Name: Stable Community and Biodiversity Conservation
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 9 min 44 s
Description: Our planet has millions of species of plants, animals, and other living organisms. What happens if one of them becomes extinct? Learn more about a stable com...

Question

Suppose Lily plants in a pond double in the area each day. If their growth is unchecked, they completely cover the pond in 30 days. If you wait till the lilies cover half of the pond, how many days before the 30th day will you have, to clear them out before they completely cover the pond and kill the other things living there? Why is this a problem?

Accepted Answer

Lily plant takes 30 days to cover the pond, and they double in the area each day which means that on the 29th day, the pond was half-covered with lilies. Therefore, we get only one day to clear the pond before the entire pond gets covered with water lilies. This is a problem because no steps were taken when the lilies were growing initially. It was only after the tipping point was reached that the lilies were noticeable in a pond but by that time, only one day was in hand to complete the task. If left totally unchecked, all other aquatic plants would die because of the invasiveness of the water lilies. Clearing the lilies on time was needed to avoid this situation.

Paul Morris and Patricia Deo Solutions for Chapter: How Do Humans Impact the Natural World?, Exercise 8: DISCUSS

Paul Morris Science Solutions for Exercise - Paul Morris and Patricia Deo Solutions for Chapter: How Do Humans Impact the Natural World?, Exercise 8: DISCUSS

Questions from Paul Morris and Patricia Deo Solutions for Chapter: How Do Humans Impact the Natural World?, Exercise 8: DISCUSS with Hints & Solutions

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