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Test your basic knowledge |
AP Environmental Science
Start Test
Study First
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 low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow is the result of the mountain range's causing precipitation on the windward side.
rain shadow
hazardous waste
Coriolis effect
Second Law of Thermodynamics
2. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1 -000 m3 per person.
water-scarce
vector
demographic transition model
acid precipitation
3. A soil horizon - horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that have not undergone much weathering.
A layer
secondary treatment
monoculture
C layer
4. The liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill.
intercropping (also called strip cropping)
leachate
hazardous waste
secondary consumers
5. 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.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
silviculture
Superfund Program
energy pyramid
6. The place where two plates abut each other.
sick building syndrome
lithosphere
volcanoes
fault
7. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.
topsoil
birth rate (crude birth rate)
habitat fragmentation
lithosphere
8. 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
Hadley cell
secondary pollutants
fission
C layer
9. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.
convergent boundary
carrying capacity
indigenous species
gray smog (industrial smog)
10. The amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to disappear.
bituminous
Half-life
physical treatmen
dose-response curve
11. The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.
red tide
predation
biomagnifications
emigration
12. 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.
subduction zone
tree farms
Gross Primary Productivity
estuary
13. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.
watershed
mutualism
age-structure pyramids
divergent boundary
14. The result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.
R horizon
Uneven-aged management
kinetic energy
chemical weathering
15. 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.
genetic drift
market permits
natural selection
birth rate (crude birth rate)
16. The rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.
biomagnifications
fly ash
natural selection
overburden
17. The atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.
clay
Southern Oscillation
niche
primary consumers
18. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.
nitrification
anthracite
prior appropriation
loamy
19. 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.
tree farms
salinization
peak oil (Hubbert peak)
logistic population growth
20. 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.
trophic level
by-catch
photovoltaic cell (PV cell)
barrier island
21. The third purest form of coal.
subbituminous
greenbelt
Headwaters
carnivore
22. A soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.
B layer
combustion
building-related illness
deforestation
23. An underground layer of porous rock - sand - or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.
El Nino
aquifer
erosion
detritivore
24. 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.
O layer
primary treatment
delta
B layer
25. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single - homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.
decomposer
monoculture
vector
assimilation
26. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.
high-level radioactive waste
thermosphere
fossil fuel
heterotrophy
27. 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.
red tide
long lining
water-stressed
erosion
28. A region of the ocean near the equator - characterized by calms - light winds - or squalls.
U.S. Noise Control Act
consumer
doldrums
Gross Primary Productivity
29. The part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.
non-point source pollution
land degradation
primary treatment
asthenosphere
30. The unit used to describe the volume of fossil fuels.
barrels
age-structure pyramids
delta
leachate
31. The condition in which - at ecosystem boundaries - there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities.
arable
species
old growth forest
edge effect
32. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1 -000 -2 -000 m3 per person.
primary succession
water-stressed
R horizon
community
33. Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.
leachate
hydroelectric power
physical (mechanical) weathering
tree farms
34. An intensification of the Greenhouse Effect due to the increased presence of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
global warming
radiant energy
sludge processor
volcanoes
35. The energy of motion.
food web
strip mining
kinetic energy
bituminous
36. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.
scrubbers
transform boundary
coral reef
ecological footprint
37. The movement of individuals out of a population.
Uneven-aged management
species
noise pollution
emigration
38. The least pure coal.
malnutrition
volcanoes
lignite
dose-response analysis
39. When grass is consumed by animals at a faster rate than it can regrow.
barrier island
overgrazed
Hubbert peak (peak oil)
ecological footprint
40. A system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.
assimilation
Hadley cell
B layer
predation
41. The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.
barrels
carnivore
acid precipitation
Aquaculture
42. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.
delta
niche
B layer
acid
43. 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.
proven reserve
Southern Oscillation
weather
A layer
44. 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.
keystone species
divergent boundary
underground mining
parasitism
45. 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.
wastewater
active collection
Superfund Program
industrial smog (gray smog)
46. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.
no-till
strip mining
energy
climax community
47. A semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy.
photovoltaic cell (PV cell)
conservation
agroforestry
mutualism
48. 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
greenhouse effect
indigenous species
assimilation
abiotic
49. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.
tropical storm
net Primary Productivity (NPP)
anthracite
nitrogen fixation
50. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.
weathering
high-level radioactive waste
pathogens
kinetic energy