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. 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.






2. A group of modern windmills.






3. Species that originate and live - or occur naturally - in an area or environment.






4. The amount that the population would grow if there were unlimited resources in its environment.






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






6. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






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






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






9. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






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






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






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






13. An effect that results from long -term exposure to low levels of toxin.






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






15. 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






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






17. 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.






18. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






27. 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.






28. 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






29. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






30. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels.






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






32. A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area.






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






34. The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






35. A lowland area - such as a marsh or swamp - that is saturated with moisture - especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.






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






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






38. 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.






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






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






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






42. 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.






43. An organism that is capable of converting radiant energy or chemical energy into carbohydrates.






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






45. A climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years - for a duration of about one year.






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






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






48. The act or process of transpiring - or releasing water vapor - especially through the stomata of plant tissue or the pores of the skin.






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






50. The movement of individuals into a population.