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. 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.






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






3. 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.






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






5. 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.






6. A layer of gasses surrounding the earth.






7. 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






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






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






10. Precipitation which does not reach the soil but is instead collected by plants.






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






12. Organisms with a nucleus.






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






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






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






16. A UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro. The conference decided to protect biodiversity - reduce pollution emissions and greenhouse gasses - and promote sustainable development.






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






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






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






20. The first atmospheric layer. Most weather and pollution occurs here - and the temperature decreases with altitude.






21. The flow of water in the water table.






22. Consumers which eat both plants and animals.






23. 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.






24. 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.






25. Single-celled organisms which lack a nucleus.






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






27. Modern man.






28. Animals which eat grass and roots.






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






30. Organisms which produce their own food.






31. Plants taking in nitrates from the soil.






32. 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.






33. The crust and upper mantle of the earth.






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






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






36. Any living thing on earth.






37. 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.






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






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






40. A greenhouse gas which also plays a key role in regulating ozone levels.






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






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






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






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






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






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






47. The amount of pests needed before spraying pesticides is economical.






48. Growing only one crop at a time.






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






50. 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.