[Q]: Two neighboring towns, Pine town and Willow town, used different types of woods for lumber et al. Willow town used hardwoods, while Pine town used softwoods. Which town used fewer conifers to make rosin? Hint: Conifers have many uses. They are important sources of lumber and are also used to make paper. Resins, the sticky substance you might see oozing out of a wound on a pine tree, are collected from conifers to make a variety of products, such as the solvent turpentine and the rosin used by musicians and baseball players. The sticky rosin improves the pitcher's hold on the ball or increases the friction between the bow and the strings to help create music from a violin or other stringed instrument.
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[A]: Willow

[Q]: Xi province started sustainable agriculture and permaculture 40 years ago, while Huan province still uses conventional methods of cultivation. Animals grazing the fields extensively lead to desertification, the loss of carbon and nitrogen in the soil, and other problems. Permaculture was beneficial in Xi province, they re-built 10 inches of top soil in 10 years which is 6 times faster than the natural rate, which lead to a more diverse ecosystem and more biodiversity. Which province contributed to regenerating less soil? Hint: Besides anthropogenic productivity of the land, the biodiversity of degraded land also declines, as previously mentioned.[12] With less biodiversity, this ecosystem is less adaptable to when disasters strike it[11][8] It has a smaller available food supply, in terms of plants, for animals, who then may die out or more likely may relocate. Proof of this decline is that presently 15-20% of Tibetan Plateau species are now considered endangered; and now because of this animal and plant absence, the soil quality of these degraded lands is very poor.[1] It does not hold the necessary nutrients, such as water, nitrogen, and carbon, essential to either supporting life or inviting life back to that land.[6] As a result of such carbon and nitrogen loss in the Tibetan Plateau, $8,033/ha and $13,315/ha were respectively lost in economic terms. Soils are further weakened by dust storms whose frequency increases because of degradation.[11][4] Erosion of soil becomes a bigger problem, since no longer are there as many plants to anchor in the soil. In the northern Chinese province alone, 400 million are affected every year with an associated 54 billion yuan of annual economic loss due to grassland degradation.
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[A]: Huan province

[Q]: Two mycologists were studying fungi. Jim studied more about wood eating mushrooms and gourmet mushrooms, while George decided to study more about mycorrhiza, and its benefits for humans. Which mycologist learned less about fungus getting direct access to glucose? Hint: A mycorrhiza (Greek for "fungus roots") is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant. In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus may colonize the roots of a host plant by either growing directly into the root cells, or by growing around the root cells. This association provides the fungus with relatively constant and direct access to glucose, which the plant produces by photosynthesis. The mycelia of the fungi increase the surface area of the plant's root system. The larger surface area improves water and mineral nutrient absorption from the soil.
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[A]: Jim

[Q]: Ben and Jerry were two friends with very different dietary habits. Jerry ate healthy food, and was always on top of his caloric consumption, while Ben overate because he loved fatty foods such as butter, bacon et al. Which friend had a higher blood lipid level? Hint: Although some lipids in the diet are essential, excess dietary lipids can be harmful. Because lipids are very high in energy, eating too many may lead to unhealthy weight gain. A high-fat diet may also increase lipid levels in the blood. This, in turn, can increase the risk for health problems such as cardiovascular disease. The dietary lipids of most concern are saturated fatty acids, trans fats, and cholesterol. For example, cholesterol is the lipid mainly responsible for narrowing arteries and causing the disease atherosclerosis.
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[A]:
Ben