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






2. 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.






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






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






5. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






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






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






8. 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.






9. The process of fusing two nuclei.






10. A group of modern windmills.






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






12. A region of the ocean near the equator - characterized by calms - light winds - or squalls.






13. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.






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






15. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






16. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.






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






18. 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.






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






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






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






22. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






23. When grass is consumed by animals at a faster rate than it can regrow.






24. The more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface - as part of Hadley cells.






25. A hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized.






26. An area in which a particular mineral is concentrated - mining -the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.






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






28. A long - relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland-built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from erosion by surf and tidal surges.






29. When the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity.






30. Any substance than is inhaled - ingested - or absorbed at dosages sufficient to damage a living organism.






31. The day-to-day variations in temperature - air pressure - wind - humidity - and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.






32. 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.






33. 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.






34. 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






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






36. Organisms that are capable of interbreeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species.






37. The amount of the Earth's surface that's necessary to supply the needs of - and dispose of the waste from a particular population.






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






39. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.






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






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






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






43. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






44. The dark - crumbly - nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.






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






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






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






48. 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.






49. The region draining into river system or other body of water.






50. The A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.