Midterm

Which of the following plants is a legume which may have nitrogen fixing bacteria attached to their roots?

Bean

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem service provided by forests?

Climate regulation

The ocean conveyor belt affects:

Regional and possibly global climate

Detritivores, scavengers, and decomposers are similar in that they

consume nonliving organic matter

The Tallgrass Prairie is currently the rarest biome in North America due to:

conversion to agriculture

Individuals within a population each have a unique combination of traits due to:

genetic variation

Which of the following stages comes LAST in addressing environmental problems?

evaluation

The infant mortality rate in a developing country is most likely to be:

higher than in a highly developed country

What do the cities of Tokyo-Yokohama-Osaka-Kobe represent in Japan?

home to 50 million people and an urban agglomeration

I = P x A x T model can be used to calculate which of the following?

human impact on the environment

In 1992, the United Nations had a conference on Environment and Development to consider all of the following issues EXCEPT

increasing natural disasters

Pollution is considered an external cost because:

its cost to the environment is not reflected in the price of the product that produces it.

A species is defined as:

a group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one another

Every ton of recycled paper saves approximately:

a. 17 trees. b. 7000 gal of water. c. 4100 kilowatt-hours of energy. d. 3 cubic yards of landfill space.

A brownfield is an urban area of

abandoned, vacant factories, warehouses, and residential sites that may be contaminated from past uses.

Volcanoes are commonly found:

above hot spots.

Endocrine disrupters:

affect the reproduction of fishes, birds, reptiles, and mammals

El Niño and La Niña are similar in that both events

affect weather patterns

Which of the following does NOT contribute to municipal solid waste production?

agriculture

Which of the following does not represent a "green architecture" feature?

all are green architectural features

El Niño—Southern Oscillation events:

alter both ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns

The most successful recycling program in the United States involves:

aluminum cans

In a pyramid of numbers, the largest number of organisms would typically be found:

at the lowest end of the food chain, with each successive trophic level occupied by fewer organisms.

decomposers provide mineral nutrients for

autotrophs

Which of the following abiotic factors does not typically affect biome structure?

salinity

Curitiba's improved living conditions and decreasing environmental impact come from all of the following except:

sharply curtailed population growth.

A type of subsistence agriculture which requires large tracts of land and consists of short periods of cultivation followed by lengthened fallow periods:

shifting cultivation

An environmental impact statement must include:

short- and long-term effects and any adverse environmental effects.

Domesticated plants and animals:

tend to lose genetic diversity as the farmer selects for more desirable agricultural characteristics.

Transpiration occurs in:

terrestrial plants

What category would carnivores fall into?

tertiary consumers and secondary consumers

"The solution to pollution is dilution" was a generally accepted pattern of the past. Today virtually all environmental scientists have rejected the dilution paradigm in favor of:

the boomerang paradigm: what you throw away can come back and hurt you

Nitrogen fixation is

the conversion of gaseous nitrogen into an organism friendly form (ammonia (NH3).

A journalist reports on what Hardin (1968) referred to as a "tragedy of the commons." The media story concerns

the environmental costs that everyone must pay in the long run due to individual exploitation of resources for short-term gains.

One human impact on the phosphorus cycle occurs through:

the erosion of agricultural lands.

Who was the first head of the U.S. Forest Service?

Gifford Pinchot

Integrated waste management refers to:

waste management techniques that involve reusing, recycling, and reducing.

Which of the following is not important in determining the distribution of organisms in aquatic biomes?

water

Economic strategies for pollution control include all of the following except:

.complete shutdown of a business that is responsible for excess environmental damage

Fill in the two blanks in the following statement: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average global temperature increased by ____ in the last 100 years, with more than half of that warming occurring in the last _____ years.

1° C; 30

_____% of the world's population controls approximately _____% of the world's finances (the sum of gross domestic products)

20; 80

As the 21st century began, the global human population reached __________ billion.

6

The correct, chemically balanced equation for cellular respiration is:

6O2 + C6H12O6 + 6H2O -> 6CO2 + 12H2O + ENERGY.

All of the following are successes in pollution control since 1970 except:

75% reduction in sulfur dioxide and resulting acid rain.

What percentage of the U.S. population lives in cities?

