This lab is worth 100 Points.
Name: _________________________
ENVR 1401
Lab 2 – Part I – Using What You Learned
Aerial views of Central Park Campus and the designated
parking lot.
Parking Lot
1. Estimate how big you think the square below is in acres:
_________ acres
downloaded: August 7, 2010 Google Earth
B. Paces
______
A. Paces
______
C. Paces
______
D. Paces
______
2. Walk, count and record the number of paces along each side of the parking lot.
Revised: August 18, 2011
SHOW YOUR WORK FOR ALL CALCULATIONS!!
Back in the Building:
3. How many paces does it take you to walk the length of the tiled area I designate? ______
4. How many floor tiles is that in equivalent length? __________
5. What is the width of each tile? ___________
6. Calculate a “conversion factor” to determine your average number of feet per pace:
7. What would the conversion factor in #6 look like if you squared it?
8. Determine the average dimensions of the parking lot:
(A + C) / 2 = ___________ paces
(B + D) / 2 = ___________ paces
9. Determine the area of the parking lot:
___________ x ____________ = _______________ square paces
10. Calculate the approximate area of the parking lot in square feet:
11. How many acres are in the parking lot?
12. Area of the Parking Lot based on the Class Average = __________ acres
13. List three viable reasons why individual values differ from the Class Average?



Revised: August 18, 2011
ENVR 1401 – Lab 2
Part II: Interpreting Graphs
Recall the graph you study in the pre-lab assessment. The graph combined an incredible amount of information
in a small space. We know that the graph describes precipitation throughout the year, broken down by month,
just by looking at the labels on the graph’s axes. While we don’t know the exact location, we can see that the
summer months were wetter than the winter months. We can also tell exactly how much rain the region
received, just by seeing that the y-axis is labeled in mm. Without that unit, a value of three hundred could mean
that rainfall is enough to satisfy a healthy ecosystem… or that we need to start gathering the animals up two by
two! Also note that the graph’s y-axis needs to accommodate enough space to get the dry winter months and the
wet summer months. Let’s test your graphing skills.
Imagine I am monitoring the growth of kudzu in the American Southeast to make a case for government
officials to organize containment efforts. While it doesn’t grow as fast as shown below, it can grow 1 ft/day!
When you consider that the U.S. government encouraged its planting in the waning Dust Bowl years…
Hypothetical Growth of EVIL Kudzu in the American Southeast
Table 5: Kudzu Growth
Day
Height
0
10
7
22
18
27
21
33
26
45
38
55
First: choose an appropriate scale
so that the data in Table 5 will fit
nicely on the graph at left and label
the axes. Next, plot the data on the
graph.
1. During what time period on the above graph did the fastest growth occur? ___________________________
Explain what led you to this conclusion:
2. During what time period did the slowest growth occur? ______________________________
Explain what led you to this conclusion:
Revised: August 18, 2011
Slope
The term slope is another one of those “easy” terms. It’s as easy as “rise” over “run.” At least, that’s what
everyone says. The term slope is like the term average in that it refers to a typical change in height with
distance. Imagine you want to climb a mountain. The summit is 5,000 feet above you, but if you could walk in
a straight line, you’d end up walking 1,000 feet horizontally just to get there. What that means is that for each
foot you walk horizontally, you would climb five feet up. That is a steep mountain! Imagine: for every one foot
you walk, you’d climb just a little less than your own height!
In layman’s terms:
(such as 5,000 feet/1,000 feet = 5 feet/foot)  Another fraction!
So, using this equation:
3. What was the average growth rate (to one decimal place) for the fastest period of growth? ____________
Show work:
4. The average growth rate (to two decimal places) for the slowest period of growth? ____________________
Show work:
5. What units should be on the last two calculations you made? ______________________________
6.
What percentage of the population in the City of Austin is over
50 years of age?
25%
34%
9%
7.
If population growth in the City of Austin was a result of birth
rate and not migration, then the population growth rate should be:
rapid
slow
decreasing
Revised: August 18, 2011
Gender and Belief that Smoking Causes Lung Cancer
8.
The proportion of women responding with a “yes” is equal to the
proportion of men responding with a “no”
True
False
9.
The proportion of “yes” responses exceeds the “no” responses
True
False
Measuring Angles and Using Protractors
In addition to graphing in general, one thing each semester that students seem to freak out about is the use of a
protractor. Willfully forgotten from the bygone days of geometry, this archaic instrument of torture strikes fear
into the hearts of students everywhere, when its sole job is to measure angles. And what an important job!
Protractors have four basic
parts: a vertex, a level line,
and two arcs of numbers
going in opposite directions
from 0 to 180°. Why two
directions you may ask?
Well, which arc you use
has to do completely with
what angle you are
measuring; remembering
your task can tell you
whether you are reading
from the correct arc or not.
