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






2. A climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years - for a duration of about one year.






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






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






5. Formed from populations of different species occupying the same geographic area.






6. The least pure coal.






7. When photochemical smog - NOx compounds - VOCs - and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.






8. A symbiotic relationship in which one member is helped by the association and the other is harmed.






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






10. Occurs when infection causes a change in the state of health.






11. A plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.






12. 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.






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






14. 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






15. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






16. A layer of soil.






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






18. Bacteria or fungi that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic matter like plant material - the wastes of living organisms - and corpses. They convert these materials into inorganic forms.






19. 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.






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






21. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms die from a toxin.






22. A group of modern windmills.






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






24. An introduced - normative species.






25. 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.






26. 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.






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






28. A process in which cold - often nutrient-rich - waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.






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






30. The place where two plates abut each other.






31. 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.






32. An erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.






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






34. 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






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






36. The accumulation of a substance - such as a toxic chemical - in various tissues of a living organism.






37. The cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon.






38. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






40. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






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






42. The effect caused by a short exposure to a high level of toxin.






43. 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.






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






45. A waste product produced by the burning of coal.






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






47. Piles of gangue - which is the waste material that results from mining.






48. The uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material - including waste from organisms - the bodies of decomposing organisms - and live organisms.






49. The A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.






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