input question: 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 stable ecosystem functions, Ecuador or Oman????
output answer: Oman

input question: I read this background article the other day: Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver. It is caused by a virus called hepatitis B, which can be passed through sexual activity. Hepatitis B causes vomiting. It also causes yellowing of the skin and eyes. The disease goes away on its own in some people. Other people are sick for the rest of their lives. In these people, the virus usually damages the liver. It may also lead to liver cancer. Medicines can help prevent liver damage in these people. There is also a vaccine to protect against hepatitis B. I am facing a new situation today: Mike and John are brothers. Their dad sent them to the doctor's office to get tested for hepatitis because Mike was feeling sick all the time. It turned out Mike has hepatitis B, while John doesn't. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which brother doesn't have a disease which causes yellowing of the skin????
output answer: John

input question: I read this background article the other day: 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. I am facing a new situation today: 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. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which mycologist learned less about fungus growing around the root cells????
output answer: Jim

input question: I read this background article the other day: Further heating then adds energy to the liquid particles, increasing their speed, kinetic energy, and temperature. This is the second slope on the curve. Once the particles are energetic enough to completely break free of each other, they start to enter the gas phase. Boiling occurs at the second plateau of this curve, and the temperature at this point is referred to as the boiling point . Again, the added heat is being used to break up the interactions between particles instead of increasing their kinetic energy, so no temperature increase is observed until all particles are in the gas phase. Finally, adding even more energy will further speed up the gas particles, increasing the kinetic energy and temperature of the substance. I am facing a new situation today: Robbie is heating up two pots of water in his kitchen because he is preparing to make some shrimp. The first pot of water, pot A, has been heating for a long time. The second pot of water, pot B, has only been heating for a short period of time. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which pot will begin to boil its water sooner????
output answer:
pot A