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. In fishing - the use of long lines that have baited hooks and will be taken by numerous aquatic organisms.






2. The removal of all of the trees in an area.






3. The biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste.






4. An organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.






5. 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.






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






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






8. The accumulation of a substance - such as a toxic chemical - in various tissues of a living organism.






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






10. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms die from a toxin.






11. The least pure coal.






12. Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving.






13. The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.






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






15. A fiscal policy that lowers taxes on income - including wages and profit - and raises taxes on consumption - particularly the unsustainable consumption of non-renewable resources.






16. 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.






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






18. Organisms that reproduce later in life - produce fewer offspring - and devote significant time and energy to the nurturing of their offspring.






19. Pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmosphere.






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






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






22. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.






23. 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.






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






25. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






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






27. Involves the removal of the Earth's surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam.






28. A soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.






29. The edges of tectonic plates.






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






31. Soil with particles 0.002 -0.05 mm in diameter.






32. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels - especially coal.






33. The process of burning.






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






35. An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. autotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.






36. The vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.






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






38. To convert or change into a vapor.






39. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






40. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






41. This category includes organisms that consume producers (plants and algae).






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






43. A process in which cold - often nutrient-rich - waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.






44. The gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body - especially the one surrounding the Earth - which is retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.






45. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.






46. 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).






47. Living or derived from living things.






48. Air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.






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






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