AP Biology Questions on Ecological Footprint: Exam Prep

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🌍 An ecological footprint measures human demand on nature. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and water area needed to produce the resources we consume and to absorb the wastes we generate.
• 📈 It's typically measured in global hectares (gha). One gha represents one hectare of land with world average biological productivity.
• 🍎 Key factors include consumption of food, energy, water, and materials. Higher consumption increases the footprint.
• 🚗 Transportation, housing, and diet are significant contributors. For example, eating more meat generally increases your footprint.
• ♻️ Reducing your footprint involves strategies like reducing waste, consuming less, using renewable energy, and adopting sustainable practices.
• 💡 The formula to estimate ecological footprint often involves calculating resource consumption per person and scaling it to the population size. It's not always a simple calculation, as many factors are intertwined.
• 🌱 Sustainable practices aim to keep the ecological footprint within the Earth's biocapacity (the ability of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans).

🧪 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following best describes an ecological footprint?

   1. A) The amount of carbon dioxide an individual emits.
   2. B) The area of land required to sustain an individual's resource consumption and waste production.
   3. C) The number of trees planted by an organization.
   4. D) The energy consumption of a household.

2. Which factor generally increases an individual's ecological footprint?

   1. A) Using public transportation.
   2. B) Eating a vegetarian diet.
   3. C) Consuming locally sourced products.
   4. D) Eating a diet high in processed foods and meat.

3. What unit is commonly used to measure ecological footprint?

   1. A) Kilowatt-hours (kWh).
   2. B) Liters of water.
   3. C) Global hectares (gha).
   4. D) Pounds of waste.

4. Which of the following actions would likely reduce an individual's ecological footprint the most?

   1. A) Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs.
   2. B) Reducing water usage while brushing teeth.
   3. C) Carpooling with a neighbor once a week.
   4. D) Reducing meat consumption and food waste.

5. Which of the following is a primary component considered when calculating an ecological footprint?

   1. A) Number of pets owned.
   2. B) Consumption of fossil fuels.
   3. C) Frequency of social media use.
   4. D) Number of books read.

6. What is the term for the Earth's capacity to produce biological materials and absorb waste?

   1. A) Ecological footprint.
   2. B) Biocapacity.
   3. C) Carbon sequestration.
   4. D) Biodiversity.

7. If a country's ecological footprint is larger than its biocapacity, what does this indicate?

   1. A) The country is sustainable.
   2. B) The country is importing more resources than it is exporting.
   3. C) The country is in an ecological deficit.
   4. D) The country has a large amount of protected land.