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. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






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






3. When materials - such as plastic or aluminum - are used to rebuild the same product. An example of this is the use of the aluminum from aluminum cans to produce more aluminum cans.






4. 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.






5. 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.






6. Using strategies to reduce the amount of risk (the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen).






7. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.






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






9. 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.






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






11. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.






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






13. Each of the feeding levels in a food chain.






14. Any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.






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






16. The edges of tectonic plates.






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






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






19. The atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.






20. When an area of vegetation is cut down and burned before being planted with crops.






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






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






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






24. When the majority of a building's occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building.






25. A specific location from which pollution is released; an example of a point source location is a factory where wood is being burned.






26. A layer of soil.






27. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






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






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






30. Areas where cutting has occurred and a new - younger forest has arisen.






31. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.






32. The liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill.






33. 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.






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






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






36. 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.






37. 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.






38. The movement of individuals into a population.






39. 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.






40. Organisms that reproduce early in life and often and have a high capacity for reproductive growth.






41. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.






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






43. 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.






44. The rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.






45. 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.






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






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






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






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






50. The amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem.