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 dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






2. Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also - a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.






3. Organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.






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






5. A process in which cold - often nutrient-rich - waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.






6. A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area.






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






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






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






10. Fires that typically burn only the forest's underbrush and do little damage to mature trees. Surface fires actually serve to protect the forest from more harmful fires by removing underbrush and dead materials that would burn quickly and at high temp






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






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






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






14. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.






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






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






17. 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.






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






19. 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.






20. The movement of individuals out of a population.






21. When trees and crops are planted together - creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between them.






22. 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.






23. Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.






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






25. 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.






26. The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.






27. The liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill.






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






29. 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.






30. 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






31. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.






32. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.






33. Sunlight.






34. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






35. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.






36. A model that's used to predict population trends based on the birth and death rates as well as economic status of a population.






37. In a sewage treatment plant - the initial filtration that is done to remove debris such as stones - sticks - rags - toys - and other objects that were flushed down the toilet.






38. 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.






39. Refers to when farmers plant seeds without using a plow to turn the soil.






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






41. An influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline.






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






44. 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.






45. Air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.






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






47. 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.






48. The thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica (and to some extent - over the Arctic).






49. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






50. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.