Environmental Science

Merit Badge Workbook

This workbook can help you but you still need to read the merit badge pamphlet (book). No
one can add or subtract from the Boy Scout Requirements #33215. Merit Badge Workbooks
and much more are below: Online Resources.
Worksheet developer: craig@craiglincoln.com. Requirements revised: 2006, Workbook
updated: April 2008.
Scout’s Name: Jason Zerkle_________________________ Unit: 4____________________
Counselor’s Name: _________________________________ Counselor’s Ph #: _____________________
1. Make a timeline of the history of environmental science in America.
1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
Ben Cashore Mathematica
was a ls Models in
Professor of Environment
An Environment al Science
interesting al for Non-
Mark
sketch of the Governance Majors.
Native Catesby, one
Pilgrims geographical & Political
Americans of America's
came to work of Science at
Settled the first
America to America of Yale was the
area and naturalists,
settle the Mr. Freeman first
lived off the traveled to
area. was found in qraduate
land Williamsbur
the forestry
g VA,
Geographica Training
l Journal program in
the US
founded in
1900
Identify the contribution made by the Boy Scouts of America to environmental science.
Include dates, names of people or organizations, and important events.
1908______Environmental Science Merit Badge was created
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1947______The troop does epitomixe the Boy Scouts of America at their traditional best -a
model program of good, clean, character building fun for boys. Added contemporary meat
badges such as Environmental Science.
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1984______Also, the office of the Boy Scouts of America is in a Dallas Suburb. Results from
Teats at the site within the past several months. Army officials and officials from the
Environmental Protection Agency were scheduled to meet at the Egdewater Army Arsenal
1991______The Boy Scouts must perform a community service project and earn 11 merit
badges.________________________________________________________________________________________
Environmental Science p. 2 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
1997______A trustee for the National Youth Science Foundation and committeeman for Boy
Scouts of America meet together.
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2. Define the following terms:
population,
Collection of people in a geographical area

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community,
Social group of organisms sharing an environment

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ecosystem,
Community of organisms together with their environment functioning
as a unit.
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biosphere,
Part of a planet's terrestrial system and which life processus
transformation______________________________________________________________________________
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symbiosis,
An interaction between two organisms living together in more or less
intimate assotiation or even the merging of two dissmilar organisms

