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. 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.






2. Creating flat platforms in the hillside that provide a level planting surface - which reduces soil runoff from the slope.






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






4. 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.






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






6. A process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations - and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded.






7. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






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






9. The process of burning.






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






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






12. A group of modern windmills.






13. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






14. States that matter can neither be created nor destroyed.






15. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






16. The number of children an average woman will bear during her lifetime; this information is based on an analysis of data from preceding years in the population in question.






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






18. 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.






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






20. 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.






21. The value of natural resources.






22. 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.






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






24. A system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.






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






26. Any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage human health.






27. An introduced - normative species.






28. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






29. 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






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






31. Is the practice of planting bands of different crops across a hillside.






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






33. When an area of vegetation is cut down and burned before being planted with crops.






34. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






35. The vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.






36. 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.






37. 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.






38. 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).






39. 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.






40. The development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.






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






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






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






44. Power generated using water.






45. Land that's fit to be cultivated.






46. Species that originate and live - or occur naturally - in an area or environment.






47. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






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






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






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