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. Organisms which produce their own food.






2. Single-celled organisms which lack a nucleus.






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






4. Organisms which eat other organisms.






5. A transitional area between two different ecosystems.






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






7. The biggest atmospheric layer. Without ozone - UV radiation causes ionization and the auroras in this layer.






8. 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.






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






10. All of the ecosystems on earth.






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






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






13. The loss of water vapor from leaves.






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






15. Modern man.






16. Animals which eat leaves and shoots.






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






18. The conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas.






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






20. 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.






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






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






23. 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.






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






25. A form of management which attempts to satisfy both the needs of humans and those of wildlife in the best way possible for both parties.






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






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






28. Surface run-off caused by melted snow.






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






30. Animals which eat grass and roots.






31. A bloom of phytoplankton in a body of water caused by an abnormal increase in nutrients. This process depletes the water's oxygen level - killing off other aquatic organisms.






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






33. 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.






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






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






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






37. 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.






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






39. 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.






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






41. The crust and upper mantle of the earth.






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






43. A type of symbiosis where one species will benefit while the other will be neither benefit or be harmed.






44. Consumers which eat decomposing organic material.






45. Consumers which eat only other animals.






46. The combination of evaporation from the ocean - lakes - and other bodies of water and transpiration - the loss of water from plants.






47. A theory that our current ecological problems are a product of deeper social problems.






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






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






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