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. 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.






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






3. Transition in species composition of a biological community - often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.






4. 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.






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






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






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






8. 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.






9. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






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






11. 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.






12. 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.






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






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. The removal of select trees in an area; this leaves the majority of the habitat in place and has less of an impact on the ecosystem.






16. Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat more than do nonurban areas.






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






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






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






20. A semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy.






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






22. 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).






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






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






25. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






26. The removal of all of the trees in an area.






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






28. The process of burning.






29. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






30. 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.






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






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






33. The broad category under which selective cutting and shelter-wood cutting fall; selective deforestation.






34. The capacity to do work.






35. A hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized.






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






37. 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.






38. A specific location from which pollution is released; an example of a point source location is a factory where wood is being burned.






39. 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.






40. The least pure coal.






41. The result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.






42. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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