficiently within your groups. There will be a short quiz on the material at the end of the activity. With your expert group:

1. Read the assigned section and then discuss the following questions: How can we put these ideas into our own words? What connections do we see between this material and

what we already know or from personal experience? How will we tell the members of our home group about

this material? 2. Prepare information to share with your home group. This should

include: An answer to the section title’s question. Important vocabulary. Answers to the relevant review questions listed below.

With your home group:

Share what you learned with your expert group. Ask questions for clarification and take notes.


1.1 What is an environmentally sustainable society? (Questions #1,2, p.21) 1.2 How can environmentally sustainable societies grow economically? (Question #3, p.21)


1.3 How are our environmental footprints affecting the earth? (Questions #4,5, p.21) 1.4 What is pollution and what can we do about it? (Questions #6, p.21)


1.5 Why do we have environmental problems? (Questions #7,8, p.21) 1.6 What are the four scientific principles of sustainability? (Questions #9,10, p.21)


Ecological Footprint

Read the overview: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_basics_overview/ Calculate your footprint: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/ What part of your footprint can you influence?


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footprintnetwork.org%2Fen%2Findex.php%2FGFN%2Fpage%2Ffootprint_basics_overview%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGeuk5TTmjI9OD04aLWFpHH_a_Ybg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footprintnetwork.org%2Fen%2Findex.php%2FGFN%2Fpage%2Fcalculators%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH1cIha22HwCTio9EOHc67rCF1ttA

Tragedy of the Commons The "tragedy of the commons" is one of the most important topics in environmental science. Many resources (ex. clean air, biodiversity, freshwater) are available to many people, and when resources are shared and limited (though potentially renewable), they are often exploited. This is because the benefit to one person of using more of the resource outweighs the cost to that individual of the resource's overuse. Each person looks out only for his own interests, and succumbs to the logic that, "If I don't use the resource, then someone else will. I might as well get the benefit." Learning to overcome our natural tendency to overuse common resources is one of the most significant challenges we face in working to improve the environment.

Watch Chalk Talk: Tragedy of the Commons (http://ed.ted.com/on/hqLi4DFd) Read the following excerpts and answer the questions.

Grand Banks fisheries The Grand Banks are fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland. For centuries, explorers and fishermen described this region as home to an endless supply of cod fish. In the 1960s and 1970s, advances in fishing technology allowed huge catches of cod. Following a few dramatically large seasons, the fish populations dropped, forcing Canadian fishermen to sail farther to maintain large catch sizes each season. By the 1990s, cod populations were so low that the Grand Banks fishing industry collapsed. It was too late for regulation and management; the cod stocks had been irreparably damaged. Since then, the cod populations have remained low, and some scientists doubt the Grand Banks ecosystem will ever recover.

Bluefin Tuna Currently the bluefin tuna populations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean face a similar fate as that of the Grand Banks cod. In the 1960s, fishermen realized the tuna populations were in danger, and an International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) formed in an effort to manage fish harvesting more sustainably. Unfortunately, not every nation is a member of the ICCAT or follows the convention’s guidelines. Instead, many nations continue to seek profit from large bluefin tuna catches every year without regard for conservation. Bluefin tuna have already been fished to extinction in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and perhaps the Atlantic bluefin tuna will follow.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fed.ted.com%2Fon%2FhqLi4DFd&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFPZLR9t5weG49HyuU23KGfe3jaQg

Passenger pigeons When Europeans arrived in North America, passenger pigeons migrated across the sky in huge numbers. As settlers spread farther into the continent, they began to clear the forests that passenger pigeons inhabited (destroying the birds’ habitat) and eventually began to hunt the pigeons for food. In the mid1800s, they caught massive numbers of pigeons in nets and sold the birds in cities as a food resource. By 1870, nearly all the passenger pigeons had been killed; hunting limits were enacted in the 1890s, but by that time, the passenger pigeon population couldn’t recover. The last known passenger pigeon (held in captivity at a zoo) died in 1914, completing the extinction of a species because of unsustainable hunting practices. QUESTIONS

1. In all of the instances above, what happened to the animal and why? 2. What could have been done to prevent this from happening?


Environmental History Timeline


Overview of U.S.

Environmental History Chapter S5 (pp.S23S30)

Four Eras of U.S. Environmental History

1. Tribal (to 1607) 2. Frontier (16071890) 3. Early Conservation (18321870)


4. Modern Environmental (1870present) 18701930 19301960 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s


Design Your Own Experiment

Background Why do people fertilize plants? Does it really make a difference in the growth of the plant? Does it make flowers bloom more rapidly or vegetable plants grow larger and more productive? The answers to these questions are all within the realm of science because they are testable by controlled experiments, observations, and data gathering. Problem Do seeds germinate faster if fertilizer is applied? Do more seeds germinate when fertilizer is applied? Do different strengths of fertilizer cause different rates of growth in plants? Do stems, roots, or leaves grow faster or bigger if fertilizer has been applied to the plant? Hypothesis Make a group decision about which of these questions you will test, or make up a different question. Form a testable hypothesis about the questions. Plan the Experiment Write your experimental plan in the form of a numbered list. First, list the materials you will need and then give the details of your procedure. Identify the conditions you will hold constant and name a single independent variable. The independent variable could be the amount of fertilizer or the strength of the fertilizer. Decide which dependent variable you will measure and how you will know if your data supports your hypothesis. Check the Plan

1. Review the “scientific method” to ensure that you have included all the pertinent steps. 2. Does the plan test only one variable, such as the amount of fertilizer added?


3. Have you determined how many seeds or plants you will use in each group and which dependent variable you will measure? Also, have you decided how often you will take measurements?

4. Did you make a data table that compares the observations you made of the control and experimental groups? Did you include a graph of your data?

Possible Materials seeds water plant seedlings potting soil seed starting mix seedling trays fertilizer balance ruler graduated cylinder Carry Out the Experiment Write a Formal Lab Report Use the following guidelines to do this. One lab report per is required per lab group. Lab reports must be typed.


Experimental Design 1. State your problem: 2. State your hypothesis as an “if, then” statement: 3. List your materials needed: 4. What conditions will you hold constant throughout your experiment? 5. What will be your control? 6. Identify the independent and dependent variables: 7. Discuss your procedure:


8. More questions to consider:

How much soil per cell? Does it matter?

How deep per seed?

How many seeds per cell?

How many seeds in the experimental group? In the control group?

What concentrations of fertilizer will you use? Why?

Will you fertilize only once, or each time you water?

How often will you water?

How much will you water?

How will you make sure the water from one set of cells doesn’t leak into another set of cells?

Do you have more than one variable?

When do you consider the seeds “germinated?”

What will you measure?

How often will you measure?

How will you organize your data? How will you create a graph?

What are your constants?

How much light per day? What kind of light?

How will you know when the experiment is complete?


unit 1: introduction to environmental science · unit 1 test environmental science / mendenhall...

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