Ap Environmental Science Test study guide.

What percentage of Earth's water is found in lakes?

0.013%

What are the 3 steps of recycling?

1. Collection and processing of recyclable materials through curbside recycling or designated locations 2. Using recyclables to produce new goods. 3. Consumers buying goods made from recycled materials

In a given ecosystem, producers convert solar energy into 15,000 kcal of chemical energy stored in organic compounds. Which of the following is the most likely amount of energy available to secondary consumers?

150 kcal- Rember the 10% of energy gets lost as it goes through the tropic levels

Human population growth in 2018 was 1.07%. If this rate of growth remains constant, in what year will the human population double?

2083 ( Need to remebr to find this i need to divide 70 by the growth rate)

The average American generates approximately ________ pounds (lb) of solid waste per day.

4.4

After 200 million years, only 1/16 of the original amount of a particular radioactive waste will remain. The half-life of this radioactive waste is how many million years?

50

open pit mining

A mining technique that uses a large pit or hole in the ground, visible from the surface of Earth. -Used to mine Copper, iron, gold, diamons, coal

Which of the following best describes the action of an endocrine disruptor? 1.An endocrine disruptor attacks hormones that invade a body system and cause disease. 2.An endocrine disruptor blocks the receptor protein binding site of a hormone so that the cell cannot receive a signal. 3.An endocrine disruptor acts as an organic catalyst, produced by living things to regulate the rate of chemical reactions. 4.An endocrine disruptor helps to transport substances, such as pesticides, in an organism following exposure.

An endocrine disruptor blocks the receptor protein binding site of a hormone so that the cell cannot receive a signal.

Which of the following is the current recommendation of Congress for the permanent storage of high-level radioactive waste in the United States?

Burial deep underground at sites remote from population centers

Which of the following is a primary air pollutant produced from burning coal?

Carbon monoxide

Which of the following substances is released by CFC's and catalyzes a chain reaction that breaks down ozone in the upper atmosphere?

Chlorine

Which of the following is the correct order of soil particles in order of increasing size? 1.Clay—sand—silt 2.Clay—silt—sand 3.Sand—clay—silt 4.Sand—silt—clay 5.Silt—clay—sand

Clay—silt—sand

Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level? 1.Spider 2.Hawk 3.Snake 4.Deer 5.Lion

Deer

What is e-waste and why is it a growing concern?

E-waste is wasate involving electronic devices E-waste is a growing concern in the electronic age of the 21st century, how electronics that are thrown away pollute our environment by leaking toxic metals such as lead and mercury

Which of the following best describes how an anthropogenic activity can increase ocean acidification? 1.Emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels increase atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is absorbed by the ocean. 2.A spill from an oil rig in the ocean can have acute toxic effects on fish and other aquatic organisms, which disrupt the aquatic food web. 3.Tourist activities in coastal areas increase the concentration of sunscreen in the water, which decreases the photosynthetic rates of aquatic producers and increases the pH of the ocean. 4.During and after a major volcanic eruption, large amounts of greenhouse gases, aerosols, and ash are released into the stratosphere, which affects global climate

Emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels increase atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is absorbed by the ocean.

Which of the following best describes the movement of energy in an ecosystem? 1. Energy is constantly recycled by decomposers for use by producers. 2.Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer. 3.Energy is absorbed by plants through water and soil and then moves up the food chain through consumers. 4.Energy is magnified as it moves up the trophic levels, and tertiary consumers store the most energy in a food web.

Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer.

Which of the following best describes the movement of energy in an ecosystem? 1.Energy is constantly recycled by decomposers for use by producers. 2.Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer. 3.Energy is absorbed by plants through water and soil and then moves up the food chain through consumers. 4.Energy is magnified as it moves up the trophic levels, and tertiary consumers store the most energy in a food web.

Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer.

Which of the following accurately describes a fuel cell vehicle?

Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen to generate electricity that runs the motor.

Which of the following can be used to assess the biological diversity of an area? 1.Population size of each species and area occupied by each population 2.Minimum population area and minimum viable population size 3.Ratio of r-strategists to K-strategists and life expectancy of K-strategists 4.Number of individuals under fifteen years old and number of individuals over sixty-five years old 5.Genetic variation within each species and number of species present

Genetic variation within each species and number of species present

Which of the following describes a potential human health effect most likely to be associated with a thermal inversion? 1.Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates 2.Increase in skin cancer due to increased ozone levels 3.Increase in allergies due to increased household mold 4.Increase in infant mortality due to increased atmospheric CO2 levels 5.Increase in heart attacks due to increased barometric pressure

Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates

Which of the following best describes an environmental advantage of urbanization? 1.Individuals living in cities have more varied employment opportunities than individuals living in rural areas. 2.Individuals living in cities have greater access to health care than individuals living in rural areas. 3.Individuals living in cities usually have greater access to fresh, local agricultural products than individuals living in rural areas. 4.Individuals living in cities usually have a lower transportation carbon footprint than individuals living in rural areas.

Individuals living in cities usually have a lower transportation carbon footprint than individuals living in rural areas.

What is the primary method of waste disposal in the United States?

Landfilling

The functional role of a species in its community is its ________.

Niche

This type of energy is considered a nonrenewable energy source.

Nuclear Energy

Photosynthesis is the major source of which of the following gases in Earth's atmosphere?

Oxygen

Why are both ends of each water molecule positive and the middle negative?

Oxygen has a greater pull on the electrons.

Which of the following best describes how electricity is generated using photovoltaic cells?

Photons of light excite electrons that result in a flow of current.