79 %

Which of the following best illustrates the process of evolution?

A population of mosquitoes develops resistance to a pesticide

DDT was sprayed in a Long Island salt marsh over a period of years for mosquito control. A portion of the food web is as follows

Algae -> shrimp-> American eel -> Atlantic needlefish -> ring-billed gull

Which of the following NOT a principle of deep ecology, according to Arne Naess?

All life has intrinsic value

What is the relationship between locations of earthquakes and plate tectonics?

All of these constitute a relationship between earthquakes and plate tectonics.

The legislation that authorizes the president of the United States to set aside national monuments is the:

Antiquities Act.

What is the correct sequence of steps in the scientific method? I. State the problem II. Analyze and interpret the data III. Develop a hypothesis IV. Share the results with other scientists V. Design and perform an experiment to test the hypothesis

C. I - III - V - II - IV

The country with the current largest population in the world is:

China

The ideas and customs of a group of people at a given period and passed from generation to generation is defined as:

Culture

Which of the following urbanization trends is true?

Currently, most urban growth in the world is occurring in developing countries.

Which of the following statements about genetic diversity is false?

During domestication, selection often occurs for traits which are not of obvious value to humans

The primary reason we have seasons is because of the:

Earth's tilt on its axis

Which of the following statements about the relationship between economics and population growth is true?

Economic growth in developing countries would profit from slower population growth.

The study of contaminants in the biosphere, including their harmful effects on ecosystems is termed:

Ecotoxicology

Which of the following is necessary to help raise the standard of living for the poorest segments of the population?

Education of children and reduction of illiteracy

Which of terms below is defined as "The ability to meet humanity's current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?"

Environmental sustainability

"The poor stay poor, not because they're lazy but because they have no access to capital." This statement provides the philosophical basis for which development strategy?

Establishment of Microcredit programs

A program in Curitiba, Brazil which pays bus tokens, surplus food, or school supplies for filled garbage bags is:

Garbage Purchase Program

The social construct that results in women not having the same rights, opportunities or privileges as men is

Gender inequality

Weather is a term that refers to the conditions in the atmosphere on a ________ basis, whereas climate is a description of ___________weather conditions.

Hourly or daily, average, long-term

Which of the following human impacts is mismatched with the detrimental effect it has had on a biome?

Hunting and fishing: desertification of the savanna, tropical grasslands

Which of the following is a true statement regarding the level of wealth in highly developed nations?I. It has created the wealthiest group of people that has ever livedII. Less than 5% of the world's people control approximately 25% of the world's economyIII. The wealthiest nations depend on many other nations for their level of prosperity

I, II, and III

Which of the following is a true statement about sustainable consumption?

If we do not voluntarily adopt it now, we may be forced into it in the future due to environmental degradation of the world and its resources

The involvement of governments in childbearing and child rearing is well established. All of the following are government interventions to influence population growth EXCEPT:

In Mexico, monetary "baby bonuses", paid maternity and paternity leaves, and government sponsored childcare

To test a hypothesis about a given variable, experimental and control groups are tested in parallel. Which of the following best explains the dual experiments?

In the experimental group, a chosen variable is altered in a known way. In the control group, that chosen variable is not altered so a comparison can be made.

All of the following are likely candidates to be incorporated into a comprehensive energy plan to stabilize the global climate EXCEPT:

Increased use of fossil fuels as developing nations like China grow economically

How does the concept of Sustainable Development differ from that of Environmental Sustainability?

It has a more direct focus on improving peoples' lives

Which of the following is a true statement about the global human population size

It is predicted to stop growing in the next 100 years

Which of the following is a true statement regarding resource consumption in highly developed countries?

It must be reduced in order to achieve environmental sustainability

How does environmental diplomacy differ from diplomacy concerning other issues?

It requires that policy decisions be made on an international level

What factors ultimately determine the carrying capacity of a given ecosystem?

Its ability to absorb wastes and renew itself

All of the following were authors whose writings influenced the environmental movement except:

John James Audubon

Founder of the Sierra Club, naturalist, and force behind the establishment of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks:

John Muir.

Which of the following does not affect ocean currents?

Marine organisms

Which of the following statements about landfills is FALSE?

