Test your basic knowledge |

DSST Environment And Humanity

Subjects : dsst, science
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. Also called that water cycle - this process describes the cycling of water throughout the environment. The stages of this cycle are evaporation - condensation - transportation - precipitation - infiltration and percolation - and run off.






2. Organisms which consume autotrophs for food.






3. Organisms which eat other organisms.






4. The process of a substance passing directly from the solid phase to the gaseous phase - and vice versa.






5. The area between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Here the temperature reverses from decreasing to increasing with altitude.






6. Surface run-off caused by melted snow.






7. All of the water found on earth.






8. A community of similar living organisms largely affected by the area's climate.






9. The process of planting different plant species right next to each other to maximize one's yield.






10. Biomes with less than 10 inches of rain a year. Foliage is scarce in these areas - and remaining plants and animals work hard to conserve the little water they receive.






11. Species which react quickly to an environmental change and therefore can be used to diagnose a particular ecosystem.






12. The process by which the sun's energy converts liquid water to water vapor in the atmosphere.






13. Animals which eat grass and roots.






14. The flow of water in the water table.






15. An international protocol designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of CFCs and other harmful chemicals.






16. A type of symbiosis where one species benefit at the expense of the other.






17. Forests found in the northern regions of North America - Europe - and Asia characterized by freezing winters and warmer summers. These forests lie just below the tree line.






18. A type of farming where the farmer will grow just enough crops to satisfy his family's needs for the next year.






19. The loss of water vapor from leaves.






20. The cloudiness of a liquid due to small suspended particles.






21. A type of symbiosis where one species will benefit while the other will be neither benefit or be harmed.






22. Average expected birth rate for 1 -000 women.






23. A UN conference that addressed the growing population problem.






24. An international convention which created the framework for protecting the ozone layer.






25. A type of symbiosis where each species will benefit from interacting with the other.






26. Grasslands with short - widely spaced trees and no canopy - allowing for an unbroken layer of grasses beneath.






27. A form of management which attempts to satisfy both the needs of humans and those of wildlife in the best way possible for both parties.






28. Political organizations not affiliated with the government which try to bring about social change.






29. A bloom of phytoplankton in a body of water caused by an abnormal increase in nutrients. This process depletes the water's oxygen level - killing off other aquatic organisms.






30. A layer of gasses surrounding the earth.






31. Precipitation which does not reach the soil but is instead collected by plants.






32. A UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro. The conference decided to protect biodiversity - reduce pollution emissions and greenhouse gasses - and promote sustainable development.






33. A type of farming where the farmer will grow crops both to fulfill his family's needs for the next year and to sell on the market.






34. The combination of evaporation from the ocean - lakes - and other bodies of water and transpiration - the loss of water from plants.






35. A rainforest in the temperate zone which receives heavy rainfall.






36. Single-celled organisms which lack a nucleus.






37. An unstable form of oxygen which protects the earth from UV radiation. Although naturally occurring in the stratosphere (upper atmosphere) - in the lower atmosphere this gas acts as a pollutant.






38. A transitional area between two different ecosystems.






39. The UN's first major conference on environmental issues.






40. An American environmentalist who is famous for promoting the ideas of environmental ethics and wildlife management.






41. An international protocol designed to stabilize global warming.






42. A greenhouse gas. Although it is a natural part of the carbon cycle - the atmospheric concentration of this gas has increased due to the burning of fossil fuels.






43. An act which set standards for the amount of pollution in water.






44. The cycling and reusing of elements and molecules (such as water - nitrogen - and phosphorus) that are essential to life.






45. An international organization designed to promote free trade between countries.






46. A theory that our current ecological problems are a product of deeper social problems.






47. A forest near the equator with heavy rainfall and a great diversity of plant and animal life. Although a mere 2% of the earth is covered with these forests - they contain 50-80% of earth's land species.






48. The amount of pests needed before spraying pesticides is economical.






49. An extinct hominid species believed to be the last common ancestor between man and apes.






50. Evolution in one organism due to change in a related organism.