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. A fishing technique in which the ocean floor is literally scraped by heavy nets that smash everything in their path.






3. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






4. 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.






5. States that matter can neither be created nor destroyed.






6. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.






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






8. 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.






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






10. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






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






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






13. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






14. 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.






15. A hydrocarbon deposit - such as petroleum - coal - or natural gas - derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.






16. The dark - crumbly - nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.






17. The water from which a river rises; a source.






18. 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.






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






20. 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.






21. 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.






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






23. The movement of individuals into a population.






24. The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.






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






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






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






28. 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.






29. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






30. Open or forested areas built at the outer edge of a city.






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






32. Any waste that poses a danger to human health; it must be dealt with in a different way from other types of waste.






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






34. The finest soil - made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.






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






36. The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.






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






38. Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also - a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. An organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.






46. 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.






47. A tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.






48. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






50. 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