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niche, A position of an organism or groups of organisms within an ecosystem
making possible habitation._______________________________________________________________
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habitat,
Place where an organism lives or grows.________________________________________
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conservation,
An ethic of resource use, allocation, exploitation, protection____________
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threatened species,
An animal/plant that is in threat, but not intiment, of extinction.____
Environmental Science p. 3 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
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endangered species,
A species who's population is so small, they're in threat of
extinction.
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extinction
The species does not exist on the earth anymore.
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pollution prevention,
Activity that reduces the amount of pollution generated by a
process
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brownfield, Abandoned or a deserted industrial and commercial facilities
available for re-use_________________________________________________________________________
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ozone,
Allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable then the diatomic O2____________
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watershed,
A region drained into a river, river system, or other bodies of water_____
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airshed,
Part of the atmosphere that behaves in a coherent way with respect to
the depersion of emissions. _______________________________________________________________
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nonpoint source,
Pollutants that enter out water systems from runoff that can't be
traced to a single identifiable point or source __________________________________________
hybrid vehicle,
A vehicle that runs on 2 or more power sources___________________________
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fuel cell.Electrochemical conversion devise______________________________________________
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3. Do ONE activity in EACH of the following categories (using the activities in this
pamphlet as the bases for planning and carrying out your projects):
A. Ecology
1. Conduct and experiment to find out how living things respond to changes in their
environments. Discuss your observations with your counselor. -OR-
2. Conduct an experiment illustrating the greenhouse effect. Keep a journal of your data
and observations. Discuss your conclusions with your counselor. -OR-
Environmental Science p. 4 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
3. Discuss what is an ecosystem. Tell how it is maintained in nature and how it survives.
Combination of physical/biological componets of an environment. Everything has a
niche and sustains the environment.__________________________________________________________
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B. Air Pollution
1. Perform an experiment to test for particulates that contribute to air pollution. Discuss
your findings with your counselor. -OR-
2. Record the trips taken, mileage, and fuel consumption of a family car for seven days, and
calculate how many miles per gallon the car gets. Determine whether any trips could have
been combined ("chained") rather than taken out and back. Using the idea of trip chaining,
determine how many miles and gallons of gas could have been saved in those seven days.
-OR-
3. Explain what is acid rain. In your explanation, tell how it affects plants and the
environment and the steps society can take to help reduce its effects.
Deposition of wet and dry components of acidic components. It destroys
houses, gardens, food, wood, and anything it can touch, naturally deteriorating it._
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C. Water Pollution
1. Conduct an experiment to show how living things react to thermal pollution. Discuss your
observations with your counselor. -OR-
Environmental Science p. 5 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
2. Conduct an experiment to identify the methods that could be used to mediate (reduce)
the effects of an oil spill on waterfowl. Discuss your results with your counselor. -OR-
3. Describe the impact of a waterborne pollutant on an aquatic community. Write a 100-
word report on how that pollutant affected aquatic fife, what the effect was, and whether the
effect is linked to biomagnification.
Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected do to the
addition of large amounts of materials to the water. When it is unfit for its
intended use, water is considered polluted. Usually if the body of water is
polluted, then the animals that live there no longer remain in that area. They
either die or move to another spot. Then that effects us as humans. We lose our
food and then we go hungry. Let's say that people are spraying pesticides around
the rivers. Then the pollution would be linked to biomagnification. That's how it
would be effected.__________________________________________________________________________
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D. Land Pollution
1. Conduct an experiment to illustrate soil erosion by water. Take photographs or make a
drawing of the soil before and after your experiment, and make a poster showing your
results. Present your poster to your patrol or troop. (Per National, “troop” means “unit”.)
-OR-
2. Perform an experiment to determine the effect of an oil spill on land. Discuss your
conclusions with your counselor. -OR-
3. Photograph an area affected by erosion. Share your photographs with your counselor and
discuss why the area has eroded and what might be done to help alleviate the erosion.

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Environmental Science p. 6 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
The wind and storms have eroded at this place. There is nothing that can be done
to help alleviate the erosion.______________________________________________________________
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E. Endangered Species
1. Do research on one endangered species found in your state. Find out what its natural
habitat is, why it is endangered, what is being done to preserve it, and how many individual
organisms are left in the wild. Prepare a 100-word report about the organism, including a
drawing. Present your report to your patrol or troop. -OR-
2. Do research on one species that was endangered or threatened but which has now
recovered. Find out how the organism recovered, and what its new status is. Write a 100-
word report on the species and discuss it with your counselor. -OR-
3. With your parent's and counselor's approval, work with a natural resource professional to
identify two projects that have been approved to improve the habitat for a threatened or
endangered species in your area. Visit the site of one of these projects and report on what
you saw.
The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher is a bird that usually lives near the San
Francisco River. It's endangered due to habitation loss from people cutting down
trees and bushes to create living homes. The birds to compete for their habitat
with the Alder Flycatchers where their ranges overlap. The bird's song is a
sneezed fitz-bew. The call is a dry whit. National Wildlife preserve is helping
protect it by buying up land and keeping it nice for the birds as a national park. ___
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F. Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation
1. Look around your home and determine 10 ways your family can help reduce pollution.
Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and discuss with your counselor what
you have learned. -OR-
2. Determine 10 ways to conserve resources or use resources more efficiently in your home,
at school, or at camp. Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and discuss with
your counselor what you have learned. -OR-
3. Perform an experiment on packaging materials to find out which ones are biodegradable.
Discuss your conclusions with your counselor.
10- Lower the A/C *
Environmental Science p. 7 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
9- Turn off the TV for a while *
8- Unplug cell phone and electronic chargers
7- Leave water off while you brush your teeth
6- Leave fridge closed
5- Shorter showers
4- Leave lights off
3- Recycle whenever you can
2- Squeeze toothpaste at the end of the tube
1- Run dishwasher when full

