Q: I read this background article the other day: One interesting thing that has been found in plants that are consistently exposed to drought, is their ability to form a sort of "memory". In a study by Tombesi et al., they found plants who had previously been exposed to drought were able to come up with a sort of strategy to minimize water loss and decrease water use. They found that plants who were exposed to drought conditions actually changed they way the regulated their stomates and what they called "hydraulic safety margin" so as to decrease the venerability of the plant. By changing the regulation of stomata and subsequently the transpiration, plants were able to function better in situations where the availability of water decreased. I am facing a new situation today: Drought is major concern in the Midwest. To confront the problem scientists are trying to develop drought-resistant crops. To that end, they took a plant that was not exposed to drought. They labeled it as plant A. Then they took a similar plant, and repeatedly exposed it to drought. They labeled it as plant B. They wanted to find out what makes a plant drought-resistant. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which plant would function worse with less water, plant A or plant B?
A: plant A
Question: I read this background article the other day: Recall that air pollution is due to chemical substances and particles released into the air mainly by human actions. When most people think of air pollution, they think of the pollution outdoors. But it is just as easy to have indoor air pollution. Your home or school classroom probably doesn't get much fresh air. Sealing up your home reduces heating and cooling costs. But this also causes air pollution to stay trapped indoors. And people today usually spend a majority of their time indoors. So exposure to indoor air pollution can become a significant health risk. I am facing a new situation today: Patty was a runner and liked hiking so she spent a lot of time outdoors. Her friend Fay sealed up her home to save money on energy and spent most of her time indoors. Both friends lived in an area with moderate to high levels of air pollution and attended a seminar where they learned more about the impact of air pollution on human health. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which friend saved less money on heating costs?
Answer: Patty
[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Wilting is the loss of rigidity of non-woody parts of plants. This occurs when the turgor pressure in non-lignified plant cells falls towards zero, as a result of diminished water in the cells. The rate of loss of water from the plant is greater than the absorption of water in the plant. The process of wilting modifies the leaf angle distribution of the plant (or canopy) towards more erectophile conditions. Lower water availability may result from: drought conditions, where the soil moisture drops below conditions most favorable for plant functioning; the temperature falls to the point where the plants vascular system can not function. high salinity, which causes water to diffuse from the plant cells and induce shrinkage; saturated soil conditions, where roots are unable to obtain sufficient oxygen for cellular respiration, and so are unable to transport water into the plant; or bacteria or fungi that clog the plant's vascular system. Wilting diminishes the plant's ability to transpire and grow. Permanent wilting leads to plant death. Symptoms of wilting and blights resemble one another. I am facing a new situation today: Jim had a small veggie garden that he planted every year. His brother Rob had a similar patch, and he was also a gardener. The plants in Jim's garden started wilting at some point and he found out that his soil had high salinity and some harmful bacteria that wiled the plants indirectly. Rob's plant were ok, because he adjusted the soil's ph with sweet lime. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which garden soil had less bacteria and fungi problems?
****
[A]: Rob's
input: Please answer the following: I read this background article the other day: The theory of evolution by natural selection was proposed at about the same time by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, shown in Figure below , and was set out in detail in Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species . Natural selection is a process that causes heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common, and harmful traits, or traits that are not helpful or advantageous for survival to become more rare in a population of organisms. This occurs because organisms with advantageous traits are more "fit" to survive in a particular environment and have "adapted" to the conditions of that environment. These individuals will have greater reproductive success than organisms less fit for survival in the environment. This will lead to an increase in the number of organisms with the advantageous trait(s) over time. Over many generations, adaptations occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of those variants best-suited for their environment. Natural selection is one of the cornerstones of modern biology. I am facing a new situation today: David wants to revisit the theory of evolution proposed by Darwin and Wallace. He is particularly interested in two species of deer, species A and species B. Species A has some helpful traits, but species B has some harmful traits. He is planning to write a paper on why some species are greater in number while others are smaller in number. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which species would have greater reproductive success, species A or species B?
++++++++++
output: species A
Please answer this: I read this background article the other day: Extending the period of time over which a force acts in order to lessen the force is a common practice in design. Padding in shoes and seats allows the time to increase. The front of automobiles are designed to crumple in an accident; this increases the time the car takes to stop. Similarly, barrels of water or sand in front of abutments on the highway and airbags serve to slow down the stoppage time. These changes all serve to decrease the amount of force it takes to stop the momentum in a car crash, which consequently saves lives. I am facing a new situation today: Keith designs car seats. He noticed that some other car seats didn't have any padding. He marked it as case A. On the other hand, most of the seats he designed had padding. He marked it as case B. Keith needed to know pros and cons of both designs. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which case would take less time for the force to act, case A or case B?
++++++++
Answer: case A
Question: I read this background article the other day: One result of air pollution is acid rain. Acid rain is precipitation with a low (acidic) pH. This rain can be very destructive to wildlife. When acid rain falls in forests, freshwater habitats, or soils, it can kill insects and aquatic life. It causes this damage because of its very low pH. Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in the air both cause acid rain to form ( Figure below ). Sulfur oxides are chemicals that are released from coal-fired power plants. Nitrogen oxides are released from motor vehicle exhaust. I am facing a new situation today: The ecologist moved from Aspen, where there was no air pollution, to Seattle which experienced a lot of air pollution. He started studying the weather there as well. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which city had fewer conditions for developing acid rain?
Answer:
Aspen