Compare ways to protect biodiversity and choose the best
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use this
Decision matrix (model data), scores 1 to 3, a higher score is better in every column. Every column counts the same. Protected area, protects living habitat 3, low cost 1, few side effects 2; Wildlife corridor, protects living habitat 2, low cost 2, few side effects 3; Seed bank, protects living habitat 1, low cost 3, few side effects 2.
Pia scores three plans for a model valley. Every column counts the same. Which plan has the highest total?
- Protected area: it has the top score for protecting living habitat, 3
- Protected area and seed bank tie, each with 6 points, so they beat the corridor
- Seed bank: it has the top score for low cost, 3, so it is good value
- Wildlife corridor: 2 + 2 + 3 = 7 points, the highest total of the three
Use this
Decision matrix (model data), scores 1 to 3, a higher score is better in every column. Every column counts the same. Invasive-species control, protects living habitat 2, low cost 3, few side effects 3; Reducing runoff, protects living habitat 3, low cost 2, few side effects 2; Protected area, protects living habitat 3, low cost 1, few side effects 2.
Ren adds the scores in a row, counting every column the same. What is the total for reducing runoff?
- 7 points: 3 + 2 + 2
- 2 points
- 3 points
- 8 points
Use this
Decision matrix (model data), scores 1 to 3, a higher score is better in every column. Every column counts the same. Seed bank, protects living habitat 1, low cost 3, few side effects 3; Reducing runoff, protects living habitat 3, low cost 2, few side effects 3; Invasive-species control, protects living habitat 2, low cost 2, few side effects 2.
Esme wants the cheapest plan, the one with a 3 for low cost. Which plan has the highest total instead?
- Seed bank: it is the cheapest plan, so it wins
- Reducing runoff: 3 + 2 + 3 = 8 points, the highest total
- Invasive-species control: its middle scores make it the safest
- Seed bank and reducing runoff tie, as both score 3 on side effects
A planning card for a model valley (model data)
line what it says budget at most 6 million dollars land at most 40 hectares time ready within 5 years benefit to species the higher the better Jun reads a planning card. Which line is a criterion, a goal to score as high as possible?
- Land: a plan may use at most 40 hectares of land
- Budget: a plan may cost at most 6 million dollars
- Benefit to species: the higher the better for the valley
- Time: a plan must be ready within 5 years of the start
A land check for one plan (model data)
line value land the plan needs (hectares) 35 land limit (hectares) 40 benefit score 4 Kira's plan needs 35 hectares, and the land limit is 40 hectares. What do we call the limit?
- A trade-off: giving up some of one good thing for another
- A criterion: a goal to score as high as possible
- A weight: a number for how much a goal counts
- A constraint: a limit the plan must stay within
Scientists list five main drivers: habitat loss, invasive species, overharvesting, pollution and climate change. Tala reads that a town cuts the greenhouse gases it adds to the air. Which driver does this address?
- Pollution: rain carries fertilizer into a nearby stream
- The five drivers at once: cutting greenhouse gases answers the whole list
- Climate change: greenhouse gases trap more heat in the air
- Invasive species: a plant spreads far from where it began
A seed bank card (sourced facts)
fact value seed samples stored more than 1.4 million institutions that deposited 134 storage temperature (degrees Celsius) -18 Zee reads the seed bank card. Which statement about this seed bank is correct?
- It protects the wild habitat where those plants grow, so the plants stay in their homes
- It answers the five drivers at once, because stored seeds cannot be reached by them
- It stores backup copies of seed samples
- It keeps living plants growing inside the vault, so they can be seen year round
Climate facts (sourced facts)
fact value global surface temperature, 2011-2020 above 1850-1900 (degrees Celsius) 1.1 carbon dioxide in the air, now above 1750 (percent) nearly 50 species assessed that have shifted polewards or to higher elevations about half Noah reads the climate card. By about how many degrees Celsius was 2011-2020 warmer than 1850-1900?
- 50 degrees Celsius
- 1.1 degrees Celsius
- 11 degrees Celsius
- 0.5 degrees Celsius
Extra movement with a corridor, by group (model data)
group extra movement (percent) ground beetles 60 small mammals 55 flowering plants 50 songbirds 15 Luz reads model data on how much extra movement a corridor gave four groups. Which group gained the least?
- The groups tie, since a corridor helps the groups equally
- Flowering plants, with 50%, the value close to the middle
- Ground beetles, with 60%, the value at the top of the table
- Songbirds, with 15%
Extra movement with a corridor, three groups (model data)
group extra movement (percent) ground beetles 62 flowering plants 48 songbirds 12 Ari says a corridor helps songbirds as much as plants. Which reply uses the table correctly?
- Ground beetles gained the least, because they are the smallest group
- Both gained the same, since one corridor joins the same two patches for both
- Plants gained 48% and songbirds 12%, so the corridor helped plants more
- Songbirds gained more, because birds fly and use a corridor the most
