I read this background article the other day: Declines in population size can result in a loss of genetic diversity, and owing to genetic variation's role in the evolutionary potential of a species, this could in turn result in an observable Allee effect. As a species' population becomes smaller, its gene pool will be reduced in size as well. One possible outcome from this genetic bottleneck is a reduction in fitness of the species through the process of genetic drift, as well as inbreeding depression. This overall fitness decrease of a species is caused by an accumulation of deleterious mutations throughout the population. Genetic variation within a species could range from beneficial to detrimental. Nevertheless, in a smaller sized gene pool, there is a higher chance of a stochastic event in which deleterious alleles become fixed (genetic drift). While evolutionary theory states that expressed deleterious alleles should be purged through natural selection, purging would be most efficient only at eliminating alleles that are highly detrimental or harmful. Mildly deleterious alleles such as those that act later in life would be less likely to be removed by natural selection, and conversely, newly acquired beneficial mutations are more likely to be lost by random chance in smaller genetic pools than larger ones.Although the long-term population persistence of several species with low genetic variation has recently prompted debate on the generality of inbreeding depression, there are various empirical evidences for genetic Allee effects. One such case was observed in the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). The Florida panther experienced a genetic bottleneck in the early 1990s where the population was reduced to ≈25 adult individuals. This reduction in genetic diversity was correlated with defects that include lower sperm quality, abnormal testosterone levels, cowlicks, and kinked tails. In response, a genetic rescue plan was put in motion and several female pumas from Texas were introduced into the Florida population. This action quickly led...  I am facing a new situation today: Molly and Brian are two friends who moved away from one another after becoming close in college. They still talk on the phone regularly and see each other a couple times a year. During a recent conversation, the subject of population comes up. Molly's town is currently increasing a steady decrease in population, and Brian's town has been seeing an increase in population.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Is the chance of inbreeding higher or lower in Molly's town?
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Answer: higher

Q: I read this background article the other day: Because of human activities, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than in the past hundreds of thousands of years. Burning fossil fuels and has released great quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cutting forests and clearing land has also increased carbon dioxide into the atmosphere because these activities reduce the number of autotrophic organisms that use up carbon dioxide in photosynthesis. In addition, clearing often involves burning, which releases carbon dioxide that was previously stored in autotrophs.  I am facing a new situation today: John has been hearing about climate change for last couple of years. He wants to understand the science behind climate change. For that, he picked up two eras in earth's history, era A and era B. Era A was hundred thousand years ago, and era B is in the present day. He now wants to compare these to eras to understand the change in climate better.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which era would have more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, era A or era B?
A: era B

Question: I read this background article the other day: Among the tropical oceans, the western Indian Ocean hosts one of the largest concentration of phytoplankton blooms in summer, due to the strong monsoon winds. The monsoonal wind forcing leads to a strong coastal and open ocean upwelling, which introduces nutrients into the upper zones where sufficient light is available for photosynthesis and phytoplankton production. These phytoplankton blooms support the marine ecosystem, as the base of the marine food web, and eventually the larger fish species. The Indian Ocean accounts for the second largest share of the most economically valuable tuna catch. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna.Research indicates that increasing ocean temperatures are taking a toll on the marine ecosystem. A study on the phytoplankton changes in the Indian Ocean indicates a decline of up to 20% in the marine phytoplankton in the Indian Ocean, during the past six decades. The tuna catch rates have also declined abruptly during the past half century, mostly due to increased industrial fisheries, with the ocean warming adding further stress to the fish species.Endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales.An Indian Ocean garbage patch was discovered in 2010 covering at least 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles). Riding the southern Indian Ocean Gyre, this vortex of plastic garbage constantly circulates the ocean from Australia to Africa, down the Mozambique Channel, and back to Australia in a period of six years, except for debris that get indefinitely stuck in the centre of the gyre.The garbage patch in the Indian Ocean will, according to a 2012 study, decrease in size after several decades to vanish completely over centuries.  Over several millennia, however, the global system of garbage patches will accumulate in the North Pacific.In 2016 six new animal...  I am facing a new situation today: Two of Earth's oceans provide vast quantities of fish for human consumption. The Indian ocean hosts a large concentration of phytoplankton blooms in summer. The Pacific ocean has less phytoplankton and nutrients for marine life.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which ocean has better conditions for photosynthesis?
Answer: Indian

I read this background article the other day: The strength of an acid refers to its ability or tendency to lose a proton. A strong acid is one that completely dissociates in water; in other words, one mole of a strong acid HA dissolves in water yielding one mole of H+ and one mole of the conjugate base, A−, and none of the protonated acid HA. In contrast, a weak acid only partially dissociates and at equilibrium both the acid and the conjugate base are in solution. Examples of strong acids are hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydroiodic acid (HI), hydrobromic acid (HBr), perchloric acid (HClO4), nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). In water each of these essentially ionizes 100%. The stronger an acid is, the more easily it loses a proton, H+. Two key factors that contribute to the ease of deprotonation are the polarity of the H—A bond and the size of atom A, which determines the strength of the H—A bond. Acid strengths are also often discussed in terms of the stability of the conjugate base.  I am facing a new situation today: David is a chemical engineer. Yesterday, he was working on two samples, sample A and sample B. Sample A was a strong acid, and sample B was a weak acid. David needed to find the differences between them.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which would lose a proton more easily, sample A or sample B?
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Answer:
sample A