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 solids that remain after the secondary treatment of sewage.






2. The observed effect of the Coriolis force - especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth - rightward in the Northern Hemisphere - and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.






3. The unit used to describe the volume of fossil fuels.






4. 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.






5. An introduced - normative species.






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






7. Devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants.






8. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.






9. The result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.






10. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels.






11. The structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter - from largest to smallest.






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






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






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






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






16. 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.






17. In tectonic plates - the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.






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






19. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.






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






21. A method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.






22. 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.






23. Land that's fit to be cultivated.






24. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.






25. The molten core of the Earth.






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






27. 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.






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






33. Organisms that consume secondary consumers or other tertiary consumers.






34. The bedrock - which lies below all of the other layers of soil - is referred to as the R horizon.






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






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






37. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






38. The movement of individuals into a population.






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






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






41. 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.






42. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1 -000 -2 -000 m3 per person.






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






44. Resources that are often formed by very slow geologic processes - so we consider them incapable of being regenerated within the realm of human existence.






45. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






46. The use of devices - such as solar panels - to collect - focus - transport - or store solar energy.






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






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. 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.