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 gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body - especially the one surrounding the Earth - which is retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.






2. The part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.






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






4. 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.






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






6. 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).






7. 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.






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






9. The energy of motion.






10. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.






11. 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.






12. 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.






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






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






15. Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving.






16. Organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.






17. Any water that has been used by humans. This includes human sewage - water drained from showers - tubs - sinks - dishwashers - washing machines - water from industrial processes - and storm water runoff.






18. Sunlight.






19. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.






20. An opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava - ash - and gases are ejected.






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






22. An introduced - normative species.






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






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






25. The unit used to describe the volume of fossil fuels.






26. When materials - such as plastic or aluminum - are used to rebuild the same product. An example of this is the use of the aluminum from aluminum cans to produce more aluminum cans.






27. Air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.






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






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






30. A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area.






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






32. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.






33. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






34. The rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.






35. When mature trees are cut over a period of time (usually10 -20 years); this leaves mature trees - which can reseed the forest - in place.






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






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






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






39. A specific location from which pollution is released; an example of a point source location is a factory where wood is being burned.






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






41. A waste product produced by the burning of coal.






42. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






43. Transition in species composition of a biological community - often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.






44. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






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






46. The atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.






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






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






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






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