Most sanitary landfills in operation today meet current standards for new landfills

The relationship exemplified by bees consuming nectar and carrying pollen from one flower to another is known as:

Mutualism

Which of the following statements about organic food production is true?

Organic livestock must be fed organic feed.

Which of the following forms of hazardous waste is incorrectly paired with its source?

PCBs - composting

Which of the following accurately represents a carbon source and the process that releases carbon from that source?

Plants, cellular respiration

Whose work heightened public awareness and concern about the use of pesticides and ultimately led to restrictions on the use of certain pesticides?

Rachel Carson

Globally, where do most malnourished people live

Rural areas

Which of the following represent the two regions of the world with the greatest food insecurity?

South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

The two areas of the world with the greatest food insecurity are:

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Approximately what percentage of the original area of tropical rain forests remains intact?

Slightly less than one third

In a pyramid of biomass, the tropic level of which organism would have the LEAST BIOMASS?Grass, is eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by toads, which are eaten by snakes

Snakes

Which of the following statements about sustainable agriculture is false?

Sustainable agriculture methods are less damaging to the environment, but have higher associated costs.

Which of the following are NOT examples of religions making an effort to improve the environment?

The 2010 Baha'i Social and Economic Development Conference B.U.N. Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders Evangelical Climate Initiative International Seminar on Religion, Culture, and Environment sponsored partially by the Islamic Republic of Iran

Energy

The ability to do work or cause change

Many plants have evolved mutualistic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria because:

The bacteria transform nitrogen into useful forms for the plants; the plants provide carbohydrates

All of the following are main factors involved in emergence or reemergence of infectious disease EXCEPT:

The depletion of antibiotics

What is gentrification?

The movement of wealthier people back to older, run-down homes that have been renovated.

The chemical energy stored in a plant is an example of:

potential energy.

The main cause of undernutrition and malnutrition is:

poverty

A scientist who first sounded the alarm about the growth of the human population and the ability of the earth to handle a large population of humans was

Thomas Malthus

An important lesson that applies to many of the environmental issues discussed in this course is that:

Those of us who live in highly developed nations are at the core of the environmental problems facing the world today

What country produces the most genetically modified crops?

United states

What characteristic defines a megacity?

a city that has more than 10 million inhabitants

An example of a biotic component of an ecosystem is

a community

In addressing environmental problems, several stages can be followed. For example, when it was discovered that the rat population on the island of Pumehana was out of control, scientists assessed the problem and formulated a model that suggested if a rat predator is introduced, then the rat population will be significantly decreased. The next step in addressing this environmental problem might be:

a risk analysis. If a mongoose is introduced to control the rat, what are the possible effects of this intervention

Which of the following is an area where primary succession is likely to occur?

a sand dune along a lakeshore

The mechanism of natural selection involves all of the following except:

a stable community structure

Each level or "link" in a food chain or a food web is called:

a trophic level.

A coastal body of water partly surrounded by land with input from both sea and fresh water is called:

an estuary

Livestock is an expensive source of food because:

animals are inefficient at converting plant food into meat

Unlike people who live in urban areas, people who live in rural areas

are employed in occupations which involve harvesting natural resources

Keystone species:

are usually not the most abundant species in the ecosystem

Which of the following traits is not a defense used by plants against herbivores? answer:

assembling in groups

Decomposers are

bacteria, fungi, and organisms that obtain energy from wastes or dead organisms

Two main reasons why world grain stocks have dropped in the past few years are:

bad weather and increased consumption of animal products

A relatively distinct terrestrial region characterized by similar environmental factors regardless of where it occurs in the world is called a/an:

biome

What do brownfields have in common with dust domes?

both are environmental problems associated with urban areas

Green anoles were forced out of their established habitat of trees, plants, walls, and fences by invasive brown anoles. The green anoles then had to find new habitats in wetlands and tree crowns. This example illustrates the concepts of:

both competition and realized niche

Which of the following represents a common-pool resource?

can be sustainably managed by communities with a shared interest, strong local governance, and community enforced accountablilty

A carcinogen is a

cancer-causing chemical, radiation, or virus

The pathway by which carbon is transferred from living organisms to the atmosphere is called:

cellular respiration

Which of the following associations between children, adults, and pesticides is correct?

children are more susceptible to pesticides because they weigh substantially less than adults.

