Question

question 3
read the following scenario and answer the question(s) below.
mercury is a heavy metal that occurs naturally in minerals and rocks. release of mercury from natural sources has been relatively constant over time. however, anthropogenic release of mercury has increased significantly in recent years primarily due to increased fossil fuel mining and combustion. mercury that is released into the air eventually ends up in soils or surface water. once in water, microbes convert mercury into methyl mercury, which is absorbed quickly and concentrated in the tissues of predatory fish such as shark and swordfish. large fish typically concentrate more mercury than small fish. people who eat fish with high methyl mercury concentrations can show tremors, deafness, muscle dysfunction, and attention deficits. pregnant women and children are especially sensitive to methyl mercurys toxic effects. learning disabilities and developmental delays are common in children who have been exposed to significant levels of methyl mercury.
as a result of, concentrations of methyl mercury are higher in large fish relative to concentrations in smaller fish.
o synergism
distillation
bioaccumulation
toxification
biomagnification

Explanation:

Biomagnification is the process where the concentration of a substance (like methyl mercury) increases as it moves up the food chain. Large fish are higher - level predators. They eat many smaller fish. Each small fish has some methyl mercury. When the large fish consume multiple small fish, the methyl mercury accumulates and magnifies in the large fish. Synergism is the interaction of substances to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. Distillation is a separation process. Bioaccumulation is the accumulation of a substance in an organism, but biomagnification specifically refers to the increase in concentration as we move up the food chain. Toxification is the process of becoming toxic.

Answer:

E. biomagnification