California Science Challenge

What is the first step in the scientific method?

• Analyze data

• Form a hypothesis

• Conduct an experiment

• Ask a question or identify a problem

How do ecosystems maintain a balance between producers and consumers?

• Through a complex web of interactions involving producers converting sunlight into energy, herbivores consuming plants, and carnivores consuming herbivores.

• By preventing producers from converting sunlight into energy

• Through a direct competition between producers and consumers

• By eliminating all consumers from the ecosystem

What are some common weather patterns found in California?

• Sunny days, coastal fog, Santa Ana winds, occasional rain

• Droughts, sandstorms, monsoons

• Blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms

• Snowstorms, hail, tornadoes

Explain how the Earth's systems interact with each other.

• The Earth's systems interact through the rotation of the moon, asteroid impacts, and space debris.

• The Earth's systems interact through volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

• The Earth's systems interact through processes like the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nutrient cycling.

• The Earth's systems interact through gravitational pull, magnetic fields, and solar radiation.

Give an example of energy transfer in a food chain.

• Energy transfer in a food chain occurs when organisms absorb energy from the sun directly.

• Energy transfer in a food chain happens when organisms exchange energy by dancing together.

• Energy transfer in a food chain occurs when organisms share their energy through telepathy.

• Energy transfer in a food chain occurs when one organism consumes another, passing on the energy stored in the consumed organism.

How can human activities impact the environment negatively?

• Urbanization

• Wildlife conservation

• Pollution, deforestation, overfishing, greenhouse gas emissions, and habitat destruction.

• Renewable energy

Why is it important to follow a systematic approach in conducting scientific experiments?

• It ensures consistency, reliability, and reproducibility of results.

• It leads to faster completion of experiments.

• It allows for random and inconsistent results.

• It hinders the progress of scientific research.

Describe the role of decomposers in an ecosystem.

• Decomposers create new organisms in the ecosystem.

• Decomposers reduce the amount of oxygen in the ecosystem.

• Decomposers primarily feed on live organisms in the ecosystem.

• Decomposers break down dead organisms and organic matter, releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem.

What factors contribute to the formation of different weather patterns?

• Vegetation types, animal migration, lunar eclipses

• Temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind patterns, and geographic features

• Population density, time zones, tectonic plate movement

• Moon phases, ocean currents, solar flares

How do humans contribute to the depletion of natural resources?

• Renewable energy, wildlife preservation, organic farming

• Deforestation, overfishing, mining, and pollution

• Urbanization, conservation, sustainable practices