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. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






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






3. 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






4. Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise - including transportation - machinery - and construction.






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






6. 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.






7. 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.






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






9. A process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations - and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded.






10. An erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.






11. The process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser - sandier - stonier texture.






12. 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.






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






14. 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.






15. When materials - such as plastic or aluminum - are used to rebuild the same product. An example of this is the use of the aluminum from aluminum cans to produce more aluminum cans.






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






17. The water from which a river rises; a source.






18. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.






19. An underground layer of porous rock - sand - or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.






20. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






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. When physically treated sewage water is passed into a settling tank - where suspended solids settle out as sludge; chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.






23. When the size of an organism's natural habitat is reduced - or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.






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






25. The process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3) - ammonia ions (NH4+) - and nitrate ions (NO3) through their roots.






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. Is the practice of planting bands of different crops across a hillside.






28. An animal that only consumes other animals.






29. The day-to-day variations in temperature - air pressure - wind - humidity - and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.






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






31. The second-purest form of coal.






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






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






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






35. Open or forested areas built at the outer edge of a city.






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






37. A group of modern windmills.






38. A specific location from which pollution is released; an example of a point source location is a factory where wood is being burned.






39. The process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better adapted species wins.






40. 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.






41. Living or derived from living things.






42. 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.






43. Refers to when farmers plant seeds without using a plow to turn the soil.






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






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






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






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






48. 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).






49. The A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.






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