Unit 14: Caring for Our Planet
The resources Earth provides, what happens to them after we're done, and the choices that decide whether they'll still be there tomorrow.
5 topics · 17 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
Natural Resources
- How it worksHow do renewable resources like trees and nonrenewable resources like oil get used at completely different rates?
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't calling something natural automatically mean it can never run out?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a fishing town's economy when a fish population is harvested faster than it can reproduce?
Your turn1 of 2
Turning on a light switch or filling a water bottle both depend on natural resources you never see. Does calling something 'natural' automatically mean it can never run out?Pollution
- How it worksHow do pollutants released into air, water, or soil spread through an ecosystem and build up over time?
- Worked exampleFind how a pollutant's concentration in animals increases up a food chain if it doubles in concentration at each level.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't pollution only affect the exact spot where it was originally released?
Your turn1 of 2
Find a pollutant's concentration after 6 levels up a food chain if it doubles in concentration at each level, starting at a concentration of 1 unit.Recycling and Reducing Waste
- How it worksHow does recycling break down a used material and reshape it into something new instead of it becoming trash?
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't putting something in a recycling bin automatically guarantee it actually gets recycled?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the energy needed to make a product from recycled materials compared to brand new raw materials?
Your turn1 of 2
One aluminum can, if recycled, can turn back into a new can on a store shelf in about 60 days. Why is this possible so quickly?Conservation
- How it worksHow does setting aside protected habitats let a struggling population's numbers recover over time?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't conservation just about stopping all human use of a resource completely?
- Going furtherWhat happens to an endangered species' recovery when its habitat is protected but its food source isn't?
Your turn1 of 2
Why can protecting one single wetland end up saving dozens of species that all depend on it?Climate Change
- How it worksHow do greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun in the atmosphere instead of letting it escape back into space?
- Worked exampleFind how much Earth's average temperature has risen if it's gone up about 1.2 degrees C since the late 1800s.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't one unusually cold week somewhere prove that the whole planet isn't warming?
- Going furtherWhat happens to sea level and weather patterns as global temperatures continue to rise?
- Ties togetherHow does burning fossil fuels for energy connect all the way to melting ice and rising seas?
Your turn1 of 2
Find how much Earth's average temperature has risen if it's gone up about 1.64 degrees C since the late 1800s.