Test your basic knowledge |

DSST Environment And Humanity

Subjects : dsst, science
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. Species which serve key roles in an ecosystem. The absence of these important organisms is detrimental to the surrounding area.






2. The process by which pollutants are carried by flowing water - such as a river.






3. An act which established and enforced acceptable levels of air pollution.






4. Consumers which eat only other animals.






5. A type of farming where the farmer will fell and burn down trees to grow crops. After a few years - he will move on and continue the process.






6. The process by which a new species is created. This process generally requires geographic isolation to prevent interbreeding between the newly emerging species and the parent species.






7. A variety of species living together.






8. The area between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Here the temperature reverses from decreasing to increasing with altitude.






9. Average expected birth rate for 1 -000 women.






10. Plants taking in nitrates from the soil.






11. A situation where a layer of warmer air traps lower - cooler air - causing pollution to collect near the ground.






12. A law designed to locate toxic waste sites - gauge their pollution level - and ensure these sites are taken care of properly.






13. The oxification of ammonia by certain bacterium into nitrite and later into nitrates - which can then be used by plants.






14. The southern-most continent - of which 98% is ice. This continent includes 70% of the world's fresh water - and 90% of the world's ice. Although the average temperature is -49






15. A group of similar organisms capable of interbreeding.






16. An international organization designed to promote free trade between countries.






17. All of the water found on earth.






18. The process by which certain kinds of bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia - a form accessible to living creatures.






19. A transitional area between two different ecosystems.






20. The decomposition of organic nitrogen into inorganic ammonium. This process is also called mineralization.






21. Exceptionally acidic (low pH) rain. This phenomenon is caused mainly by emissions of carbon dioxide - sulfur dioxide - and nitrogen oxide which react with water particles in the air.






22. Forests found in the northern regions of North America - Europe - and Asia characterized by freezing winters and warmer summers. These forests lie just below the tree line.






23. The cycling and reusing of elements and molecules (such as water - nitrogen - and phosphorus) that are essential to life.






24. An unstable form of oxygen which protects the earth from UV radiation. Although naturally occurring in the stratosphere (upper atmosphere) - in the lower atmosphere this gas acts as a pollutant.






25. An agency created to establish regulations concerning pollutants to protect humans and the environment.






26. The crust and upper mantle of the earth.






27. Different species living in close contact with each other.






28. An extinct hominid species believed to exhibit the first example of full-time bipedalism.






29. Species which react quickly to an environmental change and therefore can be used to diagnose a particular ecosystem.






30. An especially potent greenhouse gas emitted during production and transportation of fossil fuels - decomposition of organic matter - and herds of livestock.






31. Consumers which eat decomposing organic material.






32. The position of an organism on the food chain.






33. An extinct hominid species believed to have the same brain capacity as modern man and use many different weapons.






34. A type of symbiosis where one species benefit at the expense of the other.






35. Organisms which eat other organisms.






36. An influential book by Rachel Carson which helped begin the environmental movement.






37. A forest characterized by clearly differentiated seasons - such as the trees loosing leaves in the fall and heavy snowfall in the winter.






38. The process of surface water entering the soil. This ensures that plants have adequate access to water.






39. Populations characterized by small size - short lifespan - and lots of offspring.






40. Evolution in one organism due to change in a related organism.






41. The uppermost atmospheric layer. Here satellites orbit the earth.






42. Animals which eat leaves and shoots.






43. A community of similar living organisms largely affected by the area's climate.






44. The infiltration of harmful chemicals - particles - or biological matter into the atmosphere which endanger living organisms. Pollutants include sulfur and nitrogen oxides - ammonia - and chlorofluorocarbons. Although there are natural sources for th






45. Water found in estuaries. This water is a mixture of saltine ocean water and fresh water - usually from a river or stream.






46. The rapid increase of harmful algae in a body of water.






47. Organisms which thrive in low nutrient environments and usually have slow growth rates.






48. A principle that states that two species competing for a single resource cannot coexist. One species will inevitably gain an advantage over the other - causing the looser either to migrate or to become extinct.






49. Organisms which produce their own food.






50. An international protocol designed to stabilize global warming.