AY2019 Semester 1

Name
A206 MSA
Student ID

Assessment Venue Seat Number

A206 Environmental Science

AY2019 Semester 1 Mid-Semester Assessment (MSA)

Instructions to student: This segment is to be used by staff

grader(s) only.
1) Do not turn over this question paper until you are
instructed to do so by the invigilator. Question Marks Max
Number Awarded Marks
2) Write your name, student ID, assessment venue and seat
number in the table provided at the top of each page. 1 - 15 15
3) For this question paper, there are 10 pages (including this 16 3
cover page).
17 9
4) For this assessment, you are allowed to:
 Refer to materials stored in your laptop. 18 6
 Refer to paper-based notes (in bound form, and no 19 7
larger than A4 size)
 Have a blank piece of paper for rough working
purpose. (Note that the sheet of rough working paper
will not be accepted for submission at the end of the
assessment.)
5) For this assessment, you are NOT allowed to:
 Refer to textbooks.
 Share any material, such as calculators, with another
student.
 Communicate with any person other than the invigilator
 Use any communication devices such as handphone
or smart watches while at the assessment venue.
6) All rules and regulations pertaining to summative
assessments and academic integrity stated in the Student
Handbook shall also apply.

This segment is to be used by the invigilator only and for

‘online’ and ‘online and paper’ mode assessments only.
Please tick the box below if
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Total 40

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

Section A (Answer ALL Questions in this Section A; Total Marks: 15 marks)

There are 15 compulsory multiple choice questions in this section. Choose only ONE
correct answer for each question. Write your answers clearly in the spaces provided.
One mark is awarded for each correct answer.

Question 1

Which of the following is a mitigation measure for climate change that is implemented by
Singapore?

a. Increase the production of renewable energy

b. Raise the height of land reclamation
c. Intensify the surveillance of dengue hotspots
d. Restoration of mangroves ( )

Question 2

The Paris Agreement aims to limit the increase in global average temperatures to below
______________°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

a. 1
b. 1.5
c. 2
d. 2.5 ( )

Question 3

The energy source of primary producers is ______________.

a. Consumers
b. Air
c. Water
d. Sunlight ( )

Question 4

Carbon is stored in the rocks in the form of ______________.

a. clay
b. limestone
c. organic matters
d. microorganism ( )

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

Question 5

Water has a higher melting point compared to that of other molecules with similar molecular
size. This is due to the ______________.

a. strong covalent bond within the water molecule

b. weak Van der Waals force between the water molecules
c. increased volume when water is frozen
d. presence of hydrogen bond between water molecules ( )

Question 6

Which of the following statements is true?

a. Water is always neutral at pH 7.

b. Concentrations of hydronium and hydroxide ions are the same when neutral.
c. pOH is smaller than pH in an acidic solution.
d. pKw increases when temperature of the water increases. ( )

Question 7

Soil consists of ______________ state(s).

i. Solid
ii. Liquid
iii. Gaseous

a. i only
b. i and ii
c. ii and iii
d. All of the choices ( )

Question 8

Which of the following should be added to increase the soil pH?

a. Clay
b. Lime
c. Sand
d. Silt ( )

Question 9

When an adsorption reaches equilibrium, ______________.

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

a. the concentration of the solute in the liquid is same as the amount of the solute
adsorbed on the adsorbent
b. there is no more solute transferred between the liquid and adsorbent
c. the same number of solute is adsorbed and desorbed per unit time
d. no more solute is adsorbed ( )

Question 10

Which of the following is not an ecological good produced by the rainforest?

a. Medicine
b. Timber
c. Fruits
d. Crude oil ( )

Question 11

Which of the following statements about secondary forest is false?

a. It is younger than primary forest.

b. Fewer native species can be found compared to primary forest.
c. It will become primary forest when it is disturbed by human activities.
d. Most of the forest found in Singapore are secondary forest. ( )

Question 12

Pelagic trawling affects the marine food chain because ______________.

a. it destroys the mangrove.

b. It catches large quantity of target fish
c. It uses toxic chemicals to capture the fish
d. It releases non-native fish into the ocean ( )

Question 13

Which of the following is a sustainable practice in aquaculture?

a. Feed the farmed fish with growth hormone

b. Rear carnivorous fish
c. Use recirculation system to filter the water that kept the fish
d. Provide excess food to the farmed fish ( )

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

Question 14

A broiler eats one kg of feed to gain weight by 250g. Its feed conversion ratio is
______________.

a. 4
b. 250
c. 0.04
d. 0.4 ( )

Question 15

Belching of cattle causes global warming because it releases ______________.

a. Ozone
b. Nitrous oxide
c. Methane
d. Hydrofluorocarbons ( )

Section B (Answer ALL Questions in this Section B; Total Marks: 25 marks)

There are FOUR (4) compulsory questions in this Section B. Write your answers
clearly in the spaces provided. Show your working and units.

