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Test your basic knowledge |
AP Environmental Science
Start Test
Study First
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 low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow is the result of the mountain range's causing precipitation on the windward side.
A layer
rain shadow
silviculture
Coriolis effect
2. The dark - crumbly - nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.
risk assessment
hydroelectric power
humus
clear-cutting
3. Any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.
weather
malnutrition
biological weathering
nitrogen fixation
4. In tectonic plates - the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.
peak oil (Hubbert peak)
subduction zone
chemical weathering
convergent boundary
5. The process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2 - and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.
coral reef
tertiary consumers
denitrification
acute effect
6. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.
bituminous
earthquake
rain shadow
weathering
7. Refers to resources - such as plants and animals - which can be regenerated if harvested at sustainable yields.
subbituminous
renewable resources
risk assessment
consumer
8. 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.
parasitism
closed-loop recycling
ecological succession
convection currents
9. The place where two plates abut each other.
fault
Second Law of Thermodynamics
community
peak oil (Hubbert peak)
10. Calculating risk - or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen.
risk assessment
biomagnifications
asthenosphere
decomposer
11. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.
Southern Oscillation
driftnets
logistic population growth
biomagnifications
12. When mature trees are cut over a period of time (usually10 -20 years); this leaves mature trees - which can reseed the forest - in place.
humus
overgrazed
shelter-wood cutting
Second Law of Thermodynamics
13. Organisms that are capable of interbreeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species.
green tax
secondary pollutants
species
biomagnifications
14. 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
secondary pollutants
industrial smog (gray smog)
primary succession
surface fires
15. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.
R horizon
climax community
birth rate (crude birth rate)
gray smog (industrial smog)
16. The process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better adapted species wins.
earthquake
competitive exclusion
land degradation
sludge
17. The amount that the population would grow if there were unlimited resources in its environment.
greenbelt
building-related illness
biotic potential
arable
18. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.
transform boundary
nitrification
tree farms
anthracite
19. A hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized.
petroleum
evolution
physical treatmen
climax community
20. The biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste.
R horizon
strip mining
secondary treatment
carnivore
21. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.
aquifer
driftnets
old growth forest
decomposer
22. 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.
sludge processor
R horizon
age-structure pyramids
physical treatmen
23. An organism that is capable of converting radiant energy or chemical energy into carbohydrates.
producer
climax community
predation
tailings
24. The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.
contour farming
estuary
renewable resources
carnivore
25. The number of children an average woman will bear during her lifetime; this information is based on an analysis of data from preceding years in the population in question.
tree farms
total fertility rate
convection
combustion
26. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.
food chain
Aquaculture
high-level radioactive waste
edge effect
27. The rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.
overburden
toxin
ozone holes
erosion
28. The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.
capture fisheries
convection
mantle
red tide
29. The atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.
land degradation
low-level radioactive waste
Southern Oscillation
k-selected
30. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.
biotic
respiration
sand
edge effect
31. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.
acid
riparian right
slash-and-burn
delta
32. The day-to-day use of environmental resources as food - clothing - and housing.
consumption
atmosphere
long lining
First Law of Thermodynamics
33. 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.
pathogens
food chain
r-selected
indigenous species
34. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms die from a toxin.
risk assessment
LD50
Half-life
sand
35. The fraction of solar energy that is reflected back into space.
R horizon
radiant energy
producer
albedo
36. An area in which a particular mineral is concentrated - mining -the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.
mineral deposit
inner core
toxin
kinetic energy
37. 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).
jet stream
topsoil
mutualism
photochemical smog
38. A process in which cold - often nutrient-rich - waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.
law of conservation of matter
upwelling
R horizon
overgrazed
39. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.
selective cutting
heat islands
anthracite
preservation
40. The region draining into river system or other body of water.
composting
watershed
wastewater
upwelling
41. A soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The A layer is formed of weathered rock - with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil.
non-point source pollution
A layer
nonrenewable resources
hydroelectric power
42. A place where a large quantity of a resource sits for a long period of time.
reservoir
divergent boundary
fault
acid
43. Fish farming in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption.
capture fisheries
nuclear fusion
crop rotation
ED50
44. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.
Half-life
convergent boundary
extinction
biosphere
45. The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds - such as ammonia - by natural agencies or various industrial processes.
radiant energy
species
climax community
nitrogen fixation
46. The amount of the Earth's surface that's necessary to supply the needs of - and dispose of the waste from a particular population.
ecological footprint
ecological succession
El Nino
asthenosphere
47. The movement of individuals into a population.
ecological footprint
red tide
Immigration
potential energy
48. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.
low-level radioactive waste
clay
thermosphere
convection currents
49. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.
prior appropriation
water-scarce
food chain
barrels
50. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.
natural resources
peak oil (Hubbert peak)
Second Law of Thermodynamics
food chain