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 maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources in a region.






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






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






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






5. The capacity to do work.






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






7. The molten core of the Earth.






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






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






10. A place where a large quantity of a resource sits for a long period of time.






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






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






13. Also known as plantations - these are planted and managed tracts of trees of the same age that are harvested for commercial use.






14. 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.






15. 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.






16. 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






17. An introduced - normative species.






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






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






20. One that has never been cut; these forests have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years.






21. 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.






22. The third purest form of coal.






23. 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.






24. The form petroleum takes when in the ground.






25. When the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in the building.






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






27. The number of children an average woman will bear during her lifetime; this information is based on an analysis of data from preceding years in the population in question.






28. Being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.






29. The point at which 50 percent of the test organisms show a negative effect from a toxin.






30. The day-to-day use of environmental resources as food - clothing - and housing.






31. Areas where cutting has occurred and a new - younger forest has arisen.






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






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






34. The fraction of solar energy that is reflected back into space.






35. When one species feeds on another.






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






37. Open or forested areas built at the outer edge of a city.






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






39. The structure obtained if we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter - from largest to smallest.






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






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






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






43. The second-purest form of coal.






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






45. Organisms that consume secondary consumers or other tertiary consumers.






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






47. The number of individuals of a population that inhabit a certain unit of land or water area.






48. 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.






49. The value of natural resources.






50. 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.