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. Power generated using water.






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






3. The phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation - caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide - water vapor - and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through - but absorb heat radiated back fr






4. The amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis and subtracting from it the amount of energy the plants need for growth maintenance - repair - and reproduction.






5. Bacteria - virus - or other microorganisms that can cause disease.






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






7. The fraction of solar energy that is reflected back into space.






8. The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.






9. The part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.






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






11. Drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste.






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






13. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






15. A layer in a large body of water - such as a lake - that sharply separates regions differing in temperature - so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.






16. 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.






17. When photochemical smog - NOx compounds - VOCs - and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.






18. 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.






19. 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.






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






21. The number of live births per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






22. The energy of motion.






23. 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.






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






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






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






27. 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.






28. A process in which rows of crops are plowed across the hillside; this prevents the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope. ...






29. When the size of an organism's natural habitat is reduced - or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.






30. 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.






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






32. A lowland area - such as a marsh or swamp - that is saturated with moisture - especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.






33. 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.






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






35. The place where two plates abut each other.






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






37. Acid rain - acid hail - acid snow; all of which occur as a result of pollution in the atmosphere.






38. A platinum - coated device that oxidizes most of the VOCs and some of the CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust - converting them to CO2.






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






40. The management or regulation of a resource so that its use does not exceed the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself.






41. Involves the sinking of shafts to reach underground deposits. In this type of mining - networks of tunnels are dug or blasted and humans enter these tunnels in order to manually retrieve the coal.






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






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






44. 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.






45. Non-moving sources of pollution - such as factories.






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






47. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






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






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 place where a large quantity of a resource sits for a long period of time.