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Stuff Every Nature Scout Should Know: the Study Guide

Practice facts for the Nature merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.

Knowing Nature Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.

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Chapter 1: Slope Safety

What is a food chain?

Short answer: A path of who eats whom

A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to another as food.

Groan of the day: A food chain is a real chain of events.

Sources: Scouting America: Nature

What is geology the study of?

Short answer: Earth's solid and liquid matter

Geology studies Earth's materials, their structure, and how they change.

Groan of the day: Geology rocks, literally.

Sources: Nature

What is a river?

Short answer: A natural watercourse flowing toward another body

A river is a natural flowing watercourse heading to an ocean, lake, or sea.

Groan of the day: Rivers go with the flow.

Sources: Nature

What is a riparian zone?

Short answer: The habitat beside a stream

The riparian zone is the habitat in the immediate vicinity of a stream.

Groan of the day: Riparian zones are stream-side neighbors.

Sources: Nature

What is an ecosystem?

Short answer: Living things interacting with their environment

An ecosystem includes organisms interacting with each other and their environment.

Groan of the day: An ecosystem is a team effort.

Sources: Nature

What is wilderness generally defined as?

Short answer: Areas not significantly modified by humans

Wilderness areas have not been significantly changed by human activity.

Groan of the day: Wilderness is nature left to its own devices.

Sources: Nature

What are microorganisms?

Short answer: Living things too small to see

Microorganisms are microscopic, smaller than the human eye can see.

Groan of the day: Microbes are small but mighty.

Sources: Nature

What causes the seasons on Earth?

Short answer: Earth's tilted axis

Seasons result from Earth's axis being tilted relative to its orbital plane.

Groan of the day: The seasons are a tilt of fate.

Sources: Nature

What is climate a measure of?

Short answer: Long-term weather trends

Climate is a measure of the long-term trends in the weather.

Groan of the day: Climate is the big picture of weather.

Sources: Nature

What is a lake?

Short answer: An inland body of water larger than a pond

A lake is inland, not part of the ocean, and larger and deeper than a pond.

Groan of the day: A lake is a big deal in a small basin.

Sources: Nature

What is a pond?

Short answer: A small body of standing water

Ponds are small bodies of standing water, typically less than two hectares.

Groan of the day: A pond is a small wonder of water.

Sources: Nature

What is the lithosphere?

Short answer: Earth's rocky outer layer

The lithosphere is the rocky outer shell of Earth.

Groan of the day: The lithosphere rocks the world.

Sources: Nature

What is an aquifer?

Short answer: An underground layer that holds water

Aquifers are underground layers that store water.

Groan of the day: An aquifer is a water holder underground.

Sources: Nature

What is a watershed?

Short answer: An area that drains into a common water body

A watershed is land that drains into a river, lake, or other water body.

Groan of the day: A watershed is a big deal for water.

Sources: Nature

What is the water cycle?

Short answer: The movement of water through Earth's systems

Water moves through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

Groan of the day: The water cycle is a round trip.

Sources: Nature

The cheat sheet

The whole guide on one screen. Screenshot it, print it, stick it on the fridge.

  • Plants give animals places to live and hide, plus food and oxygen.
  • Animals move seeds away from the parent plant so new plants can grow.
  • A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to another as food.
  • Plants capture sunlight and start the chain as producers.
  • Field marks like shape, color, and sound help you name birds without harming them.
  • Birdbaths and feeders draw birds you can observe and record.
  • Mammal signs like tracks and droppings show animals were there.
  • Plaster poured into a clear track hardens into a copy you can study.
  • Knowing venomous snakes helps you avoid them and stay safe.
  • Each frog species has a distinct call you can learn to recognize.
  • Photographs let you identify and record insects without removing them.
  • Caterpillars form pupae or cocoons and emerge as adult butterflies or moths.

Pop quiz

Think of your answer first, then peek.

  1. What do plants provide animals besides food and oxygen?
    • Shelter and habitat
    • Plastic toys
    • Metal tools
    Show the answer

    Shelter and habitat. Plants give animals places to live and hide, plus food and oxygen.

  2. How can you collect insect species without harming them?
    • Keep them in jars forever
    • Take photos instead
    • Spray them
    Show the answer

    Take photos instead. Photographs let you identify and record insects without removing them.

  3. What might your state require before collecting certain species?
    • A new hat
    • A camera
    • A license
    Show the answer

    A license. Some states require a license to collect certain wildlife species.

  4. What covers about 71 percent of Earth's surface?
    • Salt-water oceans
    • Deserts
    • Forests
    Show the answer

    Salt-water oceans. Oceans cover most of Earth's surface with salt water.

  5. What is one way to help protect biodiversity?
    • Fill in wetlands
    • Protect natural habitats
    • Remove all plants
    Show the answer

    Protect natural habitats. Protecting habitats helps many species survive and thrive.

Now make it stick

Read a chapter, then play the deck and see how much stuck.

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