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 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.






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






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






4. When a species occupies a smaller niche than it would in the absence of competition.






5. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






6. 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.






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






8. In fishing - the use of long lines that have baited hooks and will be taken by numerous aquatic organisms.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






17. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single - homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.






18. When each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.






19. Soil composed of a mixture of sand - clay - silt - and organic matter.






20. The use of building materials - building placement - and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool.






21. 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.






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






23. The number of children a couple must have in order to replace themselves in a population.






24. 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.






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






26. The outer part of the Earth - consisting of the crust and upper mantle - approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.






27. The process of burning.






28. 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






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






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






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






32. Any waste that poses a danger to human health; it must be dealt with in a different way from other types of waste.






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






34. Land that's fit to be cultivated.






35. Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise - including transportation - machinery - and construction.






36. The dark - crumbly - nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.






37. An organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.






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






39. Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation.






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






41. The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in each successive link in the food chain.






42. Close - prolonged associations between two or more different organisms of different species that may - but do not necessarily benefit the members.






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






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






45. 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.






46. The coarsest soil - with particles 0.05 -2.0 mm in diameter.






47. The process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until - finally - the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.






48. The third purest form of coal.






49. The amount of the Earth's surface that's necessary to supply the needs of - and dispose of the waste from a particular population.






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