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. When trees and crops are planted together - creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between them.






2. 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.






3. The amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis and subtracting from it the amount of energy the plants need for growth maintenance - repair - and reproduction.






4. Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.






5. A long - relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland-built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from erosion by surf and tidal surges.






6. In a sewage treatment plant - the initial filtration that is done to remove debris such as stones - sticks - rags - toys - and other objects that were flushed down the toilet.






7. The more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface - as part of Hadley cells.






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






9. 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.






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






11. A group of modern windmills.






12. Soil with particles 0.002 -0.05 mm in diameter.






13. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.






14. The process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2 - and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.






15. Organisms that reproduce early in life and often and have a high capacity for reproductive growth.






16. The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.






17. The cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon.






18. An opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava - ash - and gases are ejected.






19. Using strategies to reduce the amount of risk (the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen).






20. A plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.






21. The development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.






22. The condition in which - at ecosystem boundaries - there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities.






23. When one species feeds on another.






24. Says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred and transformed.






25. A model that's used to predict population trends based on the birth and death rates as well as economic status of a population.






26. When a species occupies a smaller niche than it would in the absence of competition.






27. A high-speed - meandering wind current - generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles).






28. An erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.






29. Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also - a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.






30. 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






31. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






32. The thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica (and to some extent - over the Arctic).






33. In tectonic plates - the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.






34. A bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyamfox produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish.






35. A species whose very presence contributes to an ecosystem's diversity and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life.






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






37. The process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser - sandier - stonier texture.






38. When ecological succession begins in a virtually lifeless area - such as the area behind a moving glacier.






39. A system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.






40. Power generated using water.






41. Any water that has been used by humans. This includes human sewage - water drained from showers - tubs - sinks - dishwashers - washing machines - water from industrial processes - and storm water runoff.






42. Any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.






43. The process of burning.






44. An organism such as a bacterium or protozoan - that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds - as opposed to photosynthesis.






45. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






46. An influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline.






47. Involves the removal of the Earth's surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam.






48. A hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized.






49. Also known as plantations - these are planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age that are harvested for commercial use.






50. When physically treated sewage water is passed into a settling tank - where suspended solids settle out as sludge; chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.