Test your basic knowledge |

AP Environmental Science

Subjects : science, ap
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A process in which rows of crops are plowed across the hillside; this prevents the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope. ...






2. A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area.






3. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






4. The biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste.






5. A climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years - for a duration of about one year.






6. When materials - such as plastic or aluminum - are used to rebuild the same product. An example of this is the use of the aluminum from aluminum cans to produce more aluminum cans.






7. Non-moving sources of pollution - such as factories.






8. The capacity to do work.






9. The third purest form of coal.






10. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






11. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.






12. Bacteria - virus - or other microorganisms that can cause disease.






13. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.






14. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.






15. The removal of trees for agricultural purposes or purposes of exportation.






16. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus - especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium - splits into fragments - usually two fragments of comparable mass - releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of ener






17. Refers to when farmers plant seeds without using a plow to turn the soil.






18. The vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.






19. The process of burning.






20. When one species feeds on another.






21. The region draining into river system or other body of water.






22. A layer of soil.






23. The management of forest plantations for the purpose of harvesting timber.






24. Is equal to the number of deaths per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






25. Organisms that are capable of interbreeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species.






26. An organism that must obtain food energy from secondary sources - for example - by eating plant or animal matter.






27. Close - prolonged associations between two or more different organisms of different species that may - but do not necessarily benefit the members.






28. Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise - including transportation - machinery - and construction.






29. The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






30. Drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste.






31. Says that the entropy (disorder) of the universe is increasing. One corollary of the Second Law of thermodynamics is the concept that - in most energy transformations - a significant fraction of energy is lost to the universe as heat.






32. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






33. The removal of select trees in an area; this leaves the majority of the habitat in place and has less of an impact on the ecosystem.






34. The removal of all of the trees in an area.






35. Air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.






36. When grass is consumed by animals at a faster rate than it can regrow.






37. The structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter - from largest to smallest.






38. The phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation - caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide - water vapor - and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through - but absorb heat radiated back fr






39. The number of children a couple must have in order to replace themselves in a population.






40. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.






41. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.






42. The amount of the Earth's surface that's necessary to supply the needs of - and dispose of the waste from a particular population.






43. The use of building materials - building placement - and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool.






44. The process in which animals (and plants!) breathe and give off carbon dioxide from cellular metabolism.






45. A hydrocarbon deposit - such as petroleum - coal - or natural gas - derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.






46. The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds - such as ammonia - by natural agencies or various industrial processes.






47. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






48. The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources in a region.






49. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.






50. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.