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






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






3. 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.






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






5. Power generated using water.






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






7. Sunlight.






8. To convert or change into a vapor.






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






10. 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.






11. Nets that are dragged through the water and indiscriminately catch everything in their path.






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






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






14. Involves the removal of the Earth's surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam.






15. Fish farming in which fish are caught in the wild and not raised in captivity for consumption.






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






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






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






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






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






21. A semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy.






22. The place where two plates abut each other.






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






24. Any substance that has an LD50 - of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight.






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






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






27. Organisms that consume primary consumers.






28. Organisms that are capable of interbreeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species.






29. The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.






30. 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.






31. Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels.






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






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






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






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






36. The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.






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






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






39. Any substance than is inhaled - ingested - or absorbed at dosages sufficient to damage a living organism.






40. A bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyamfox produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish.






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






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






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






44. Is equal to the number of deaths per 1 -000 members of the population in a year.






45. 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.






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






47. Graphical representations of populations' ages.






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






49. The removal of trees for agricultural purposes or purposes of exportation.






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