A benefit of sanitary landfills over "open dumps" is that:

clay liners at the bottom of the landfill help prevent groundwater pollution. a soil cover minimizes the escape and dispersal of offensive odors. they have systems designed to collect leachate. they tend to have fewer rodents than open dumps.

The interdependent evolution of two interacting species is known as:

coevolution

The decline in genetic diversity within a given variety of crop plant results in loss of:

color variations. flavor differences. nutritional differences size variations.

Which of the following are NOT environmental problems commonly associated with urban areas?

compact development

Organic waste can be converted into valuable soil conditioners through the process of:

composting.

Which of the following does not apply to family planning measures used now or in the past in China?

compulsory sterilization of fathers after males are born

What factors have contributed to the economic disparity between older neighborhoods and suburbs?

declining inner-city property values and relocation of jobs to suburban areas

An improving socioeconomic condition of a country is generally correlated with

decreased birth rate and decreased population growth rate

All of the following are among the most important livestock species except:

deer

Increasing education results in a decrease in total fertility, primarily by:

delaying the age at which women have their first child.

The science of population structure and growth is called:

demography

All of the following are considered a part of a city's infrastructure except:

department stores

Which of the following statements about desert inhabitants is not true?

desert animals typically have adaptations for conserving water, but plants require no special adaptations

Which of the following fishing practices has been banned by most countries but continues to be used illegally?

drift nets

An organism's role, or lifestyle, within the structure of an ecosystem is its:

ecological niche

Pollutants that interfere with the normal functioning of hormones are called:

endocrine disrupters.

The ability to meet humanity's current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is termed:

environmental sustainability.

In the real world, many factors determine the numbers of organisms in any one population. Yet a SUPERFLY population with unlimited food and no mortality would show what types of growth?

exponential

When consumption or production of a product has a harmful side effect that is borne by people not directly involved in the market exchange for that product, the side effect is called a(n):

external cost.

Having a bottle of freon cost a consumer $2,000 to pay for the damage it does to the ozone layer when it is eventually released into the environment is an example of adding in:

external costs.

Risk assessment involves all of the following except:

financial costs of the predicted risk

Aquaculture is:

fish farming

Earth Day:

focuses on what individuals can do to protect the environment.

Which of the following should NOT be recycled?

food scraps

Which represents the interlocking of food chains which connects organisms in an ecosystem?

food web

In October of 2003, a raging wildfire swept through the mountain ecosystems in Southern California, burning everything in its path to the ground and driving away all of the animals. In order for the mountain ecosystem to re-establish itself, which member of the food web has to return first?

grass

Which of the following does not correctly pair the ecosystem with a service it provides?

grasslands - dilute and remove pollutants

In the postindustrial stage there is:

greater affluence and higher levels of education

Which of the following organisms are capable of cellular respiration?

green plants bacteria carnivores algae

The deep ecology worldview is an understanding of our place in the world based on

harmony with nature and a respect for life

Precipitation

has a profound effect on the distribution of organisms.

Tundra

has an extended day length during its growing season.

The boreal forest:

has numerous ponds and lakes formed by grinding ice sheets

Which of the following is not true of highly developed countries?

have high fertility rates

A secondary consumer would eat:

herbivores.

Highly developed countries are characterized by

high per capita incomes

Which of the following is not one of the biogeochemical cycles considered of particular importance for organisms?

hydrogen

Over half of the solid waste produced in the United States is disposed of:

in sanitary landfills

Which of the following does not apply to freshwater wetlands?

increase potential for flooding

Which of the following is not a source of human impact on the marine environment?

increased levels of O2

Which of the following correctly identifies one of the goals of waste prevention?

increased reuse of products

One approach to pollution control is incentive-based regulation. In this tactic

industries adopting specific pollution control methods recommended by the government are rewarded.

Two indicators of human health in a given country are

infant mortality and life expectancy

The young age structure of urban areas can be attributed to:

influx of young people from rural areas

Bioremediation:

involves the use of either microorganisms or plants to clean up a contaminated site.

Urbanization:

is growing more quickly in developing countries than in developed countries.

Soil in deserts:

is high in mineral content.

