Cause and Effect

Decorative graphic showing trash in the ocean

Cause
Water pollution is a sign of an unhealthy Bay. What might be an effect of water pollution on the crab industry?

Decorative graphic showing trash in the ocean with a graphic showing the decline of the crab population

Effect
Water pollution can harm sea life and cause a decline in the crab population.

Side by side decorative graphs, left graph labeled cause showing steady decline in crab population, right graph labeled effect showing decline in money

Watermen depend on the crab population to make money selling crabs. If the crab population decreases, then watermen will have fewer crabs to sell.

Partial Concept Map Diagram with nodes that connect to say crabbing is impacted by the market for crabs and is impacted by the crab population if the population decreases then fewer crabs are sold

You can represent this cause and effect relationship on your concept map by connecting concepts with an if/then statement as shown in this section of the concept map.

Partial Concept Map Diagram with nodes that connect to say processing is impacted by the number of workers if the number of workers declines then fewer crabs processed and picking houses may close. An arrow labeled cause points to the number of workers declines, and an arrow labeled effects points to fewer crabs processed and picking houses may close

Another factor impacting the crab industry is the availability of crab pickers. If the number of workers decreases, then fewer crabs can be processed and picking houses may eventually close. Notice how a cause can have more than one effect. An effect can also have multiple causes.

Partial Concept Map Diagram with previous sections and nodes that connect to say crabbing is impacted by the market for crabs if processors close then watermen can’t sell crabs

If there are no processing plants to buy watermen’s crabs, then the watermen will not make money. Using an if/then statement can help to represent cause and effect relationships on your concept map.