Problem: I read this background article the other day: The Gaia hypothesis states that the biosphere is its own living organism. The hypothesis suggests that the Earth is self-regulating and tends to achieve a stable state, known as homeostasis . For example the composition of our atmosphere stays fairly consistent, providing the ideal conditions for life. When carbon dioxide levels increase in the atmosphere, plants grow more quickly. As their growth continues, they remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In this way, the amount of carbon dioxide stays fairly constant without human intervention. I am facing a new situation today: Two friends had a sleepover. They spent most of the time online looking up stuff and talking about it. Bill looked up the Gaia hypothesis, while Frank read about the Flat Earth theory. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which friend read more about Earth achieving homeostasis?

A: Bill
Problem: Given the question: I read this background article the other day: Huge amounts of chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, are applied to farm fields (see Figure below ). Some of the chemicals are picked up by rainwater. Runoff then carries the chemicals to nearby rivers or lakes. Dissolved fertilizer causes too much growth of water plants and algae. This can lead to dead zones where nothing can live in lakes and at the mouths of rivers. Some of the chemicals can infiltrate into groundwater. The contaminated water comes up in water wells. If people drink the polluted water, they may get sick. I am facing a new situation today: Rick and Dale are both farmers that have lakes near their farm fields. Rick just began using large amounts of fertilizers because he is trying to improve his harvest significantly this year. Meanwhile, Dale has been cutting back on his fertilizer use because demand for his product has decreased recently. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: If both men's farms receive the same amount of rain, lakes near which person's farms are at lower risk for developing dead zones?
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The answer is:
Dale
input question: I read this background article the other day: Allergy symptoms can range from mild to severe. Mild symptoms might include itchy eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose. Severe symptoms can cause difficulty breathing, which may be life threatening. Keep in mind that it is the immune system and not the allergen that causes the allergy symptoms. Allergy symptoms can be treated with medications such as antihistamines. Severe allergic reactions may require an injection of the hormone epinephrine. These treatments lessen or counter the immune system's response. I am facing a new situation today: Two groups of students went on a field trip. Group Scouts visited a bee farm, while group Bears went to a salmon hatchery. Group Scouts had children experiencing mild allergic reactions, while one student had severe allergic reactions to a bee sting. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which group had fewer students experiencing itchy eyes????
output answer: Bears
I read this background article the other day: Alpine climate is the average weather (climate) for the alpine tundra. The climate becomes colder at high elevationsthis characteristic is described by the lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 10 C per km (5.5 F per 1000 ft) of elevation or altitude. Therefore, moving up 100 metres (330 ft) on a mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers (45 miles or 0.75 of latitude) towards the pole. This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors such as proximity to oceans can drastically modify the climate. I am facing a new situation today: There are two neighboring towns that were founded around the same time as one another. Prolot is situated high atop a tall hill which makes the walk up to the city quite daunting to travelers. However, the view when you reach the top is truly breathtaking. The town of Lire is located at the base of the hill that Prolot is on. Many tourists stop at the city of Lire to spend a night resting before they begin their journey up to Prolot the following day. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which city has a warmer climate?
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Answer: Lire
Q: I read this background article the other day: "There is now unequivocal evidence that biodiversity loss reduces the efficiency by which ecological communities capture biologically essential resources, produce biomass, decompose and recycle biologically essential nutrients... There is mounting evidence that biodiversity increases the stability of ecosystem functions through time... Diverse communities are more productive because they contain key species that have a large influence on productivity and differences in functional traits among organisms increase total resource capture... The impacts of diversity loss on ecological processes might be sufficiently large to rival the impacts of many other global drivers of environmental change... Maintaining multiple ecosystem processes at multiple places and times requires higher levels of biodiversity than does a single process at a single place and time." I am facing a new situation today: The government of Ecuador has been actively pushing to increase biodiversity. They have been quite successful in their pursuit. Moreover, the citizens of Ecuador are receptive about the idea of increased biodiversity. On the contrary, the Government of Oman was not very active in increasing the biodiversity of their country. As a result, Oman, at present, is not very biodiverse. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which place would have less key species, Ecuador or Oman?
A: Oman
[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Current Situation : Currently the heating effect of extra greenhouse gases (since the start of the industrial revolution) is equal to about . Thus the recent period has recorded parallel increases in concentration of carbon dioxide and average global temperature. As more greenhouse gases are put into the atmosphere the temperature will increase further. There are certain effects of a warmer Earth (discussed more in optional section), which could accelerate the process, even if no more greenhouse gases are put into the atmosphere (an unlikely prospect for the foreseeable future). I am facing a new situation today: A group of researches studied the green house gas emissions and their effects on Earth and people during the eighties compared to the twenties. The eighties produced way more green house gasses than the twenties did. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which decade recorded parallel increases in concentration of carbon dioxide and average global temperature?
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[A]:
eighties