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4. Choose two outdoor study areas that are very different from one another (e.g., hilltop vs.
bottom of a hill; field vs. forest; swamp vs. dry land). For BOTH study areas, do ONE of the
following:
a. Mark off a plot of 4 square yards in each study area, and count the number of species
found there. Estimate how much space is occupied by each plant species and the type and
number of non-plant species you find.
Study Plot Location: Outside house________________ Number of Species: 2___________________
Species # Space each occupies
Found
Bugs 17 2 inches by 1 inch
Birds 3 1 foot by 4 inches
Environmental Science p. 8 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
Non-plant species type Number Non-plant species type
Number
Weeds 36 1
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-OR- b. Make at least three visits to each of the two study areas (for a total of six visits),
staying for at least 20 minutes each time, to observe the living and nonliving parts of the
ecosystem. Space each visit far enough apart that there are readily apparent differences in
the observations. Keep a journal that includes the differences you observe. Then, write a
short report that adequately addresses your observations, including how the differences of
the study areas might relate to the differences noted, and discuss this with your counselor.
Visit 1 Date:_________________ Time Started: ______________ Time Ended: ____________
Observations of living parts: __________________________________________________________________
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Observations of nonliving parts: ______________________________________________________________
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Differences noted:____________________________________________________________________________
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Visit 2 Date:_________________ Time Started: ______________ Time Ended: ____________
Observations of living parts: __________________________________________________________________
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Observations of nonliving parts: ______________________________________________________________
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Differences noted:____________________________________________________________________________
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Visit 3 Date:_________________ Time Started: ______________ Time Ended: ____________
Observations of living parts: __________________________________________________________________
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Observations of nonliving parts: ______________________________________________________________
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Differences noted:____________________________________________________________________________
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Environmental Science p. 9 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
Then, write a short report that adequately addresses your observations, including how the
differences of the study areas might relate to the differences noted, and discuss this with
your counselor._______________________________________________________________________________
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5. Using the construction project provided or a plan you create on your own, identify the
items that would need to be included in an environmental impact statement for the project
planned.______________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Find out about three career opportunities in environmental science.
Advisor for Chemistry, Toxicology and Related Sciences
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Bioformatics__________________________________________________________________________________
Global Change Ecologist Associate or Full Professor___________________________________________
Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. ___
Bioformatics - Requires PhD in Bioinformatics, computer science, or a related scientific
discipline. Strong public record. Experience in the bioinformatics algorithms and software
tools that are commonly used in the curation, assembly, and annotation of sequencing data
sets. Familiarity with current- generation and emerging ultruhigh-thoughput sequencing
technology and software tools. Experience in software development and programming. A
demonstrated ability to work with a diverse multidisciplinary team to solve complex
problems. Excellent Communication skills and demonstrated experience in proposal
development and writing. A strong motivation to tackle science and technology challenges of
national importance. _________________________________________________________________________
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Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you._________
It uses technology and I'm into that area of intrest._________________________________________
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Online Resources (Use any Internet resource with caution and only with your parent’s or
guardian’s permission.)
Boy Scouts of America: ►scouting.org ►Guide to Safe Scouting ►Age-Appropriate
Guidelines ►Safe Swim Defense
Environmental Science p. 10 Merit Badge Workbook Scout's Name: ________________________
►Scout ►Tenderfoot ►Second
Class ►First Class  Rank Videos ►Safety Afloat
Boy Scout Merit Badge Workbooks: usscouts.org -or- meritbadge.org Merit Badge Books:
www.scoutstuff.org
Advocacy Organizations: http://www.saveourenvironment.org Earth 911:
http://www.earth911.org
Endangered Species: http://endangered.fws.gov Environmental
Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov
Keep America Beautiful: http://www.kab.org Leave No Trace Center: http://www.LNT.org
Nat. Climatic Data Center: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html
Nat. Fish and Wildlife Foundation: http://www.nfwf.org Nat. Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov
Natural Resources Cons. Service: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov Sierra Club:
http://www.sierraclub.org
Society of American Foresters: http://www.safnet.org U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov
USDA Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us Wildlife Conservation Society: http://wcs.org
World Wildlife Fund: http://www.worldwildlife.org