Background: Rain dissolves fertilizer in the soil. Runoff carries it away. The fertilizer ends up in bodies of water, from ponds to oceans. Nitrogen is a fertilizer in the water. Since there is a lot of nitrogen, it causes algae to grow out of control. Pictured below is a pond covered with algae ( Figure below ). Algae use up carbon dioxide in the water. After the algae die, decomposers break down the dead tissue. The decomposers use up all the oxygen in the water. This creates a dead zone. A dead zone is an area in a body of water where nothing grows because there is too little oxygen. There is a large dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico ( Figure below ). The U.S. states outlined on the map have rivers that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. The rivers drain vast agricultural lands. The water carries fertilizer from these areas into the Gulf.

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Whose lake will have more algae?
Answer: Jim

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Whose lake will have less algae?
Answer: Greg

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Whose lake will have more nitrogen in it?
Answer: Jim

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Whose lake will have less nitrogen in it?
Answer: Greg

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Will Greg's lake have more or less carbon dioxide than Jim's?
Answer: more

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Will Jim's lake have more or less carbon dioxide than Greg's?
Answer: less

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Does Jim's lake have more or less oxygen than Greg's?
Answer: less

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Does Greg's lake have more or less oxygen than Jim's?
Answer: more

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Who should be more concerned about dead zones?
Answer: Jim

Situation: Jim and Greg are brothers who both run their own farms, but they rarely see each other due to them living in different states. Greg runs a farm in Texas where he rarely sees rain so he spends much of his day watering his crops. Jim lives in Illinois where it rains much more regularly so he has more time to spend dealing with his farm animals instead of watering his plants. Both men intentionally purchased their farms next to lakes since they have always loved fishing during their free time. The brothers are currently planning a fishing trip together, but they are just debating which lake to travel to.

Question: Who should be less concerned about dead zones?
Answer: Greg

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Which lake will have more algae?
Answer: Montopeke

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Which lake will have less algae?
Answer: Costanza

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Does lake Montopeke have more or less oxygen than lake Costanza?
Answer: less

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Does lake Costanza have more or less oxygen than lake Montopeke?
Answer: more

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Which lake will have more dead zones?
Answer: Montopeke

Situation: In central Ireland there are two farms next to two very similar lakes, and both farms use the same fertilizer to grow crops. The farm next to lake Montopeke gets rain on a regular basis and so the farmer doesn't need to water his crops as much. The farm that is adjacent to lake Costanza hardly gets any rain at all though. Both farms are able to prosper and do well though despite the different amount of rain they get.

Question: Which lake will have less dead zones?
Answer: Costanza