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. The place of an organism in an ecosystem - such as what it eats and how it interacts with other organisms.






2. An act which set standards for the amount of pollution in water.






3. Modern man.






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






5. An act created to protect endangered and threatened species.






6. A philosophy that extends ethics to non-humans. Under this system - animals - plants - and other aspects of the environment are seen as being deserving of justice and consideration.






7. A UN conference that addressed the growing population problem.






8. An extinct hominid species believed to be the last common ancestor between man and apes.






9. The flow of water in the water table.






10. A rainforest in the temperate zone which receives heavy rainfall.






11. A community of species interacting with their nonliving (abiotic) environment.






12. Also called that water cycle - this process describes the cycling of water throughout the environment. The stages of this cycle are evaporation - condensation - transportation - precipitation - infiltration and percolation - and run off.






13. Organisms with a nucleus.






14. Single-celled organisms which lack a nucleus.






15. Excess water which cannot be infiltrated into the soil and instead flows along the ground.






16. The amount of variation among organisms living in a particular ecosystem. The loss of this key characteristic leads to a reduction in ecosystem efficiency and the ability of species to adapt to new situations.






17. Plants taking in nitrates from the soil.






18. The cloudiness of a liquid due to small suspended particles.






19. 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.






20. An American environmentalist who is famous for promoting the ideas of environmental ethics and wildlife management.






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






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






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






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






25. A type of farming where the farmer will grow crops both to fulfill his family's needs for the next year and to sell on the market.






26. The crust and upper mantle of the earth.






27. A greenhouse gas. Although it is a natural part of the carbon cycle - the atmospheric concentration of this gas has increased due to the burning of fossil fuels.






28. Growing more than one crop at a time.






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






30. Organisms which produce their own food.






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






32. An act which required the EPA to set standards for drinking water.






33. A layer of gasses surrounding the earth.






34. An international protocol designed to stabilize global warming.






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






36. 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.






37. An international protocol designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of CFCs and other harmful chemicals.






38. Any living thing on earth.






39. The coexistence of two species using the same resource where the two will use the resource in different ways.






40. Organisms which eat other organisms.






41. Condensed water vapor which falls to earth. This comes in many forms - such as rain - snow - ice - and hail.






42. All of the water found on earth.






43. All of the ecosystems on earth.






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






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






46. An act which called for the careful examination of new chemicals to ensure they are safe for their intended uses.






47. A shubland found primarily in the South-Western United States and Mexico. Fire plays a predominant role in the life-cycle of the plants in this area - the seeds of which will sprout only after a fire.






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






49. Consumers which eat only other animals.






50. Areas with only enough rainfall for grasses to grow. As a result - most animals are grazers - such as buffalo.