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. 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






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






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






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






5. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.






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






7. A plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.






8. Pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmosphere.






9. The process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2 - and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.






10. Also known as transform faults - boundaries at which plates are moving past each other - sideways.






11. Sunlight.






12. A species whose very presence contributes to an ecosystem's diversity and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life.






13. 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.






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






15. When companies are allowed to buy permits that allow them a certain amount of discharge of substances into certain environmental outlets. If they can reduce their amount of discharge - they are allowed to sell the remaining portion of their permit to






16. A system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.






17. Non-moving sources of pollution - such as factories.






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






19. 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.






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






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






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






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






24. Devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants.






25. The process in which animals (and plants!) breathe and give off carbon dioxide from cellular metabolism.






26. Involves the removal of the Earth's surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam.






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






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






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






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






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






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






33. The development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.






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






35. Any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage human health.






36. Is equal to the number of deaths per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






37. When the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in the building.






38. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus - especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium - splits into fragments - usually two fragments of comparable mass - releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of ener






39. 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).






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






41. 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).






42. 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.






43. 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.






44. A soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.






45. The industry or occupation devoted to the catching - processing - or selling of fish - shellfish - or other aquatic animals.






46. 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.






47. A layer of soil.






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






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






50. A stable - mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.