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 species whose very presence contributes to an ecosystem's diversity and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life.






2. Species that originate and live - or occur naturally - in an area or environment.






3. Organisms in the first stages of succession.






4. Organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter.






5. Fires that typically burn only the forest's underbrush and do little damage to mature trees. Surface fires actually serve to protect the forest from more harmful fires by removing underbrush and dead materials that would burn quickly and at high temp






6. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






8. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1 -000 -2 -000 m3 per person.






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






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






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






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






13. The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds - such as ammonia - by natural agencies or various industrial processes.






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






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






16. The process of burning.






17. The management or regulation of a resource so that its use does not exceed the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself.






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






19. Is the practice of planting bands of different crops across a hillside.






20. The place where two plates abut each other.






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






22. The value of natural resources.






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






24. Bacteria - virus - or other microorganisms that can cause disease.






25. An effect that results from long -term exposure to low levels of toxin.






26. 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. ...






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






28. The gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles - caused by natural chemical - physical - and biological factors.






29. When the majority of a building's occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building.






30. The total sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment.






31. Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.






32. 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.






33. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






34. The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources in a region.






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






36. Fish farming in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption.






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. Power generated using water.






39. The development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.






40. The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.






41. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels - especially coal.






42. When the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in the building.






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






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






45. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






46. The second-purest form of coal.






47. Involves the sinking of shafts to reach underground deposits. In this type of mining - networks of tunnels are dug or blasted and humans enter these tunnels in order to manually retrieve the coal.






48. 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






49. Sunlight.






50. 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.