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






2. 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.






3. A lowland area - such as a marsh or swamp - that is saturated with moisture - especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.






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






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






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






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






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






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






10. A soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The A layer is formed of weathered rock - with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil.






11. A process that allows the organic material in solid waste to be decomposed and reintroduced into the soil - often as fertilizer.






12. The outermost shell of the atmosphere - between the mesosphere and outer space - where temperatures increase steadily with altitude.






13. The raising of fish and other aquatic species in captivity for harvest.






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






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






16. 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.






17. This category includes organisms that consume producers (plants and algae).






18. 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






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






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






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. Calculating risk - or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen.






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






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






26. 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).






27. The water from which a river rises; a source.






28. 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.






29. Power generated using water.






30. Biotic and abiotic natural ecosystems.






31. 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.






32. Land that's fit to be cultivated.






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






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






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






36. Acid rain - acid hail - acid snow; all of which occur as a result of pollution in the atmosphere.






37. 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.






38. The part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.






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






40. When mature trees are cut over a period of time (usually10 -20 years); this leaves mature trees - which can reseed the forest - in place.






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






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






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






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






45. The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.






46. The management of forest plantations for the purpose of harvesting timber.






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






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. The least pure coal.






50. Energy at rest - or stored energy.