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






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






3. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






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






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






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






7. 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.






8. The cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon.






9. A region of the ocean near the equator - characterized by calms - light winds - or squalls.






10. 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.






11. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






12. An estimate of the amount of fossil fuel that can be obtained from reserve.






13. An area in which a particular mineral is concentrated - mining -the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.






14. When grass is consumed by animals at a faster rate than it can regrow.






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






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






17. When soil becomes water-logged and then dries out - and salt forms a layer on its surface.






18. Pollution that does not have a specific point of release - open -loop recycling -when materials are reused to form new products.






19. The amount of the Earth's surface that's necessary to supply the needs of - and dispose of the waste from a particular population.






20. A fishing technique in which the ocean floor is literally scraped by heavy nets that smash everything in their path.






21. 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.






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






23. 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.






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






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






26. 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.






27. 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.






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






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






30. 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.






31. When the size of an organism's natural habitat is reduced - or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.






32. An underground layer of porous rock - sand - or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.






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






34. Any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.






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






36. The accumulation of a substance - such as a toxic chemical - in various tissues of a living organism.






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






38. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.






39. The capacity to do work.






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






41. Sunlight.






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. Pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmosphere.






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






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






46. 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.






47. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






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






49. Radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation.






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