Question

Consider the two facts below:

Fact 1: Dissolved oxygen is one of the most important nutrients needed by fish in the aquatic environment to survive.

Fact 2: Unlike solids, whose solubility increases with increasing temperature, the solubility of gases generally decreases with increasing temperature.

Which scenarios may be explained by the facts on the left? Check all that apply.

There is more dissolved oxygen in colder waters than in warm water.

There is less dissolved oxygen in colder waters than in warm water.

Fish life in the ocean is more abundant during the seaons with warmer water than seasons with cooler water.

If ocean temperatures rise, then the risk to the fish population increases.

Answer 1

Correct choices:
- There is more dissolved oxygen in colder waters than in warm water.
- If ocean temperatures rise, then the risk to the fish population increases.

Explanation: gas solubility falls as temperature rises, so colder water holds more dissolved oxygen (Fact 2). Dissolved oxygen is essential for fish survival (Fact 1), so warming waters reduce available oxygen and therefore increase risk to fish. The other two statements contradict these facts.