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






2. The process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser - sandier - stonier texture.






3. 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.






4. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






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






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






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






8. The industry or occupation devoted to the catching - processing - or selling of fish - shellfish - or other aquatic animals.






9. Piles of gangue - which is the waste material that results from mining.






10. The movement of individuals into a population.






11. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






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






14. A basic substance; chemically - a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water - a measure of the base content of the water.






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






16. A high-speed - meandering wind current - generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles).






17. The place where two plates abut each other.






18. Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.






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






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






21. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.






22. Occurs when infection causes a change in the state of health.






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






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






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






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






27. 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.






28. The solids that remain after the secondary treatment of sewage.






29. The movement of individuals out of a population.






30. The value of natural resources.






31. Any substance that has an LD50 - of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight.






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






33. The process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate - or NO3.






34. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms show a negative effect from a toxin.






35. The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources in a region.






36. 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.






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






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






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






40. The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.






41. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






42. 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.






43. Sunlight.






44. 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.






45. The edges of tectonic plates.






46. The maintenance of a species or ecosystem in order to ensure their perpetuation - with no concern as to their potential monetary value






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






48. 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.






49. 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.






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