Scientific Inquiry and Section 1.1

Question 1

What is a data table?

Answer 1

A visual instrument made up of labelled rows and columns

Question 2

What do data tables do?

Answer 2

Help organize information, which allow for easy analysis of the data

Question 3

What are the rules of creating data tables?

Answer 3

• overall title that describes the type of info presented - appropriate titles for each column - separate variables for each column - units for each column beside the header

Question 4

Why should we present data in graphs?

Answer 4

They communicate info pictorially, summarize a lot of info, illustrate how variables change relative to one another

Question 5

What are scatterplots used to do?

Answer 5

To investigate the possible relationship between two variables

Question 6

What are we interested in in scatterplots?

Answer 6

The general TREND of the plots

Question 7

What is a trend line or a ‘line of best fit’?

Answer 7

A straight line that best represents the data on a scatterplot

Question 8

What are the rules of a trend line?

Answer 8

• may pass through some points or none - should pass through as many points as possible - should be the same number of points above and below

Question 9

What is a positive correlation?

Answer 9

A trend line that rises quickly from left to right

Question 10

What is a negative correlation?

Answer 10

A trend line that falls down quickly from left to right

Question 11

What do strong pos. and neg. correlations have?

Answer 11

Data points very close to the trend line

Question 12

What to weak pos. and neg. correlations have?

Answer 12

Data points not clustered near or on the trend line

Question 13

What is interpolation?

Answer 13

a method of constructing new data points within the known data points.

Question 14

What is extrapolation?

Answer 14

estimating beyond the known data points

Question 15

What is a sustainable ecosystem?

Answer 15

an ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms

Question 16

What do scientists theorize happened of Easter Island?

Answer 16

The islanders cut down all the trees. This led to erosion, loss of plants for food, no materials for making boats. The island could no longer sustain the population.

Question 17

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 17

all the interacting parts of a biological community and its environment

Question 18

Biotic refers to…

Answer 18

the living parts of an ecosystem

Question 19

Abiotic refers to…

Answer 19

the non-living parts of an ecosystem

Question 20

What is the lithosphere?

Answer 20

the hard part of Earth’s surface

Question 21

What is the hydrosphere?

Answer 21

all the water found on Earth, including lakes, oceans, and ground water

Question 22

What is the atmosphere?

Answer 22

the layer of gases above Earth’s surface

Question 23

What is the biosphere?

Answer 23

the regions of Earth where living organisms exist

Question 24

What is eutrophication?

Answer 24

the process where by excessive nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem cause an overgrowth of primary producing organisms

Question 25

What does the overgrowth of algae and plant material do?

Answer 25

Take out the oxygen out of the water, killing other aquatic organisms

Question 26

What is the cause of eutriphication?

Answer 26

addition of artificial or natural substances

Question 27

What happens during the water cycle?

Answer 27

radiation, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitaion, groundwater, runoff

Question 28

What happens during the carbon cycle?

Answer 28

Question 29

What happens during the nitrogen cycle?

Answer 29

Question 30

What is NH₃?

Answer 30

Ammonia

Question 31

What is NH^₄+

Answer 31

ammonium

Question 32

What is a terrestrial ecosysystem?

Answer 32

a land-based ecosystem

Question 33

What is an aquatic ecosystem?

Answer 33

a water-based ecosystem, either fresh water or salt water

Question 34

What happens during the phosphorous cycle?

Answer 34