I read this background article the other day: A period of very low rainfall occurred while the Grants were on the islands. The drought resulted in fewer seeds for the finches to eat. Birds with smaller beaks could eat only the smaller seeds. Birds with bigger beaks were better off. They could eat seeds of all sizes. Therefore, there was more food available to them. Many of the small-beaked birds died in the drought. More of the big-beaked birds survived and reproduced. Within just a couple of years, the average beak size in the finches increased. This was clearly evolution by natural selection. I am facing a new situation today: Two bird islands in the Atlantic Ocean had very different climate changes during the last 5 years. Bone island experienced drought, while Finch island experienced flooding. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which island didn't display clear evidence of natural selection?
Ans: Finch

I read this background article the other day: Storing large volumes of data When storing XML to either file or database, the volume of data a system produces can often exceed reasonable limits, with a number of detriments: the access times go up as more data is read, CPU load goes up as XML data takes more power to process, and storage costs go up. By storing XML data in Fast Infoset format, data volume may be reduced by as much as 80 percent. I am facing a new situation today: Bob works for a data storage company. He has now three projects, project A, project B, and project C, simultaneously going on. All of them involves storing XML data. Project A has small volume of data, but project B and project C has large volume of data. He applied Fast Infoset format for project B, but didn't apply that format for project C. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Would project B have reduced or enlarged data volume than porject C?
Ans: reduced

I read this background article the other day: Communication is any way that animals share information. Many animals live in social groups. For these animals, being able to communicate is essential. Communicating increases the ability of group members to cooperate and avoid conflict. Communication may help animals work together to find food and defend themselves from predators. It also helps them find mates and care for their offspring. In addition, communication helps adult animals teach the next generation learned behaviors. Therefore, communication generally improves the chances of animals surviving and reproducing. I am facing a new situation today: Manny and Dean were two classmates. They had to prepare for a school project so they decided to learn about animals. Manny studied animal communication, while Dean studied animal feeding patterns and nutrition. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which student learned more about animals working together to find food?
Ans: Manny

I read this background article the other day: Tropical forests (rainforests) receive more insolation and rainfall over longer growing seasons than any other environment on earth. With these elevated temperatures, insolation and rainfall, biomass is extremely productive leading to the production of as much as 800 grams of carbon per square meter per year. Higher temperatures and larger amounts of water contribute to higher rates of chemical weathering. Increased rates of decomposition cause smaller amounts of fulvic acid to percolate and leach metals from the zone of active weathering. Thus, in stark contrast to soil in forests, tropical forests have little to no podzolization and therefore do not have marked visual and chemical contrasts with the soil layers. Instead, the mobile metals Mg, Fe and Al are precipitated as oxide minerals giving the soil a rusty red color. I am facing a new situation today: David is an environmental scientist. Last summer he visited the tropical forest in Brazil. He labeled that part of his study as forest A. To understand the differences between forests he then visited the temperate forest in Germany. He labeled that part of his study as forest B. He found significant differences in these two types of forests. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Would forest B get less or more insolation than forest A?
Ans: less