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






2. 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.






3. Organisms which thrive in high nutrient environments - especially those with plenty of carbon.






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






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






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






7. Growing only one crop at a time.






8. The process by which the sun's energy converts liquid water to water vapor in the atmosphere.






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






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






11. Consumers which eat only other animals.






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






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






14. The flow of water in the water table.






15. Surface run-off caused by melted snow.






16. The study of the interaction between organisms and their environment.






17. 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.






18. The loss of water vapor from leaves.






19. Consumers which eat decomposing organic material.






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






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






22. Animals which eat leaves and shoots.






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






24. 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.






25. 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.






26. All of the water found on earth.






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






28. A transitional area between two different ecosystems.






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






30. All members of a species which live in the same area.






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






32. An international convention which created the framework for protecting the ozone layer.






33. All of the ecosystems on earth.






34. 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.






35. Populations characterized by large size - long lifespan - and few offspring.






36. The second atmospheric layer. The ozone layer is found here - increasing the temperature with altitude.






37. 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.






38. Animals which eat grass and roots.






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






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






41. Growing more than one crop at a time.






42. Organisms with a nucleus.






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






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






45. Plants taking in nitrates from the soil.






46. 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.






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






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






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






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