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 that allows the organic material in solid waste to be decomposed and reintroduced into the soil - often as fertilizer.






2. 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.






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






4. The effect caused by a short exposure to a high level of toxin.






5. Power generated using water.






6. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






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






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






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






10. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single - homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.






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






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






13. A place where a large quantity of a resource sits for a long period of time.






14. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






15. A waste product produced by the burning of coal.






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






17. Any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage human health.






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






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






20. Transition in species composition of a biological community - often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.






21. When one species feeds on another.






22. Fires that typically burn only the forest's underbrush and do little damage to mature trees. Surface fires actually serve to protect the forest from more harmful fires by removing underbrush and dead materials that would burn quickly and at high temp






23. The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.






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






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






26. An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. autotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.






27. An animal that only consumes other animals.






28. Each of the feeding levels in a food chain.






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






30. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






31. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.






32. When photochemical smog - NOx compounds - VOCs - and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.






33. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms die from a toxin.






34. Sunlight.






35. A fiscal policy that lowers taxes on income - including wages and profit - and raises taxes on consumption - particularly the unsustainable consumption of non-renewable resources.






36. The value of natural resources.






37. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.






38. Formed from populations of different species occupying the same geographic area.






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






40. Calculating risk - or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen.






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






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






43. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals and resulting in the development of new species.






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






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






46. 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






47. When the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in the building.






48. Resources that are often formed by very slow geologic processes - so we consider them incapable of being regenerated within the realm of human existence.






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






50. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.