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 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






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






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






4. 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.






5. Formed from populations of different species occupying the same geographic area.






6. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.






7. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.






8. A hydrocarbon deposit - such as petroleum - coal - or natural gas - derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.






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






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






11. When a species occupies a smaller niche than it would in the absence of competition.






12. The place where two plates abut each other.






13. 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.






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






15. When physically treated sewage water is passed into a settling tank - where suspended solids settle out as sludge; chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.






16. Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.






17. The practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for example - corn one year - legumes for two years - and then back to corn.






18. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






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






20. The edges of tectonic plates.






21. The process by which - according to Darwin's theory of evolution - only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations - while those less adap






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






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






24. A group of modern windmills.






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






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






27. The random fluctuations in the frequency of the appearance of a gene in a small isolated population - presumably owing to chance - rather than natural selection.






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






29. The right - as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed - of one who owns riparian land (the land adjacent to a river or stream).






30. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus - especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium - splits into fragments - usually two fragments of comparable mass - releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of ener






31. An intensification of the Greenhouse Effect due to the increased presence of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.






32. A soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.






33. 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.






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






35. Living or derived from living things.






36. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single - homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.






37. 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.






38. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






39. The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






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






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






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






43. An erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.






44. 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.






45. The energy of motion.






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






47. Organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.






48. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






49. 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).






50. 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.