Eutrophication and DEAD ZONES Web Quest / 2014 APES FRQ

  1. Click on the term eutrophication. Read all five definitions given. Define eutrophication.
  2. Go back. Define Hypoxic.
  3. Go back. Describe the size and location of Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
  4. Read What Causes Dead Zones? and list the five anthropogenic that accelerate dead zones.
  5. What states contribute to the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone?
  1. What is anoxic?
  2. What are dead zones?
  3. Scroll down through the page. List all of the areas of dead zones that are photographed. (You may have to read a little, as not every photograph has a caption). There are 7 of them.

Click on the world map of Hypoxic and Eutrophic Coastal Areas.

  1. Generally describe the locations of hypoxic and eutrophic areas of the world, using terms like “high density”, “western coast of ___”, etc.
  1. Note the areas in recovery.

Go back to first web page. Scroll down to What can be done to remediate the problem?

  1. Describe 5 solutions to Dead Zones.

2014 APES FRQ #4

Biogeochemical cycles describe the movement of certain elements (typically bound with other elements in compounds) through Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. These elements and their compounds are necessary components of all life, and because they cycle, they can be used repeatedly by new generations of organisms. Each biogeochemical cycle has different pathways with various reservoirs (sources and sinks) where elements may reside for days or millions of years.

  1. (a) The atmosphere is one important carbon reservoir.
  2. (i) Describe a biological process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and converted to organic molecules.
  3. (ii) Describe a biological process by which carbon is converted from organic molecules to a gas and returned to the atmosphere.
  4. (b) Oceans and terrestrial systems are also important carbon reservoirs.
  5. (i) Explain how atmospheric carbon is incorporated into two oceanic sinks.
  6. (ii) Identify one terrestrial sink, other than fossil fuels, that stores carbon for thousands to millions of years.
  7. (c) The burning of fossil fuels has been shown to increase the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere. Discuss TWO other human activities that increase the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.
  8. (d) Identify an environmental problem that results from elevated atmospheric carbon concentrations. Discuss one consequence of the problem you identified.
  9. (e) Phosphorus is another element important to all organisms.
    (i) Describe one major way in which the phosphorus cycle differs from the carbon cycle.

(ii) Identify one reason that phosphorus is necessary for organisms.

2014 AP® ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS4.