NAME ______DATE ______
Ecology Ecosystem Questions-Exercise 10 (Please review page 11 in your syllabus; Do NOT write on or put anything on the back of the page!)
Question 1. Fill in Table 2. (1 pt) You are allowed only 2 miscalculations.
Plant Species / Hill A (#) / RA-A (%) / Hill B (#) / RA-B (%)BC
BB
BS
CC
CB
FC
HC
JC
PV
SG
TM
SUM
Question 2. Calculate the biodiversity for each Hill. Your instructor will help you with these calculations. (0.5 pt) Both must be correct.
H’ Hill A = ______H’ Hill B = ______
Question 3. Fill in Table 3. (1 pt)
BC / BB / BS / CC / CB / FC / HC / PV / JC / TM / SG / BGX2
P
Questions
4. What is the standard cut off point for statistical significance used by scientists? (0.5 pt)
5. Which of these plant species (listed in question #3) have significantly different distributions between hills? (0.5 pt)
Which plant species are not significantly different with regard to their distributions? (0.5 pt)
6. Are there any trends in the type (e.g. cacti versus shrubs and trees) of plant species, or associations, found on Hill A versus Hill B? (See figure 3, graph 2.) (1 pt)
7. List all the differences your data demonstrate between the two hills (A & B). (2 pts)
a) Individual numbers for each plant species:
b) Summed RA’s for cacti vs tree and shrub associations:
c) Coverage
d) Biodiversity
8. What is your general conclusion regarding these two hills at Thunderbird Park? (0.5 pt)
9. What is often step 1 of the scientific method? What question can be asked from the data you collected? (0.5 pt)
10. Propose 3 hypotheses (These must be complete sentences!) to explain these differences in plant distribution and abundance. With each hypothesis proposed, you should also make corresponding general predictions. Make one prediction that will indicate acceptance of the hypothesis and another prediction that will allow the hypothesis to be falsified. (Your predictions may need modification after an experiment is designed.) (0.5 pt each X 3 = 1.5 pts)
Hypothesis 1: ______
Prediction(s) if accepted: ______
Prediction(s) if falsified: ______
Hypothesis 2: ______
Prediction(s) if accepted: ______
Prediction(s) if falsified: ______
Hypothesis 3: ______
Prediction(s) if accepted: ______
Prediction(s) if falsified: ______
11. Now make specific predictions for the ‘sunlight-slope’ hypothesis. (2 pts)
Prediction if ‘sunlight-slope’ hypothesis is accepted:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Prediction if ‘sunlight-slope’ hypothesis is rejected:
a.
b.
c.
d.
12. Using the chart of temperature data provided, was there a significant temperature difference between these hills? On sunny days: (2 pts)
Was one hill (Which one?) hotter in the morning? (By how many degrees?)
Was one hill (Which one?) hotter in the afternoon? (By how many degrees?)
Did one hill (Which one?) have hotter temperatures in the fall? (By how many degrees?)
Did one hill (Which one?) have hotter temperatures in the spring? (By how many degrees?)
On cloudy days, was the temperature difference between hills more, less, or the same as the temperature differences on sunny days?
Were temperature differences at night more, less, or the same as the temperatures on the sunny days?
13. Is there a trend for warmer temperatures on one of the hills throughout the year/decade? (0.5 pts)
14. What would be a good control group(s) for your temperature experiment? (0.5 pts)
15. Where was the sun in the sky relative to Hill A and B in the morning; in the afternoon; in the evening? (0.5 pts)
16. Did you accept or reject the 'sunlight-slope' hypothesis? What specific criteria did you use? (1 pt)
17. Could the temperature differences you recorded be explained by some other hypothesis besides the 'slope exposure to sunlight' hypothesis? If so, how? (0.5 pts)
18. Examine the data sheet comparing analyzed soil samples. Were there significant differences between hills A and B with regard to soil texture and field capacity? If statistical analyses are not available, consider the following: (1 pt)
a) How close are the means? Do the means differ by 2 or 3 % or by 20 or 30%?
b) Examine the standard deviations. Is there a significant overlap when the standard deviations are subtracted or added to the means or do the two populations (hills) look separate?
c) Are there trends evident in the raw data? For example, for every point on Hill A is the amount of sand greater than at every point on Hill B or are there numerous exceptions?
19. Based on your answers to the questions above, do you accept or reject the soil hypothesis? Why? (1 pt)
20. Which of the two hypotheses you tested has received the greatest support? (0.5 pts)
21. List 5 steps of the scientific method and describe the part of this exercise that goes with each step. Answer in complete sentences. (2 pts)
Step of Scientific Method / Specific descriptionObservation/Question
Collect data
Hypothesis
Experiment
Conclusions
22. Your shadow's length is measured on the summer solstice, autumnal equinox, winter solstice, and vernal equinox at 12 noon. During which time of the year will your shadow have its greatest length? Explain using diagrams! (1 pt)
23. Two hills, one facing south and the other facing north, are located in Australia. Which hill will be drier? Why? (0.5 pts)
24. At what time of the year would you expect to see the greatest temperature difference between Hill A and B? Why? (0.5 pts)
25. Graphs (2pts)
Attendance and participation in laboratory exercises: 1 missed laboratory 5 pts deducted from quiz; 2 missed laboratories grade is ‘0’.
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