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 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.






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






3. The cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon.






4. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






6. The day-to-day use of environmental resources as food - clothing - and housing.






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






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






10. The molten core of the Earth.






11. When one species feeds on another.






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






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






14. The process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate - or NO3.






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






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






17. The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources in a region.






18. The capacity to do work.






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






20. 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.






21. When trees and crops are planted together - creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between them.






22. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






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






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






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






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






27. 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.






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






29. 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.






30. 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.






31. A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and - in turn - is preyed upon by a higher member.






32. A plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.






33. A symbiotic relationship in which one member is helped by the association and the other is harmed.






34. A basic substance; chemically - a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water - a measure of the base content of the water.






35. A region of the ocean near the equator - characterized by calms - light winds - or squalls.






36. 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.






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






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






39. A model that's used to predict population trends based on the birth and death rates as well as economic status of a population.






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






41. Refers to resources - such as plants and animals - which can be regenerated if harvested at sustainable yields.






42. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






43. 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.






44. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.






45. Non-moving sources of pollution - such as factories.






46. 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.






47. 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.






48. The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.






49. 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.






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.