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CHAPTER 3SCIENCE, SYSTEMS, MATTER, AND ENERGY

1. Briefly describe the types of questions science tries to answer and the process used to approach answers or solutions.

2. Distinguish among scientific hypotheses, theories, and laws.

3. Compare and contrast inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.

4. Distinguish between:

A. frontier science and consensus science:

B. accuracy and precision:

C. science and technology:

5. Define environmental science. Assess its strengths and limitations.

6. Define model. Distinguish among mental models, graphic models, physical models, and mathematical models.

7. Describe the significance of models, and the process for creating and testing models.

8. Draw a simple, generalized system. Include accumulations, flows, and feedback loops.

9. Distinguish between positive and negative feedback loops. Give examples of each.

10. Explain how negative feedback loops and positive feedback loops can be

coupled to maintain stability. Define homeostasis.

11. Describe a tragedy of the commons in terms of feedback loops.

12. Given that the environment is a complex system, effects of changes in the system are often delayed. Describe how this characteristic creates difficulties for human policy makers.

13. a. Define matter.

b. Distinguish among the following: atoms, ions, molecules, isotopes; protons, neutrons, electrons; atomic number and mass number.

c. List the four physical states of matter.

14. a. Define chemical formula.

b. Distinguish between molecular compounds held together by covalent bonds and ionic compounds held together by ionic bonds.

c. Describe hydrogen bonds.

15. a. Define organic compound.

b. List four important organic polymers and their building blocks.

c. Contrast inorganic compounds with organic compounds.

d. Give two examples of inorganic compounds.16. a. Distinguish between high-quality matter and low-quality matter.

b. Relate the concept of entropy to the quality of matter.

17. Describe how the law of conservation of matter governs normal physical and chemical changes. Explain the phrase: “There is no away.”

18. Describe why the law of conservation of matter and energy is necessary to govern nuclear changes.

19. Distinguish among gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles; nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.

20. A.Define energy.

B. Distinguish between a. kinetic and potential energy:

b. ionizing and non-ionizing radiation:

c. high-quality energy and low-quality energy:

16. Summarize the first and second laws of energy and give one example to illustrate each.

17. Describe the implications of the law of conservation of matter and the second law of energy for high-waste, matter-recycling, and low-waste societies.

Key Terms (Terms are listed in the same font style as they appear in the text.)

science (p. 41)scientific data (p. 41)scientific hypotheses (p. 41)model (p. 41)scientific theory (p. 41)scientific hypothesis (p. 41)scientific (natural) law (p. 42)scientific methods (p. 42)variables (factors) (p. 43)controlled experiment (p. 43)single variable analysis (p. 43)experimental group (p. 43)control group (p. 43)multivariable analysis (p. 43)inductive reasoning (p. 43)deductive reasoning (p. 44)syllogism (p. 44)frontier science (p. 44)consensus science (p. 44)system (p. 44)inputs (p. 45)flows (p. 45)throughputs (p. 45)stores (p. 45)storage areas (p. 45)outputs (p. 45)mathematical models (p. 45)feedback loop (p. 45)positive feedback loop (p. 45)negative feedback loop (p. 45)time delays (p. 46)threshold level (p. 46)synergistic interaction (p. 46)synergy (p. 46)law of conservation of problems (p. 46)environmental surprises (p. 47)discontinuities (p. 47)chaotic events (p. 47)matter (p. 47)elements (p. 47)compounds (p. 47)mixtures (p. 47)periodic table of elements (p. 47)atoms (p. 47)ions (p. 47)molecules (p. 47)subatomic particles (p. 47)protons (p. 47)neutrons (p. 47)electrons (p. 47)nucleus (p. 47)atomic number (p. 48)mass number (p. 48)