Let’s try an example. Say I want to measure the angle at the right:
Is it greater or less than 90°? Just considering the protractor above, it is clearly less than
90°.
My geometry professor (in bygone days) said angles less than 90° are acute (“darling little things”). Angles
greater than 90°, to put it bluntly, are obtuse, like this:
Revised: August 18, 2011
But how do I measure these?
Simply, I put one side of the angle along the level line, with point V at the vertex of the protractor. I then read
the resultant number along the other side of the angle I want to measure keeping in mind
that obtuse are >90° while acute are <90°. I have two arcs because it doesn’t matter
which way my picture is arranged. Angles are angles without respect to a particular
direction.
That is great you say, but what does geometry have to do with environmental science or… me?
Basic scientific research and… money! Much of what we do in science ends with representing data! You have
already seen a myriad of graphing types and by the end of this lab, you will see many, many more. The way you
represent your data can mean the difference between making money and being indicted for misrepresentation.
10. At what angle do the bold lines intersect at right?
_________________________
11. Complete the table and construct a pie chart for the following data for the Quick-Mart Service Station.
(Hint: A circle contains 360 degrees)
Percentage of Budget
Remediation Method
Cost
Analytical testing
Decontamination
Groundwater treatment
Health & Safety
Soil excavation & disposal
TOTALS
$ 438,900
$ 77,665
$ 357,345
$ 29,475
$ 228,750
(to two significant figures)
Revised: August 18, 2011
Degrees of Circle
(to three sig. figures)
12.
Which curve represents a population in which many organisms
die at a young age and a few live to be very old?
Type I
Type II
Type III
13.
Which of the three curves is typical for humans?
Type I
Type II
Type III
Revised: August 18, 2011
14.
In 1982 the volcano El Chichón erupted and in 1991 Mt Pinatubo
erupted. What impact did these events have on stratospheric
temperature?
15.
In what year was the coldest month recorded?
_______________________
16.
During how many of these years has the stratospheric
temperature remained below average?
_______________________
No effect
Climate got
colder
Climate got
warmer
17. Correctly label the following population pyramids (U.S., Italy and Kenya):
______________________
______________________
Revised: August 18, 2011
_____________________
18.
Which histogram(s) reflects slow to no population growth?
Italy
Kenya
U.S.
19.
Which country has the largest percentage of population beyond
the major reproductive age (i.e., >44years)?
Italy
Kenya
U.S.
20.
Which of these is typical of population growth in a developing
country?
Italy
Kenya
U.S.
21.
If water contains 14 ppm of dissolved oxygen, determine the
temperature (to tenth of a degree) in degrees Fahrenheit at which
it will become fully saturated.
Show work:
_____________________
If the water in a stream is at 50° F, how much dissolved oxygen
(to tenth of ppm) is present if the water is only 80% saturated?
Show work:
22.
_____________________
Revised: August 18, 2011
23. What is the overall reduction in soil erosion on cropland from 1982 to 2001? __________ %
Show work:
24. Which method to reduce soil erosion has been more successful?
Show work for each method:
WATER:
Water
WIND:
Revised: August 18, 2011
Wind
25.
What percentage range of silt is contained in the soil designated
by point A on the Soil Texture Triangle?
Show work:
20-30%
40-50%
50-60%.
26.
What percentage range of sand is contained in the soil designated
by point B on the Soil Texture Triangle?
Show work:
20-30%
40-50%
70-80%.
Clay loam
Silt loam
Loam
27.
28.
If a soil contains 40 % sand and 25 % silt, the soil texture is:
Show work:
If a soil contains 8 % clay and 23 % silt, then what is the sand
content?
Show work:
We will be “heavily” studying the soil of the Blackland Prairie
(highlighted at right), specifically, the Houston-Black soil, a
shrinking-swelling soil which is present under McKinney and
causes no end of foundation problems. This soil has incredible
historical significance to the region and to the U.S., and it is the
state soil of Texas. It would classify as clay on the triangle above.
Revised: August 18, 2011
_______________________
29.
What was the percent change in population from 1989 to 1990 to
one decimal place?
Show work:
_____________________%
What was the overall rate of change for this species (rounded to
whole numbers)?
Show work:
30.
PERCENTAGE:
POPTARTS/YR
_________%
_____ pop tarts/yr
If the 1991 to 1993 rate of change continues, in what year is it
likely that the species became extinct?
Show work:
31.
_____________________
Revised: August 18, 2011
32. Using a ruler, draw a line of best fit which averages the data on the graph.
Calculate the slope and give appropriate units for the overall rate
of invasion of species into the Northwest Counties?
Show work:
33.
34.
_____________________
Based on your line of best fit, how many invasive species should
be expected in the Northwest Counties in 2020?
_____________________
35. List two reasons why your estimate of the number of invasive species that should be expected in the
Northwest Counties in 2020 may be in error.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Revised: August 18, 2011