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






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






3. Creating flat platforms in the hillside that provide a level planting surface - which reduces soil runoff from the slope.






4. A fishing technique in which the ocean floor is literally scraped by heavy nets that smash everything in their path.






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






6. When mature trees are cut over a period of time (usually10 -20 years); this leaves mature trees - which can reseed the forest - in place.






7. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.






8. 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.






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






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






11. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.






12. The process of fusing two nuclei.






13. A group of modern windmills.






14. 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






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






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






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






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






19. A method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.






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






21. The random fluctuations in the frequency of the appearance of a gene in a small isolated population - presumably owing to chance - rather than natural selection.






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






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






24. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.






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






26. 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






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






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






29. When soil becomes water-logged and then dries out - and salt forms a layer on its surface.






30. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






31. 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.






32. 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.






33. In fishing - the use of long lines that have baited hooks and will be taken by numerous aquatic organisms.






34. 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.






35. The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.






36. Occurs when infection causes a change in the state of health.






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






38. 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.






39. 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






40. The management or regulation of a resource so that its use does not exceed the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself.






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






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






43. The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.






44. The bedrock - which lies below all of the other layers of soil - is referred to as the R horizon.






45. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






46. The fraction of solar energy that is reflected back into space.






47. The process by which - according to Darwin's theory of evolution - only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations - while those less adap






48. The atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.






49. The practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for example - corn one year - legumes for two years - and then back to corn.






50. 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.