isotopes (p. 48)ions (p. 48)concentration (p. 48)pH (p. 48)pH scale (p. 48)acids (p. 48)bases (p. 48)chemical formula (p. 48)ionic compounds (p. 48)covalent (molecular) compounds (p. 49)ionic bonds (p. 49)covalent bonds (p. 49)hydrogen bonds (p. 49)organic compounds (p. 49)hydrocarbons (p. 49)chlorinated hydrocarbons (p. 49)chlorofluorocarbons (p. 49)simple carbohydrates (p. 49)complex carbohydrates (p. 50)proteins (p. 50)nucleic acids (p. 50)genes (p. 50)chromosomes (p. 50)inorganic compounds (p. 50)plasma (p. 50)matter quality (p. 51)high-quality matter (p. 51)low-quality matter (p. 51)material efficiency (p. 51)resource productivity (p. 51)energy (p. 51)radiation (p. 51)kinetic energy (p. 51)potential energy (p. 51)electromagnetic radiation (p. 52)wave (p. 52)wavelength (p. 52)energy content (p. 52)ionizing radiation (p. 52)nonionizing radiation (p. 52)heat (p. 52)temperature (p. 52)convection (p. 52)conduction (p. 52)radiation (p. 53)energy quality (p. 53)high-quality energy (p. 53)low-quality energy (p. 53)physical change (p. 59)chemical change (p. 59)chemical reaction (p. 59)

law of conservation of matter (p. 60)circle of poison (p. 60)chemical nature (p. 61)concentration (p. 61)persistence (p. 61)degradable (nonpersistent) pollutants (p. 61)biodegradable pollutants (p. 61)slowly degradable (persistent)

pollutants (p. 61)nondegradable pollutants (p. 61)nuclear change (p. 61)natural radioactive decay (p. 61)radioactive isotopes (radioisotopes) (p. 61)gamma rays (p. 61)alpha particles (p. 61)beta particles (p. 61)half-life (p. 61)genetic damage (p. 62)somatic damage (p. 62)electromagnetic fields (EMFs) (p. 63)

radiocarbon dating (p. 63)tracers (p. 63)nuclear medicine (p. 63)nuclear fission (p. 63)critical mass (p. 64)chain reaction (p. 64)nuclear fusion (p. 64)law of conservation of energy (p. 65)first law of energy (p. 65)first law of thermodynamics (p. 65)energy quality (p. 65)second law of energy (p. 65)second law of thermodynamics (p. 65)energy efficiency (p. 65)energy productivity (p. 65)high-throughput economies (p. 66)sinks (p. 66)matter-recycling economy (p. 67)low-throughput economy (p. 67)

Multiple Choice QuestionsSee Instructor’s Manual, Section Two, p. 160.More Depth: Conceptual Term Paper Topics1. The Nature of Science: questions, hypotheses, theories, laws, and

scientific methods, inductive and deductive reasoning.2. Technology: applications of science to cultures. Appropriate

technologies. From the wheel to the assembly line. Engines and the transportation revolution. Computers and the Age of Information. The Information Superhighway.

3. Computer modeling: Extending the power of the human brain. Systems analysis. The consequences of feedback loops. The implications of chaos, homeostasis, delays, leverage, and synergy.

4. The universe: total amounts of matter and energy in the universe; the big bang theory of the origin of the universe; the role of entropy in the destiny of the universe.

5. Low-energy lifestyles: individual case studies such as Amory Lovins and national case studies such as Sweden.

6. Nature’s cycles and economics: recycling attempts in the United States; bottlenecks that inhibit recycling; strategies that successfully enhance recycling efforts.

More Breadth: Interdisciplinary Activities and Projects1. Ask a systems analyst to visit your classroom. Work with the analyst

to produce a class consensus model of the environment.2. As a class exercise, try to inventory the types of environmental

disorders that are created in order to maintain a classroom environment—the lighting, space heating and cooling, electricity for projectors, and other facilities, equipment, and services.

3. Ask an ecologist, a pollution treatment technologist (for instance a technologist who designs sewage treatment equipment) and a worker in pollution prevention to visit your class. Ask the types of questions and problems which concern them. Consider the role that each of these thinkers plays in an ecosystem model.

4. As a class exercise, make lists of the beneficial and harmful consequences that have resulted from America’s adoption of automobile technology.

5. Ask a physics professor or physics lab instructor to visit your class and, by using simple experiments, demonstrate the matter and energy laws.

6. As a class exercise, try to inventory the types of environmental disorders that are created in order to maintain a classroom environment—the lighting, space heating and cooling, electricity for projectors, and other facilities, equipment, and services.

7. Invite a medical technician to speak to your class on the beneficial uses of ionizing radiation. What controls are employed to limit the risks associated with the use of radioisotopes for diagnostic and treatment procedures?

