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. An organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.






2. When a species occupies a smaller niche than it would in the absence of competition.






3. The process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3) - ammonia ions (NH4+) - and nitrate ions (NO3) through their roots.






4. Fish farming in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption.






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






6. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






7. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.






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






9. 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.






10. The least pure coal.






11. 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).






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






13. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






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






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






17. 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.






18. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






19. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






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






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






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






23. The value of natural resources.






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






25. 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.






26. The third purest form of coal.






27. The edges of tectonic plates.






28. Creating flat platforms in the hillside that provide a level planting surface - which reduces soil runoff from the slope.






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






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






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






33. The use of devices - such as solar panels - to collect - focus - transport - or store solar energy.






34. The process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better adapted species wins.






35. 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.






36. A group of modern windmills.






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






38. 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.






39. Any waste that poses a danger to human health; it must be dealt with in a different way from other types of waste.






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






41. In tectonic plates - the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.






42. Areas where cutting has occurred and a new - younger forest has arisen.






43. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.






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






45. 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.






46. Bacteria - virus - or other microorganisms that can cause disease.






47. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






48. A tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.






49. The right - as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed - of one who owns riparian land (the land adjacent to a river or stream).






50. A soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The A layer is formed of weathered rock - with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil.