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






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






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






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






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






6. Soil with particles 0.002 -0.05 mm in diameter.






7. The phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation - caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide - water vapor - and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through - but absorb heat radiated back fr






8. The bedrock - which lies below all of the other layers of soil - is referred to as the R horizon.






9. 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.






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






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






12. A program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites.






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






14. Close - prolonged associations between two or more different organisms of different species that may - but do not necessarily benefit the members.






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






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






17. The process by which - according to Darwin's theory of evolution - only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations - while those less adap






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






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






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






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






22. 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






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






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






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






26. 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.






27. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






28. Power generated using water.






29. Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.






30. A hydrocarbon deposit - such as petroleum - coal - or natural gas - derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.






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






32. A basic substance; chemically - a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water - a measure of the base content of the water.






33. The result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.






34. An effect that results from long -term exposure to low levels of toxin.






35. 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.






36. The water from which a river rises; a source.






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






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






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






40. A group of modern windmills.






41. 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).






42. Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise - including transportation - machinery - and construction.






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






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






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






46. The effect caused by a short exposure to a high level of toxin.






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






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






49. Piles of gangue - which is the waste material that results from mining.






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