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. Consumers which eat only other animals.






2. An extinct hominid species believed to have long - ape-like arms; have a brain capacity half that of modern men; and use primitive tools.






3. The rate at which producers create organic material.






4. 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.






5. Species which serve key roles in an ecosystem. The absence of these important organisms is detrimental to the surrounding area.






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






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






8. The UN's first major conference on environmental issues.






9. An international protocol designed to stabilize global warming.






10. The middle atmospheric layer. Meteors burn up after entering this layer.






11. Consumers which eat both plants and animals.






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






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






14. The process of a substance passing directly from the solid phase to the gaseous phase - and vice versa.






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






16. Organisms which eat other organisms.






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






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






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






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






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






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






23. Political organizations not affiliated with the government which try to bring about social change.






24. Organisms which create their own food out of inorganic (abiotic) substances.






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. 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.






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






28. Single-celled organisms which lack a nucleus.






29. 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.






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






31. Any living thing on earth.






32. A type of symbiosis where each species will benefit from interacting with the other.






33. The spraying of pesticides to prevent a pest problem before it happens.






34. All of the water found on earth.






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






36. A type of farming where the farmer will grow just enough crops to satisfy his family's needs for the next year.






37. Biomes with less than 10 inches of rain a year. Foliage is scarce in these areas - and remaining plants and animals work hard to conserve the little water they receive.






38. Integrating rows of trees alongside crops to provide mulch and shade - retain water in the soil - and promote sustainable land use.






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






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






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






42. The process of planting different plant species right next to each other to maximize one's yield.






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






44. A forest near the equator with heavy rainfall and a great diversity of plant and animal life. Although a mere 2% of the earth is covered with these forests - they contain 50-80% of earth's land species.






45. The process of a gas transforming into a liquid.






46. Growing only one crop at a time.






47. 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.






48. An act which protects certain lands as national parks.






49. 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.






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