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. Organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.






2. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.






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






4. When populations are well below the size dictated by the carrying capacity of the region they live in - they will grow exponentially - but as they approach the carrying capacity - their growth rate will decrease and the size of the population will ev






5. Transition in species composition of a biological community - often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.






6. The amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to disappear.






7. 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.






8. A process that allows the organic material in solid waste to be decomposed and reintroduced into the soil - often as fertilizer.






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






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






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






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






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






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






15. 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.






16. A layer in a large body of water - such as a lake - that sharply separates regions differing in temperature - so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.






17. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.






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






19. Also known as plantations - these are planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age that are harvested for commercial use.






20. 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).






21. The place where two plates abut each other.






22. The removal of all of the trees in an area.






23. When photochemical smog - NOx compounds - VOCs - and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.






24. Is the practice of planting bands of different crops across a hillside.






25. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






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






27. This category includes organisms that consume producers (plants and algae).






28. 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.






29. The use of building materials - building placement - and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool.






30. The A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.






31. Organisms that reproduce early in life and often and have a high capacity for reproductive growth.






32. 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.






33. The removal of select trees in an area; this leaves the majority of the habitat in place and has less of an impact on the ecosystem.






34. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






35. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






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






38. The condition in which - at ecosystem boundaries - there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities.






39. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






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






41. Living or derived from living things.






42. A process in which rows of crops are plowed across the hillside; this prevents the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope. ...






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






44. 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.






45. The movement of individuals into a population.






46. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






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






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






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






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