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 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.






2. Refers to when farmers plant seeds without using a plow to turn the soil.






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






4. 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.






5. The process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until - finally - the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.






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






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






8. 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.






9. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






10. 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.






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






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






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






14. 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.






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






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






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






18. 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.






19. 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






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






21. 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.






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






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






24. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals and resulting in the development of new species.






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






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






27. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






28. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






30. The practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for example - corn one year - legumes for two years - and then back to corn.






31. The vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.






32. 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.






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






34. 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. ...






35. The least pure coal.






36. The day-to-day use of environmental resources as food - clothing - and housing.






37. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






44. 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.






45. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






46. The number of individuals of a population that inhabit a certain unit of land or water area.






47. A fiscal policy that lowers taxes on income - including wages and profit - and raises taxes on consumption - particularly the unsustainable consumption of non-renewable resources.






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






49. An area in which a particular mineral is concentrated - mining -the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.






50. The edges of tectonic plates.