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






2. A model that's used to predict population trends based on the birth and death rates as well as economic status of a population.






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






4. Each of the feeding levels in a food chain.






5. The process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2 - and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.






6. A soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.






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






8. Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.






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






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






11. The uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material - including waste from organisms - the bodies of decomposing organisms - and live organisms.






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






13. The process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser - sandier - stonier texture.






14. The edges of tectonic plates.






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






16. The movement of individuals out of a population.






17. 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






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






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






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






21. Organisms that reproduce later in life - produce fewer offspring - and devote significant time and energy to the nurturing of their offspring.






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






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






24. When photochemical smog - NOx compounds - VOCs - and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.






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






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






27. 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.






28. Organisms that reproduce early in life and often and have a high capacity for reproductive growth.






29. The act or process of transpiring - or releasing water vapor - especially through the stomata of plant tissue or the pores of the skin.






30. The cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon.






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






32. 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.






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






34. The process of burning.






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






36. 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.






37. The capacity to do work.






38. States that matter can neither be created nor destroyed.






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






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






41. The amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem.






42. Living or derived from living things.






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






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






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






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






47. Resources that are often formed by very slow geologic processes - so we consider them incapable of being regenerated within the realm of human existence.






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






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






50. 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.