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 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.






2. 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).






3. The edges of tectonic plates.






4. Open or forested areas built at the outer edge of a city.






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






6. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.






7. The degree to which a substance is biologically harmful.






8. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1 -000 m3 per person.






9. An introduced - normative species.






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






11. The dark - crumbly - nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.






12. A plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.






13. Land that's fit to be cultivated.






14. The more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface - as part of Hadley cells.






15. A process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations - and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded.






16. Devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants.






17. A symbiotic relationship in which one member is helped by the association and the other is harmed.






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






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






20. 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.






21. Living or derived from living things.






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






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






24. The process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate - or NO3.






25. 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.






26. A lowland area - such as a marsh or swamp - that is saturated with moisture - especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.






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






28. The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.






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






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






31. 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.






32. The process of fusing two nuclei.






33. 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






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






35. 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.






36. 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.






37. The third purest form of coal.






38. Any substance than is inhaled - ingested - or absorbed at dosages sufficient to damage a living organism.






39. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






40. 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.






41. 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






42. A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America - occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.






43. The capacity to do work.






44. 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.






45. The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds - such as ammonia - by natural agencies or various industrial processes.






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






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






48. 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.






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






50. The uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material - including waste from organisms - the bodies of decomposing organisms - and live organisms.