NRE 1000E EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The characteristics of a country whose population is not expected to grow quickly in the near future -
CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Low birth and death rates, aging population, high access to education and
healthcare.
Shape of the curve for the world population growth over the last 500 years - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Initially exponential growth; recently shifting towards logistic growth as resources
become limited.
Difference between a hypothesis and a belief - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅-Hypothesis: Testable and
falsifiable statement based on observations.
-Belief: Personal conviction not necessarily supported by evidence.
GPP = NPP + R (know how to use this equation: gross primary productivity = net primary productivity
minus respiration) - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅GPP (Gross Primary Productivity): Total energy captured.
NPP (Net Primary Productivity): Energy available to consumers (GPP - R).
R (Respiration): Energy used by producers.
Definition of an ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅A community of living organisms interacting with
their physical environment.
How the carrying capacity (K) for a population is determined (i.e. - what factors affect it?) - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Food availability, water supply, habitat space, disease, predation, and environmental
conditions.
Examples of a positive feedback loop - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Climate change leading to ice melt,
decreasing albedo and further warming.
Biological nitrogen fixation - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Process by which specific bacteria convert
atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) into ammonia (NH₃).
, How humans have affected these cycles: hydrological, carbon, nitrogen - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Hydrological: Urbanization altering water flow.
Carbon: Increased CO₂ from burning fossil fuels.
Nitrogen: Fertilizer runoff causing eutrophication.
Name several ecosystem services provided by a healthy ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅-
Provisioning Services
-Regulating Services
-Cultural Services
-Supporting Services
-Pollination
-Biodiversity Maintenance
-Erosion Control
Pathway of energy through a food chain - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Sun → Producers → Primary
consumers → Secondary consumers → Tertiary consumers.
Difference between energy flow and flow of matter in an ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Energy
Flow: Unidirectional and dissipates as heat.
Matter Flow: Cycles through ecosystems.
The nature of population growth in an industrialized (developed) vs. a non-industrial (developing)
country - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Developed: Slower growth, often below replacement level.
Developing: Higher growth rates due to higher fertility rates
Definition of ecological footprint. Comparison of footprint size of developed vs. developing countries
and causes for this difference - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Measure of human demand on Earth's
ecosystems; developed countries have larger footprints due to higher consumption.
Identify the reservoir (pools) for the major element cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) -
CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Water Cycle: Oceans, atmosphere, lakes, glaciers.
The characteristics of a country whose population is not expected to grow quickly in the near future -
CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Low birth and death rates, aging population, high access to education and
healthcare.
Shape of the curve for the world population growth over the last 500 years - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Initially exponential growth; recently shifting towards logistic growth as resources
become limited.
Difference between a hypothesis and a belief - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅-Hypothesis: Testable and
falsifiable statement based on observations.
-Belief: Personal conviction not necessarily supported by evidence.
GPP = NPP + R (know how to use this equation: gross primary productivity = net primary productivity
minus respiration) - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅GPP (Gross Primary Productivity): Total energy captured.
NPP (Net Primary Productivity): Energy available to consumers (GPP - R).
R (Respiration): Energy used by producers.
Definition of an ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅A community of living organisms interacting with
their physical environment.
How the carrying capacity (K) for a population is determined (i.e. - what factors affect it?) - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Food availability, water supply, habitat space, disease, predation, and environmental
conditions.
Examples of a positive feedback loop - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Climate change leading to ice melt,
decreasing albedo and further warming.
Biological nitrogen fixation - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Process by which specific bacteria convert
atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) into ammonia (NH₃).
, How humans have affected these cycles: hydrological, carbon, nitrogen - CORRECT
ANSWERS✅✅Hydrological: Urbanization altering water flow.
Carbon: Increased CO₂ from burning fossil fuels.
Nitrogen: Fertilizer runoff causing eutrophication.
Name several ecosystem services provided by a healthy ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅-
Provisioning Services
-Regulating Services
-Cultural Services
-Supporting Services
-Pollination
-Biodiversity Maintenance
-Erosion Control
Pathway of energy through a food chain - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Sun → Producers → Primary
consumers → Secondary consumers → Tertiary consumers.
Difference between energy flow and flow of matter in an ecosystem - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Energy
Flow: Unidirectional and dissipates as heat.
Matter Flow: Cycles through ecosystems.
The nature of population growth in an industrialized (developed) vs. a non-industrial (developing)
country - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Developed: Slower growth, often below replacement level.
Developing: Higher growth rates due to higher fertility rates
Definition of ecological footprint. Comparison of footprint size of developed vs. developing countries
and causes for this difference - CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Measure of human demand on Earth's
ecosystems; developed countries have larger footprints due to higher consumption.
Identify the reservoir (pools) for the major element cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) -
CORRECT ANSWERS✅✅Water Cycle: Oceans, atmosphere, lakes, glaciers.
