AP Enviro Unit 4
Students want to determine the impact of soil erosion from the development of new housing. They plan to measure the density of a species of algae growing along the bottom of a river that flows through their town. The town is built in a heavily forested area, but a large area of trees along the river was recently clear-cut to allow for the construction of a new housing development, which has caused exposed soil to wash into the river. The river flows north to south through the town and is still forested both up- and downstream of the town. Which of the following would be the best control sample for the study?
A sample of water collected just downstream of the northern forest
At which of the following sites would activity result in volcanoes, island arcs, and mountains?
B
At which of the following sites is an earthquake most likely to occur as two plates slide sideways past each other?
C
Which soil horizon has very little organic matter and accumulates soluble metals and nutrients that are transported from other soil layers?
C
Which of the following shows the approximate concentration of CO2, N2 , and O2 in dry air?
CO2 1%, N2 78%, O2 21%
Which of the following is the correct order of soil particles in order of increasing size?
Clay—silt—sand
Based on the data in the table, which of the countries is most likely located at a subduction zone between an oceanic tectonic plate and a continental tectonic plate?
Country D
Which latitude shown on the diagram above experiences 24 hours of daylight on December 21?
E
Earth currently rotates on an axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees. If that axis changed to 20 degrees, so that the axis was closer to vertical, which of the following would be expected to occur?
Earth would experience a change in seasonal timing and length.
The high sea surface temperature in 1998 was most likely due to
El Niño
Which of the following changes in eastern Pacific Ocean food webs is typically associated with La Niña events?
Increased phytoplankton concentrations
Which of the following correctly characterizes one of Earth's atmospheric layers?
Layer C is the stratosphere, where the ozone layer is found
Based on the graph, which of the following can be concluded about the latitudes of the two locations?
Location 1 is close to the equator, and Location 2 is in the Northern Hemisphere.
Which of the following best explains why the shaded area receives more snowfall than the other parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio?
Moisture picked up from the warmer water in the Great Lakes is deposited as snow downwind.
Which of the following statements best explains why the average temperature of London is warmer than that of Calgary in December?
Oceanic currents warm the atmosphere in London
Of the following, which has the greatest permeability?
Sand
During an El Niño-Southern Oscillation event, which of the following best describes conditions in the eastern part of the tropical Pacific Ocean (e.g., near Peru and Ecuador)?
Sea Surface Temp: High and Rainfall: High
Which of the following is the source of energy driving the circulation pattern labeled C in the diagram?
Solar radiation
Which of the following best describes why understanding a watershed and its boundaries is important in designing housing developments along a river?
Surface water and stormwater runoff will drain downstream within the watershed boundaries, so it is important to understand the flow of water through the watershed.
Which of the following correctly describes the season and length of day at the Tropic of Cancer at the time of year shown in the diagram?
The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun so it is winter at the Tropic of Cancer and daylight is less than twelve hours per day.
Based on the diagram, which of the following changes are most likely to occur in the central and eastern tropical Pacific during El Niño?
The Peruvian current weakens, leading to warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures.
If the diagram illustrates Earth's relative position on December 21 of a given year, which of the following statements would be correct?
The Tropic of Cancer has a shorter day and lower solar radiation intensity because there is a direct relationship between day length and radiation intensity.
Which of the following areas receives the most intense solar radiation at the time of year shown in the diagram, and why?
The Tropic of Capricorn, because this latitude is nearly horizontal to incoming solar radiation.
Based on the diagram, which of the following statements best explains why the climate of the West Coast of Africa is drier than that of the East Coast of the United States, even though they are located at similar northern latitudes?
The cold ocean currents off Africa absorb heat from land and therefore cool the atmosphere.
Students want to determine the impact of soil erosion from the development of new housing. They plan to measure the density of a species of algae growing along the bottom of a river that flows through their town. The town is built in a heavily forested area, but a large area of trees along the river was recently clear-cut to allow for the construction of a new housing development, which has caused exposed soil to wash into the river. The river flows north to south through the town and is still forested both up- and downstream of the town. Which of the following is the dependent variable in the study?
The density of a species of algae growing along the bottom of the river
Based on the diagram, which of the following identifies a characteristic of the atmosphere between the stratopause and the tropopause?
The ozone layer is in the stratosphere.
Which of the following best explains why City B regularly receives less precipitation than City A?
The rain shadow effect causes City B to be drier because the mountain blocks precipitation from reaching the city.
Which of the following does NOT exert a major influence on Earth's overall climate?
The seasonal development of temperature inversions in geographical basins
Which of the following best explains why the lower portion of the troposphere is warmer than the upper portion?
The surface of Earth absorbs sunlight, heating the lower portion of the troposphere more than the upper part.
During an El Niño event, warm surface water moves from the western equatorial Pacific Ocean to the eastern equatorial region. Which of the following best describes how the warm water will affect upwelling off the coast of equatorial South America?
The warm surface water will decrease upwelling because of the density difference between the warm surface water and the cold deep water.
El Niño, a periodic warming of ocean surface waters, occurs in which of the following regions?
Tropical East Pacific
In which of the following atmospheric layers does most weather occur?
Troposphere
Region largely responsible for the weather experienced at the Earth's surface
Troposphere
Which of the following explains the variable that would be the best for students to measure to determine the direct impact of soil erosion caused by the construction project on the river?
Turbidity, because a decrease in water clarity would indicate an increase in soil erosion.
Most deserts on Earth are located near the 30° north and 30° south latitudes because humidity is lower at 30°. The best explanation for the lower humidity is that
Warm air rises at the equator, cools, and sinks at 30° latitude
Which of the following causes the air to rise high into the atmosphere in the areas labeled A, B, and C on the diagram?
Warm, moist air that is less dense than the surrounding air
Brown pelicans are fish-eating birds. As a result of an El Niño event, the population of brown pelicans in southern California declines. Which of the following best explains the relationship between the El Niño event and the population decline?
Warmer ocean temperatures can cause fish to move to colder water farther from pelican nest sites.
Which of the following is a primary cause of El Niño climate variations?
Warmer surface waters in the Pacific Ocean
The primary cause of Earth's seasons is the
constant tilt of Earth's rotational axis with respect to the plane of its orbit around the Sun
Most of the Earth's deserts are at approximately 30° latitude, north and south, because these latitudes are characterized by
descending dry air currents
The most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere is
nitrogen
The Sun's radiation provides the energy for all of the following EXCEPT
plate tectonics
The low anchovy catch in 1998 was most likely the result of
reduced ocean upwelling along the coast
