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






2. When the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity.






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. 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).






5. Bacteria or fungi that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic matter like plant material - the wastes of living organisms - and corpses. They convert these materials into inorganic forms.






6. Can consist of hazardous waste - industrial solid waste - or municipal waste. Many types of solid waste provide a threat to human health and the environment.






7. Involves the sinking of shafts to reach underground deposits. In this type of mining - networks of tunnels are dug or blasted and humans enter these tunnels in order to manually retrieve the coal.






8. Pollution that does not have a specific point of release - open -loop recycling -when materials are reused to form new products.






9. A symbiotic relationship in which one member is helped by the association and the other is harmed.






10. When populations are well below the size dictated by the carrying capacity of the region they live in - they will grow exponentially - but as they approach the carrying capacity - their growth rate will decrease and the size of the population will ev






11. A tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.






12. 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.






13. 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.






14. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






15. The industry or occupation devoted to the catching - processing - or selling of fish - shellfish - or other aquatic animals.






16. The total sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment.






17. Fish farming in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption.






18. 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.






19. Radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation.






20. Any other species of fish - mammals - or birds that are caught that are not the target organism.






21. The solids that remain after the secondary treatment of sewage.






22. Organisms that reproduce later in life - produce fewer offspring - and devote significant time and energy to the nurturing of their offspring.






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






24. A group of modern windmills.






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






26. The result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.






27. An animal that only consumes other animals.






28. Devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants.






29. Any substance that has an LD50 - of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight.






30. 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).






31. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1 -000 m3 per person.






32. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






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






34. A layer in a large body of water - such as a lake - that sharply separates regions differing in temperature - so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.






35. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1 -000 -2 -000 m3 per person.






36. Any waste that poses a danger to human health; it must be dealt with in a different way from other types of waste.






37. An estimate of the amount of fossil fuel that can be obtained from reserve.






38. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels - especially coal.






39. Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.






40. Pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmosphere.






41. The amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to disappear.






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






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






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






45. When companies are allowed to buy permits that allow them a certain amount of discharge of substances into certain environmental outlets. If they can reduce their amount of discharge - they are allowed to sell the remaining portion of their permit to






46. States that matter can neither be created nor destroyed.






47. The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.






48. A semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy.






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






50. Refers to resources - such as plants and animals - which can be regenerated if harvested at sustainable yields.