Why Is the Gradual Loss of the World's Rainforests an Important

question 46

Multiple Choice

Why is the gradual loss of the world's rainforests an important environmental concern?

• A)Rainforests are vital to maintaining the planet's biodiversity and climate.
• B)Rainforests are necessary grazing lands.
• C)Rainforests are a vital source of hardwoods and other raw materials.
• D)Rainforests are a source of air pollution.

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Definitions:

Cohesion

Property of a substance (such as water) that arises from the tendency of its molecules to resist separating from one another.

Osmosis

Diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane; occurs in response to a difference in solute concentration between the fluids on either side of the membrane.

Sieve Elements

Living cells that compose sugar-conducting sieve tubes of phloem. Each sieve tube consists of a stack of sieve elements that meet end to end at sieve plates.

Osmosis

The movement of water molecules through a semipermeable membrane from a region of lower solute concentration to higher concentration.