Compare and contrast positive and negative feedback loops. Give an example of each and how common each is in natural systems

What will be an ideal response?


A system's output can serve as input to that same system, a circular process described as a feedback loop. In a negative feedback loop, output from a system being pushed in one direction acts as input that moves the system in the opposite direction. The output and input essentially neutralize one another, stabilizing the system. An example would be the regulation of our body temperature. Negative feedback loops are relatively common in nature. In a positive feedback loop, inputs don't stabilize a system but drive them further toward one extreme or another. An example of this process in natural systems is erosion. These are relatively rare in nature but are common in natural systems altered by human actions.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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An apple and a pea at rest are simultaneously dropped in a vacuum. The apple falls to the ground

A. depends on their masses. B. sooner than the pea. C. at the same time as the pea. D. later than the pea.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Talc and graphite are two of the lowest minerals on the hardness scale. They are also described by terms like greasy or soapy. Both have a crystal structure characterized by sheet-structures at the atomic level, yet they don't behave like micas

What accounts for their unusual physical properties?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Stationary fronts are distinctive because ____

Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s)

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The introduction of ________ onto the island of Guam has resulted in the extinction of most of the endemic forest bird species on the island

A) European starlings B) Nile perch C) brown tree snakes D) cane toads E) kudzu

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences