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






2. The process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3) - ammonia ions (NH4+) - and nitrate ions (NO3) through their roots.






3. A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area.






4. The edges of tectonic plates.






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






6. The process of fusing two nuclei.






7. An underground layer of porous rock - sand - or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.






8. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals and resulting in the development of new species.






9. 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.






10. Radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation.






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






12. 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.






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






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






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






16. A group of modern windmills.






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






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






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






20. The outermost shell of the atmosphere - between the mesosphere and outer space - where temperatures increase steadily with altitude.






21. Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also - a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.






22. 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.






23. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






24. Calculating risk - or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen.






25. The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.






26. Any waste that poses a danger to human health; it must be dealt with in a different way from other types of waste.






27. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






29. Also known as plantations - these are planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age that are harvested for commercial use.






30. 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.






31. 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.






32. An opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava - ash - and gases are ejected.






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






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






35. Says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred and transformed.






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






37. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






38. 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.






39. 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.






40. 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.






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






42. 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.






43. An organism such as a bacterium or protozoan - that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds - as opposed to photosynthesis.






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






45. A tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.






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






47. 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.






48. The number of children a couple must have in order to replace themselves in a population.






49. When companies are allowed to buy permits that allow them a certain amount of discharge of substances into certain environmental outlets. If they can reduce their amount of discharge - they are allowed to sell the remaining portion of their permit to






50. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.