School Improvement in Maryland

Using the State Curriculum: Science, Grade 6

Skills and Processes | Earth/Space | Life | Chemistry | Physics | Environmental

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Standard 6.0 Environmental Science

Topic B. Environmental Issues

Indicator 1. Recognize and explain that human-caused changes have consequences for Maryland's environment as well as for other places and future times.

Objective b. Recognize and describe how environmental change in one part of the world can have consequences for other parts of the world.

Selected Response Item

Logging companies cut trees in a forest and send the trees to lumber mills far from the forest. The mills make boards that are used for construction. Some logging companies do not plant tree seedlings after cutting trees.

Not planting tree seedlings might affect people who need boards in the future because

  1. the price of boards will increase
  2. the price of boards will decrease
  3. there will be more boards available
  4. there will be more trees for logging
/toolkit/vsc/assessment_items/msa_science_6_001.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item

Use the information below to answer the following.

Over the last 150 years, the use of fossil fuels has increased, resulting in more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Some scientists think that these atmospheric gases will result in global warming. Scientists have recorded data on global temperature changes and have predicted possible changes in sea level that may affect Maryland residents.

Using fossil fuels in the United States will most likely contribute to rising sea levels globally by

  1. increasing oxygen levels
  2. decreasing oxygen levels
  3. increasing carbon dioxide levels
  4. decreasing carbon dioxide levels
/toolkit/vsc/assessment_items/msa_science_6_028.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item

Use the information below to answer the following.

Coal-burning power plants in Maryland release sulfur and nitrogen products into the air that contribute to soot, smog, and acid rain. These have direct effects on the air quality and are thought to increase the temperatures on Earth.

Mercury is also released from coal-burning power plants and is often found in organisms in water. Humans who eat these mercury-contaminated organisms develop brain and nerve tissue more slowly than humans who do not eat mercury-contaminated organisms.

MARYLAND AIR QUALITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2002
Number of days with unhealthy air quality 42
Number of Maryland children with asthma 143,754
Number of Maryland adults with asthma 445,759
Number of asthma attacks due to soot 17,000
Number of lost workdays due to soot 101,977

What is the most likely effect on the Maryland environment if increased temperatures melt ice at the North Pole?

  1. an increase in sea level
  2. an increase in waste production
  3. a decrease in area plant species
  4. a decrease in local fish populations
/toolkit/vsc/assessment_items/msa_science_6_063.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item

The need for farmland in Brazil has led to the cutting of the rain forests in the Amazon.

Cutting trees in the Amazon rain forest might have a global effect by

  1. decreasing the amount of fresh water
  2. increasing the number of animal species
  3. decreasing the average yearly temperatures
  4. increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere
/toolkit/vsc/assessment_items/msa_science_6_080.xml

Correct Answer:
D