Question 16 (3 marks)

Consider the marine food chain as shown below:

Algae Fish Dolphin

Figure 1

Assume that when an animal consumes its food, only 10% of the energy from the food is retained
in the animal.

a. Given that 500 kJ of energy is available in the algae, calculate the amount of energy (kJ)
that is retained in the dolphin after it consumes the fish. (1 mark)

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

b. State a reason why only 10% of the energy from the food is retained in the animal after
consumption. (1 mark)

c. Dolphins are often captured as bycatch in commercial fishing. Explain one possible
environmental consequence of bycatch. (1 mark)

Question 17 (9 marks)

Figure 2 below shows the trend of average global CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Figure 2

a. State the largest anthropogenic source of CO2 emission that causes the trend in
Figure 2. (1 mark)

Figure 3 below shows the Arctic sea ice in 1979 and 2012.

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

Figure 3

b. Explain how the trend in Figure 2 caused the difference in the area of sea ice as
shown in Figure 3. (2 marks)

c. It is observed that the Arctic loses 3m2 of ice for every tonne of CO2 emitted by
humans. Assuming that the area of the Arctic sea ice is 3,000,000 km2 (at the
beginning of 2012) and the annual emission of CO 2 is 3.5 x 109 tonnes, determine
the year that the Arctic will lose its ice completely. (2 marks)

d. Scientists have discovered that black carbon particles or soot present in the
atmosphere would accumulate in the Arctic region and settle on the ice surface as
shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

i. Explain why this phenomenon would accelerate the melting of sea ice. (2
marks)

ii. A recent study has identified that the main contributors of black carbon
pollution are wildfires in the summer and burning of coal in the winter. Explain
why there is a seasonal difference in the source of pollution. (2 marks)

Question 18 (6 marks)

On 8 April 2019, a large seizure of 450 live wild animals from the Indonesian island of New
Guinea was made in the city of Davao in Philippines. These wild animals comprised of Red-
and-Blue Lories and Palm Cockatoos (Figure 5) which are both listed in Appendix I of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES). Another nine bird species listed in Appendix II of CITES were also found.
A similarly large seizure of Indonesian wildlife was made a year ago near Manila which
indicates that illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia is thriving.

Figure 5 Red-and-Blue Lory (Left) and Palm Cockatoo (Right)

a. Explain with a reason why large number of live wild animals, especially exotic birds
are illegally poached and smuggled. (1 mark)

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

b. Describe briefly the role of CITES in preserving the global biodiversity. (1 mark)

c. Explain the main difference between CITES Appendix I and II. (2 marks)

d. Singapore is a major transit hub for illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. Explain
why this is true. (1 mark)

e. Singapore is one of the parties bounded by CITES. State the national authority in
Singapore that enforces and implements CITES regulations. (1 mark)

Question 19 (7 marks)

High level of ammonia was found in the Johor River due to a leakage from an oil palm
refinery on 4 April 2019. This caused PUB to shut down the water treatment operation at
Johor River Waterworks (Figure 6) and the water supply to Singapore was thus disrupted.

Figure 6

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Name AY2019 Semester 1
Student ID A206 MSA
Assessment Venue Seat Number

a. Explain why high level of ammonia in the river can lead to algae bloom. (2 marks)

b. Ammonia dissolves in water to form ammonium and hydroxide ions as shown in the
equation below.
NH3 + H2O ↔ NH4+ + OH-

The base equilibrium constant, Kb for the above reaction at 25°C is as follows:

[𝑁𝐻4 + ][𝑂𝐻 − ]
𝐾𝑏 = = 1.78 𝑥 10−5 𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝐿
[𝑁𝐻3 ]

Assuming the concentration of ammonia in the Johor River is 1x10-6 mol/L,

determine the pH of the water in the river at 25°C. (3 marks)

c. Ammonium in the water can be removed through cation exchange by passing the
water through clay particles. Suggest whether the clay particles should contain
sodium (Na+) or calcium (Ca2+) ions to perform the cation exchange. (2 marks)

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