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. 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.






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






3. Can consist of hazardous waste - industrial solid waste - or municipal waste. Many types of solid waste provide a threat to human health and the environment.






4. An organism such as a bacterium or protozoan - that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds - as opposed to photosynthesis.






5. 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.






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






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






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






9. Involves the sinking of shafts to reach underground deposits. In this type of mining - networks of tunnels are dug or blasted and humans enter these tunnels in order to manually retrieve the coal.






10. Each of the feeding levels in a food chain.






11. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.






12. The movement of individuals out of a population.






13. The amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem.






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






15. 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.






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






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






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






19. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






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. 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.






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






23. 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.






24. 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






25. When companies are allowed to buy permits that allow them a certain amount of discharge of substances into certain environmental outlets. If they can reduce their amount of discharge - they are allowed to sell the remaining portion of their permit to






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






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






28. The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.






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






30. Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise - including transportation - machinery - and construction.






31. Says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred and transformed.






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






33. A semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy.






34. The value of natural resources.






35. 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.






36. Poor nutrition that results from an insufficient or poorly balanced diet.






37. 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).






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






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






40. Sunlight.






41. 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.






42. In fishing - the use of long lines that have baited hooks and will be taken by numerous aquatic organisms.






43. An introduced - normative species.






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






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






46. The energy of motion.






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






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






49. 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.






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