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. An introduced - normative species.






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. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






5. The unit used to describe the volume of fossil fuels.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






13. The process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until - finally - the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.






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






15. A platinum - coated device that oxidizes most of the VOCs and some of the CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust - converting them to CO2.






16. The process of fusing two nuclei.






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






18. When an area of vegetation is cut down and burned before being planted with crops.






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






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






21. The uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material - including waste from organisms - the bodies of decomposing organisms - and live organisms.






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






23. 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.






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






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






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






27. The degree to which a substance is biologically harmful.






28. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.






29. 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.






30. The number of individuals of a population that inhabit a certain unit of land or water area.






31. 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






32. The liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill.






33. The low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow is the result of the mountain range's causing precipitation on the windward side.






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






35. The observed effect of the Coriolis force - especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth - rightward in the Northern Hemisphere - and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.






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






37. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.






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






39. 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






40. A program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites.






41. 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






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






43. 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.






44. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms show a negative effect from a toxin.






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






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






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






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






49. A severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean - traveling north - northwest - or northeast from its point of origin - and usually involving heavy rains.






50. The third purest form of coal.