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. When an area of vegetation is cut down and burned before being planted with crops.






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






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






5. The result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.






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






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






8. An organism that is capable of converting radiant energy or chemical energy into carbohydrates.






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






10. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






19. An introduced - normative species.






20. Sunlight.






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






22. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






23. When companies are allowed to buy permits that allow them a certain amount of discharge of substances into certain environmental outlets. If they can reduce their amount of discharge - they are allowed to sell the remaining portion of their permit to






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






25. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






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






27. 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.






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






29. Any other species of fish - mammals - or birds that are caught that are not the target organism.






30. The result of graphing a dose-response analysis.






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






32. A process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations - and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded.






33. The least pure coal.






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






35. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.






36. Ozone that exists in the trophosphere.






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






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






40. 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.






41. 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.






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






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






44. Air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.






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






46. 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.






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






48. Radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation.






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






50. The structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter - from largest to smallest.