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 more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface - as part of Hadley cells.






2. Radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation.






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






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






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






6. 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.






7. The capacity to do work.






8. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






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






10. The biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste.






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






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






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






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






15. When the size of an organism's natural habitat is reduced - or when development occurs that isolates a habitat.






16. 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






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






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






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






20. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.






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






22. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






23. 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






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






25. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels - especially coal.






26. An underground layer of porous rock - sand - or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.






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






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






29. The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.






30. Poor nutrition that results from an insufficient or poorly balanced diet.






31. A layer of soil.






32. Sunlight.






33. The day-to-day variations in temperature - air pressure - wind - humidity - and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.






34. When physically treated sewage water is passed into a settling tank - where suspended solids settle out as sludge; chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.






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






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






37. The process of fusing two nuclei.






38. Says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred and transformed.






39. The molten core of the Earth.






40. The edges of tectonic plates.






41. Resources that are often formed by very slow geologic processes - so we consider them incapable of being regenerated within the realm of human existence.






42. An organism that must obtain food energy from secondary sources - for example - by eating plant or animal matter.






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






44. The process of burning.






45. 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.






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






47. The random fluctuations in the frequency of the appearance of a gene in a small isolated population - presumably owing to chance - rather than natural selection.






48. An organism that is capable of converting radiant energy or chemical energy into carbohydrates.






49. 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.






50. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.