I read this background article the other day: While the Grants were on the Galapagos, a drought occurred. As a result, fewer seeds were available for finches to eat. Birds with smaller beaks could crack open and eat only the smaller seeds. Birds with bigger beaks could crack and eat seeds of all sizes. As a result, many of the small-beaked birds died in the drought. Birds with bigger beaks survived and reproduced (see Figure below ). Within 2 years, the average beak size in the finch population increased. Evolution by natural selection had occurred. I am facing a new situation today: Two islands inhabited by many species of finches went through some climatic changes during the past several years. While Park island hat wetter than average years, Boat island experienced years of drought, so many birds died. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which island had more large-beaked birds reproduce?
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Answer: Boat
Q: I read this background article the other day: In the U.S., the majority of electricity is produced by burning coal or other fossil fuels. This causes air pollution that harms the health of living things. The air pollution also causes acid rain and contributes to global warming. In addition, fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources, so if we keep using them, they will eventually run out. The main advantage of nuclear energy is that it doesn't release air pollution or cause the other environmental problems associated with the burning of fossil fuels. On the other other hand, radioactive elements are nonrenewable like fossil fuels and could eventually be used up. I am facing a new situation today: There are two cities, Chien and Marisol, in France that are leaders in the amount of wine they export to the rest of the world. Although they both export the same amount of wine, they use different sources of power to generate their electricity. Chien uses coal to power the city and Marisol uses nuclear power plants to produce electricity. The citizens of both cities are voting on whether to continue their current method of electricity generation. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which city has more air pollution?
A: Chien
Question: I read this background article the other day: Compared to conventional milk production, organic milk production tends to have lower eutrophication potential per ton of milk or per hectare of farmland, because it potentially reduces leaching of nitrates (NO3) and phosphates (PO4) due to lower fertilizer application rates. Because organic milk production reduces pesticides utilization, it increases land use per ton of milk due to decreased crop yields per hectare. Mainly due to the lower level of concentrates given to cows in organic herds, organic dairy farms generally produce less milk per cow than conventional dairy farms. Because of the increased use of roughage and the, on-average, lower milk production level per cow, some research has connected organic milk production with increases in the emission of methane.Animal welfare issues vary among dairy farms and are not necessarily related to the way of producing milk (organically or conventionally). I am facing a new situation today: Two different countries have different approaches to milk production. Austria produced organic milk, while Hungary produced conventional milk. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which country had lower eutrophication potential per ton of milk or per hectare of farmland?
Answer: Austria
[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of the glacier. Air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue. Small amounts of regular ice appear to be white because of air bubbles inside them and also because small quantities of water appear to be colourless. In glaciers, the pressure causes the air bubbles to be squeezed out, increasing the density of the created ice. Large quantities of water appear to be blue, as it absorbs other colours more efficiently than blue. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, similarly appears blue. I am facing a new situation today: Mike likes to visit places. This winter he is visiting Greenland. First, he visited Lake A, which is very small. Then he visited Lake B, which is huge. While visiting Lake B he went to a local pub. There he heard other tourists talking about two nearby glaciers, glacier C and glacier D. They said that glacier C had a snowfall and the snow became part of the glacier, but glacier D didn't have any snowfall. Mike is getting ready to visit those glaciers. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: In which lake Mike probably did not see the water blue, Lake A or Lake B?
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[A]: Lake A
I read this background article the other day: Air pollution is harmful to human beings and other living things. About 22 million people die from air pollution each year. Breathing polluted air increases the risk of developing lung diseases such as asthma and lung cancer. Breathing bad air also increases the chances of dying from other diseases. Children are most likely to be affected by air pollution. That's because their lungs are still developing and growing. Children also take in more air for their size than adults do. Some air pollutants damage the environment as well as the health of living things. The type of damage depends on the pollutant. Air pollution can also harm the environment. I am facing a new situation today: Tree city and Leaf city were the two biggest cities in Boulderland. Tree city burned lots of gas and other fossil fuels, while Leaf city was very protective towards its environment. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which city caused less acid rain?
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Answer:
Leaf