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 amount that the population would grow if there were unlimited resources in its environment.






2. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.






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






4. The random fluctuations in the frequency of the appearance of a gene in a small isolated population - presumably owing to chance - rather than natural selection.






5. 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.






6. Says that the entropy (disorder) of the universe is increasing. One corollary of the Second Law of thermodynamics is the concept that - in most energy transformations - a significant fraction of energy is lost to the universe as heat.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






15. Energy at rest - or stored energy.






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






17. A plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.






18. When trees and crops are planted together - creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between them.






19. 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.






20. The use of devices - such as solar panels - to collect - focus - transport - or store solar energy.






21. 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






22. 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.






23. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






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






25. An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. autotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances to make organic molecules from inorganic ones.






26. Can consist of hazardous waste - industrial solid waste - or municipal waste. Many types of solid waste provide a threat to human health and the environment.






27. The rocks and Earth that is removed when mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource.






28. The molten core of the Earth.






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






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






31. The condition in which - at ecosystem boundaries - there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities.






32. The edges of tectonic plates.






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






34. Power generated using water.






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






36. When water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.






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






38. Countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1 -000 m3 per person.






39. A group of modern windmills.






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






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






42. The thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica (and to some extent - over the Arctic).






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






44. 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.






45. The energy of motion.






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






47. The second-purest form of coal.






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






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