A dose that is represented as LD50 is a dose that

kills half of the population of test animals

The dominant herbivores in the Antarctic food web are:

krill

Portland, Oregon provides a good example of compact development because:

land-use policies are in place

Which of the following represent potential markets for compost from municipal solid waste composting programs?

landscapers greenhouses golf courses farmers

Which of the following organisms would be members of a pioneer community on bare rock?

lichens

Non-renewable resource IS TO renewable resource AS:

limited supply is to sustainable supply

The shallow-water area along the shore of a lake or pond is called the __________ zone:

littoral

In 1978, ________ became the first location ever declared a national emergency area because of hazardous waste.

love canal NY

Environmental contaminants are linked to ALL of the following serious diseases EXCEPT:

malaria

In the field of economics, the additional cost associated with one more unit of something is called a(n):

marginal cost.

GM (genetically modified) crops and foods:

may have higher nutritional value than the original product. may be resistant to pests, diseases, and stressful weather/climate conditions. may produce unexpected allergic reactions in some consumers. have been largely banned by the European Union.

Which of the following is an endocrine disrupter?

mercury

Sustainable agricultural practices are characterized by all of the following except:

monoculture.

In order to estimate human impact on the environment we can:

multiply the number of people times affluence per person times resources needed and wastes produced: I=P x A x T

Which of the following is an adaptation of flowers resulting from the coevolution of plants and pollinators?

nectar

Which of the following does not apply to the tundra biome?

no permafrost

Tropical rain forests:

occur in areas with ancient, mineral-poor soil

Secondary succession:

occurs in areas lacking vegetation where soil is present

Predation can be defined as:

one organism consuming another organism, which may be a plant or animal

Environmental Impact Statements:

only address potential impact on endangered or threatened species

Flowing-water ecosystems, especially headwater streams, receive most of their energy from:

organic detritus

A lethal dose of a toxicant may vary depending on all of the following EXCEPT:

organism's geographic location

The largest single component of municipal solid waste in the United States is:

paper products.

The relationship between a tick and a dog is an example of:

parasitism

Chemicals that are not readily broken down into less toxic forms are said to exhibit:

persistence

The major biological source of oxygen, which many organisms require when they break down glucose, is actually a by-product of:

photosynthesis

A type of intercropping in which many different species of plants are planted together:

polyculture

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This statement is the heart of the

precautionary principle

Acute toxicity:

produces an effect within a short period of a single exposure

Family planning services

provide information on reproductive physiology and contraceptive methods

The National Environmental Policy Act:

provided for the establishment of the Court on Environmental Quality to enforce U.S. environmental law.

Green chemistry can play a significant role in waste management by:

reducing the amount of hazardous materials used in industrial processes.

Germplasm:

refers to only the seeds of traditional crop varieties.

Which of the following is not an environmental problem associated with industrialized agriculture?

release of antioxidants

Provisions of the Endangered Species Act

require the government to protect the habitat of endangered species so that their numbers increase

Compact development benefits the environment in all of the following ways except:

reversing the trend towards urbanization.3

In which organism would biological magnification be greatest?

ring-billed gull

The movement of water from land to rivers, lakes, wetlands and ultimately, the ocean is called:

runoff

Which of the following is not a product of cellular respiration?

sugar

The biome most suitable for the development of farmland is:

temperate grassland

The biomes known for supporting herds of grazing animals are:

temperate grassland and savanna

A good example of source reduction would be:

the lighter weight of aluminum cans compared to 30 years ago

The single most important factor affecting high total fertility rates may be

the low status of women in many societies

One of the problems associated with sanitary landfills is:

the possibility of a methane gas explosion

Concern over the routine use of antibiotics in raising livestock centers around:

the potential that bacterial resistance to antibiotics may increase as a result.

One reason that only a small percentage of plastic is recycled is that:

there are many different kinds of plastic found in consumer products.

The concept of microcredit is designed to:

to empower the poor (particularly women) to begin small businesses

Why are refillable glass beverage bottles rarely used in the United States today?

transportation costs of heavy bottles to and from centralized bottling plants

Which of the following biomes has the highest biodiversity?

tropical rain forest

Competition occurs when:

two or more species attempt to use an essential common resource

The Ehrlich/Holdren model assesses human impact on the environment based on all of the following factors EXCEPT:

urbanization