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 amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem.






2. 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.






3. Organisms that reproduce later in life - produce fewer offspring - and devote significant time and energy to the nurturing of their offspring.






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






5. The maintenance of a species or ecosystem in order to ensure their perpetuation - with no concern as to their potential monetary value






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






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






8. When the majority of a building's occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building.






9. When ecological succession begins in a virtually lifeless area - such as the area behind a moving glacier.






10. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






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






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






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






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






15. The process of fusing two nuclei.






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






17. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single - homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. The number of children a couple must have in order to replace themselves in a population.






22. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






23. A long - relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland-built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from erosion by surf and tidal surges.






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






25. 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






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






27. Any other species of fish - mammals - or birds that are caught that are not the target organism.






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






29. 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.






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






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






32. The management of forest plantations for the purpose of harvesting timber.






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






34. An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. autotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.






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






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






37. A group of modern windmills.






38. A climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years - for a duration of about one year.






39. The energy of motion.






40. Power generated using water.






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






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






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






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






45. When one species feeds on another.






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






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






48. Acid rain - acid hail - acid snow; all of which occur as a result of pollution in the atmosphere.






49. Organisms that are capable of interbreeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species.






50. 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.