Multisensory Learning: AudiovisualsA Conversation with Stephen Jay Gould; 28 min.; his interest in science

as a career; CBS.Careers in Science; 60 min.; CBS.Energy: What Energy Means; 1982; 15 min.; converting from one form of

energy to another; NG.Radiation: Origins and Controls; 27 min.; FHS.Radiation: Types and Effects; 22 min.; FHS.Science and Human Values; 30 min.; CBS.Science and the Third World; 1994; 23 min.; challenge to science to develop solutions for third-world fecal contamination of drinking water, large-scale deforestation, and inefficient agricultural methods; FHS.The Flow of Heat Energy; 53 min.; CBS.The Forms of Energy; 30 min.; CBS.

See Appendix A for suppliers.

ATTITUDES/VALUES

Assessment1. How does it feel to imagine being a system made of inputs, flows, and

feedbacks?2. How does it feel to imagine being one component of a larger system

made up of inputs, flows, and feedbacks?

3. How does science contribute to your quality of life? What are its limits?

4. How does technology contribute to your quality of life? What are its limits?

5. Do you feel a part of the flow of energy from the sun?6. Do you feel you play a role in nature’s cycles?7. What right do you have to use Earth’s material resources? Are there

any limits to your rights? What are they?8. What rights do you have to Earth’s energy resources? Are there any

limits to your rights? What are they?9. Do you believe that cycles of matter and energy flow from the sun

have anything to do with your lifestyle? with your country’s policies?

More Depth: Discussion and Term Paper Topics1. Scientific methods. The application of critical thinking and creative

thinking to the scientific enterprise.2. The role of models in the scientific experience.3. The effect of delays, leverage, and synergism in complex systems.4. An evaluation of the positive and negative contributions of nuclear

technologies: nuclear weapons in World War II and the cold war; radioisotopes in research and medical technology; nuclear power plants.

5. How much are you willing to pay in the short run to receive economic and environmental benefits n the long run? Explore costs and payback times of energy efficient appliances, energy saving light bulbs, and weather stripping.

6. Is convenience more important than sustainability? Explore the influence of the U.S. frontier origins on the throwaway mentality.

(Also, see text, Critical Thinking, p. 68 and Critical Thinking and the Environment.)

PARTICIPATION

More Depth: Action-oriented Term Paper Topics1. Individual: analyze your own body and lifestyle as a system with

material and energy inputs and outputs. Try to identify dangerous positive feedback loops. Design strategies which can help bring your body and life into balance.

2. Community: analyze the community in which you live as a system with material and energy inputs and outputs. Identify community services and agencies responsible for inputs and outputs. Try to identify dangerous positive feedback loops. Design strategies which can help bring your community into balance.

3. National: analyze the country in which you live as a system with material and energy inputs and outputs. Identify national services and agencies responsible for inputs and outputs. Try to identify dangerous positive feedback loops. Design strategies which can help bring your nation into balance. Explore the concept of the information superhighway. Consider its usefulness in addressing national issues of sustainability.

4. Global: analyze the earth as a system with material and energy inputs and outputs. Identify global services and agencies responsible for inputs and outputs. Try to identify dangerous positive feedback loops. Design strategies which can help bring Earth into balance. Explore the concept of global networking. Find out more about the networking results of the Rio Conference. Consider the usefulness of such networking in addressing global issues of sustainability.

SKILLS

Environmental Problem-Solving Skills: Projects1. Use Green Lives/Green Campuses as a starting point for analyzing

your campus as a system. This is an excellent opportunity to view the campus as an interacting system of material and energy flows governed by human policies as well as to enhance the democratic and team skills of your students. The goal would be to complete a full environmental assessment of the campus with recommendations to move toward a sustainable future. Each student or small group of students could be held accountable for one part of the assessment.

2. A human body at rest yields heat at about the same rate as a 100-watt incandescent light bulb. As a class exercise, calculate the heat production of the student body of your school, the U.S. population, and the global population. Where does the heat come from? Where does it go?

3. As a class exercise, conduct a survey of the students at your school to determine their degree of awareness and understanding of the three basic matter and energy laws. Discuss the results in the context of high-waste, recycling, and low-waste societies.

Laboratory Skills(none)

Computer SkillsCritical Thinking Software and Tools Workbook for Starr and Taggart’s Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life. 1992. Wadsworth Publishing Company. Belmont, California. Unit VI. Exercise 1: Negative Feedback Control.

See Introduction to the Internet