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. A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and - in turn - is preyed upon by a higher member.






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






3. 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.






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






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






6. 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






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






8. The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.






9. Can consist of hazardous waste - industrial solid waste - or municipal waste. Many types of solid waste provide a threat to human health and the environment.






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






11. The process of burning.






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






13. 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.






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






15. 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.






16. The process by which - according to Darwin's theory of evolution - only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations - while those less adap






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






18. A program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites.






19. The solids that remain after the secondary treatment of sewage.






20. The use of building materials - building placement - and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool.






21. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






22. 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.






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






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






25. The second-purest form of coal.






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






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






28. 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.






29. The process of fusing two nuclei.






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






31. 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.






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






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






34. 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.






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






36. The observed effect of the Coriolis force - especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth - rightward in the Northern Hemisphere - and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.






37. Soil with particles 0.002 -0.05 mm in diameter.






38. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






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






40. The movement of individuals into a population.






41. The value of natural resources.






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






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






44. 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.






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






46. 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.






47. The region draining into river system or other body of water.






48. The capacity to do work.






49. 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).






50. The thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica (and to some extent - over the Arctic).