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. The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.






2. When ecological succession begins in a virtually lifeless area - such as the area behind a moving glacier.






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






4. A platinum - coated device that oxidizes most of the VOCs and some of the CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust - converting them to CO2.






5. 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






6. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






7. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.






8. A region of the ocean near the equator - characterized by calms - light winds - or squalls.






9. The second-purest form of coal.






10. Organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.






11. When the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity.






12. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.






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






14. 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.






15. The observed effect of the Coriolis force - especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth - rightward in the Northern Hemisphere - and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.






16. When one species feeds on another.






17. The value of natural resources.






18. The degree to which a substance is biologically harmful.






19. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






25. 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






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






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






28. 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.






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






30. 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.






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






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






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






34. The process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3) - ammonia ions (NH4+) - and nitrate ions (NO3) through their roots.






35. The process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate - or NO3.






36. 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.






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






38. The result of a pathogen invading a body.






39. When soil becomes water-logged and then dries out - and salt forms a layer on its surface.






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






41. The industry or occupation devoted to the catching - processing - or selling of fish - shellfish - or other aquatic animals.






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






43. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.






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






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






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






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






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 intensification of the Greenhouse Effect due to the increased presence of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.






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