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






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






3. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.






4. A group of modern windmills.






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






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






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






8. Bacteria or fungi that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic matter like plant material - the wastes of living organisms - and corpses. They convert these materials into inorganic forms.






9. The broad category under which selective cutting and shelter-wood cutting fall; selective deforestation.






10. When soil becomes water-logged and then dries out - and salt forms a layer on its surface.






11. 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).






12. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.






13. The removal of trees for agricultural purposes or purposes of exportation.






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






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






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 area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.






18. A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America - occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.






19. 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.






20. The edges of tectonic plates.






21. A soil horizon - horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that have not undergone much weathering.






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






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






24. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






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






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






27. The process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until - finally - the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.






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






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






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






31. The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.






32. Fires that typically burn only the forest's underbrush and do little damage to mature trees. Surface fires actually serve to protect the forest from more harmful fires by removing underbrush and dead materials that would burn quickly and at high temp






33. 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.






34. An introduced - normative species.






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






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






37. Any water that has been used by humans. This includes human sewage - water drained from showers - tubs - sinks - dishwashers - washing machines - water from industrial processes - and storm water runoff.






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






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






40. 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.






41. Power generated using water.






42. The management of forest plantations for the purpose of harvesting timber.






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






44. Is equal to the number of deaths per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






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






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






47. The process of fusing two nuclei.






48. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






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






50. The process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2 - and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.