[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Soil piping is a particular form of soil erosion that occurs below the soil surface. It causes levee and dam failure, as well as sink hole formation. Turbulent flow removes soil starting at the mouth of the seep flow and the subsoil erosion advances up-gradient. The term sand boil is used to describe the appearance of the discharging end of an active soil pipe.Soil salination is the accumulation of free salts to such an extent that it leads to degradation of the agricultural value of soils and vegetation. Consequences include corrosion damage, reduced plant growth, erosion due to loss of plant cover and soil structure, and water quality problems due to sedimentation. Salination occurs due to a combination of natural and human-caused processes. Arid conditions favour salt accumulation. This is especially apparent when soil parent material is saline. Irrigation of arid lands is especially problematic. All irrigation water has some level of salinity. Irrigation, especially when it involves leakage from canals and overirrigation in the field, often raises the underlying water table. Rapid salination occurs when the land surface is within the capillary fringe of saline groundwater. Soil salinity control involves watertable control and flushing with higher levels of applied water in combination with tile drainage or another form of subsurface drainage. I am facing a new situation today: The city of Reslie is known for its grilled cheese sandwiches. People come from all over the world to taste their sandwiches. The mayor of Reslie, while having a meeting about how to spend the excess funds from tourism this year, was told that the city is experiencing soil piping. The neighboring city, Tichago, consumes many of Reslie's grilled cheese sandwiches. The mayor of Tichago has just received a phone call from the mayor of Reslie asking if Tichago is also having soil piping. Tichago's mayor replies that no, they are not. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Citizens of which city should be less concerned about sink holes?
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[A]: Tichago

[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Chemical equilibrium was studied by French chemist Henri Le Chatelier (1850-1936), and his description of how a system at equilibrium responds to a change in conditions has become known as Le Chatelier's principle . This principle states that when a chemical system is at equilibrium and is disturbed by a stress, the system will respond by attempting to counteract that stress until a new equilibrium is established. Stresses to a chemical system include changes in the concentrations of reactants or products, changes in the temperature of the system, or changes in the pressure of the system. We will discuss each of these stresses separately. In each case, the change to the equilibrium position will cause either the forward or reverse reaction to be favored over the opposite process. When the forward reaction is favored, the concentrations of the products increase, and the concentrations of the reactants decrease. When the reverse reaction is favored, the concentrations of the products decrease, and the concentrations of the reactants increase. I am facing a new situation today: David was conducting experiments on chemical equilibrium in the chemistry lab. First, he took a chemical system that was at equilibrium. He labeled it as case E. Then he changed the temperature of the system. He labeled that experiment as case T. Finally, he observed two more experiments, case A and case B. In case A forward reaction was favored, and in case B reverse reaction was favored. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: In which case the products concentration would decrease, case A or case B?
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[A]: case B

[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Another important physical property of water, is adhesion . In terms of water, adhesion is the bonding of a water molecule to another substance, such as the sides of a leaf's veins. This process happens because hydrogen bonds are special in that they break and reform with great frequency. This constant rearranging of hydrogen bonds allows a percentage of all the molecules in a given sample to bond to another substance. This grip-like characteristic that water molecules form causes capillary action , the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity in a narrow space. An example of capillary action is when you place a straw into a glass of water. The water seems to climb up the straw before you even place your mouth on the straw. The water has created hydrogen bonds with the surface of the straw, causing the water to adhere to the sides of the straw. As the hydrogen bonds keep interchanging with the straw's surface, the water molecules interchange positions and some begin to ascend the straw. I am facing a new situation today: Andrew is drinking a glass of cold water. He gets a straw and puts it in the water then gets back to work. After a while he looks over and notices water has begun to group under the bend in the straw even though the bend is above the surface of the water. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Will the amount of water gathered at this bend increase or decrease given enough time?
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[A]: increase

[Q]: 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 studied about mushrooms. Bert studied mycorrhizal fungi, while Vince studied saprophytic mushrooms. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which person studied less about fungus colonizing roots of a host plant?
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[A]:
Vince