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






2. A group of modern windmills.






3. The thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica (and to some extent - over the Arctic).






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






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






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






7. The edges of tectonic plates.






8. 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.






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






10. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






11. 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






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






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






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






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






16. Any other species of fish - mammals - or birds that are caught that are not the target organism.






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






18. An area in which a particular mineral is concentrated - mining -the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.






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






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






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






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






23. Any substance than is inhaled - ingested - or absorbed at dosages sufficient to damage a living organism.






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






25. A layer of soil.






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






27. Piles of gangue - which is the waste material that results from mining.






28. The result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.






29. The process of burning.






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






31. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1 -000 m3 per person.






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






33. The industry or occupation devoted to the catching - processing - or selling of fish - shellfish - or other aquatic animals.






34. 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.






35. Organisms that consume secondary consumers or other tertiary consumers.






36. 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.






37. Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.






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






39. Acid rain - acid hail - acid snow; all of which occur as a result of pollution in the atmosphere.






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






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






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






43. 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).






44. The process in which animals (and plants!) breathe and give off carbon dioxide from cellular metabolism.






45. The structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter - from largest to smallest.






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






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






48. 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.






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






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