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






2. 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.






3. Refers to resources - such as plants and animals - which can be regenerated if harvested at sustainable yields.






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






5. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






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






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






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






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






10. 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






11. The number of live births per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






12. Calculating risk - or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen.






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






14. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.






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






16. The fraction of solar energy that is reflected back into space.






17. The removal of trees for agricultural purposes or purposes of exportation.






18. 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.






19. 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






20. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






21. A layer in a large body of water - such as a lake - that sharply separates regions differing in temperature - so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.






22. The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






23. Any substance that has an LD50 - of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight.






24. The amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis and subtracting from it the amount of energy the plants need for growth maintenance - repair - and reproduction.






25. Drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste.






26. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.






27. The process of burning.






28. An influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline.






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






30. The act or process of transpiring - or releasing water vapor - especially through the stomata of plant tissue or the pores of the skin.






31. The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.






32. Also known as plantations - these are planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age that are harvested for commercial use.






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






34. Each of the feeding levels in a food chain.






35. An introduced - normative species.






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






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






38. When the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity.






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






40. Organisms that consume secondary consumers or other tertiary consumers.






41. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






42. An influential theory that concerns the long - term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline.






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






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






45. A process in which rows of crops are plowed across the hillside; this prevents the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope. ...






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






47. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






48. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






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






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