Which of the following describes the changes in a country's demographics as it begins its transition from a preindustrial state to an industrial state? 1.Population increases rapidly, birth rate declines, death rate increases 2.Population increases rapidly, birth rate declines, death rate remains high 3.Population decreases rapidly, birth rate declines, death rate decreases 4.Population decreases rapidly, birth rate remains high, death rate increases 5.Population increases rapidly, birth rate remains high, death rate decreases

Population increases rapidly, birth rate remains high, death rate decreases

In some areas, cattle on an open range may compact fragile soils while grazing. This can damage plant roots, leading to fewer, smaller plants, which may in turn cause cattle to graze more and work harder to obtain food. This is an example of a ________.

Positive feedback loop ( Postive feedback loops drive a system further towards an extreme.)

The acid in acid drainage comes from

Reaction of sulfide minerals in exposed rock to oxygen and rainwater

What are key ways towards managing waste?

Recovery- recovering or emoving waste from waste streams Recycling= collects and sends used goods to facilities to manufacture into new goods. Composting= recovery of organic waste by converting it into mulch or humus through decomposition

industrial ecology

Redisgning industrial systems to reduce resource inputs while maxiizing physical and economic efficiency

What gives the EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from "cradle-to-grave", including the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste?

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Which of the following problems is best addressed with contour plowing? 1.Eutrophication 2.Denitrification 3.The pesticide treadmill 4.Soil erosion 5.Soil salinization

Soil erosion

Which of the following air pollutants is correctly paired with one of its major effects? 1.Particulates . . production of photochemical smog 2.Radon . . global climate change 3.Sulfur oxides . . acid deposition 4.Lead . . skin cancer 5.Carbon oxides . . ozone layer depletion

Sulfur oxides . . acid deposition

What are the three dispoal methods of hazardous waste?

Surface impoundments- store liquid hazardous waste in shallow depressions lined with plastic and clay Deep-well injection- Drills deep beneth the water table into porous rock and injects waste into it. Landfills- Areas in which waste is stored

Which of the following best describes how the use of hydrogen fuel negatively impacts the environment? 1.The harvesting of hydrogen fuel from ocean sediments can result in damage to marine ecosystems and fisheries. 2.The transport of hydrogen fuel requires pipelines that can negatively impact terrestrial habitats, especially when these pipelines leak. 3.The combustion of hydrogen fuel releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to ocean acidification and global climate change. 4.The energy needed to produce the hydrogen fuel may come from fossil fuels, whose use contributes to ocean acidification and global climate change.

The energy needed to produce the hydrogen fuel may come from fossil fuels, whose use contributes to ocean acidification and global climate change.

The water used in this type of power plant is often released back into a reservoir. What is the following effect of the released water on a reservoir?

The temperature of the released water causes a decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the reservoir.

What is a drawback to using biofuels, such as ethanol, as a fuel source?

There is high energy investment in producing and processing the crops needed for ethanol production.

What standards must landfills meet?

They must meet the resource Conservation and Recvovery Act (RCRA) standards

Most oxygen is found in this layer of the atmosphere.

Troposphere

industrial solid waste

Waste from production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture and petroleum extraction and refining

Incineration

a controlled process that bruns garbage at very high temperatures

The rapid melting of Greenland's ice cap could disrupt the NADW formation by ________.

adding huge amounts of less dense fresh water to the surface of the system

Marine reserves ________.

an area of the ocean designated as a "no-fishing" zone, allowing no extractive activities

Bisphenol-A is ________.

an estrogen mimic that is used in plastic manufacturing

Which of the following would be most vulnerable to extinction? 1.a moth, brought to the United States for silk production, escaping into the wild and becoming established 2.a migratory flock of warblers stopping along its winter route to feed on local resources that are now gone and replaced by a suburb 3.a healthy plant, such as a pine tree, that completely dominates its native environment 4.an orchid endemic to a forest where logging is occurring 5.a mold that attacks wheat in the field

an orchid endemic to a forest where logging is occurring

Ecosystem services________

are economically valuable services provided by natural systems

Second-growth forests ________.

are forests that establish themselves after virgin timber has been removed from an area

Synergistic effects of toxicants ________.

are greater than the sum of the effects of the components

Wilderness areas ________.

are off-limits to development of any kind but are open to low-impact recreation

The role of zoning is to ________.

classify areas for different types of urban development and land use

The area that underlies the shallow water bordering continents is called the ________.

continental shelf

A self-amplifying reaction and a nuclear explosion in a nuclear power plant are prevented in large part by ________.

control rods that absorb extra neutrons

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the pumping of highly pressurized water with a mixture of sand and chemicals into boreholes to _______________.

create cracks within the rock in order to provide pathways for the release of gas and oil.

The new urbanism tries to ________.

develop walkable neighborhoods, with homes and businesses close together

A major limitation of using photovoltaic cells to generate electricity is that they ________________.

do not produce as much electricity on cloudy days

When assessing energy resources, it is helpful to use a measure called EROI, which is ________.

energy returned divided by energy invested

We build dams to ________.

generate electricity, prevent flooding, and provide irrigation

Deforestation ________.

has the greatest impacts in tropical areas and arid regions and is the clearing of trees from an area

According to plate tectonics the continets that we see today ______

have merged and split apart several times over the 4.6 billion years of Earth's history

The urban heat island effect is caused by ________.

heat-generating buildings and dark, heat-absorbing surfaces

E-wastes are a source of ________.

heavy metals

The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy of a system tends to ______________.

increase

Which of the following is most likely to be the direct result of lack of genetic diversity in a food crop such as corn? 1.Decreased kernel size 2.Decreased potential yield 3.Decreased dependence on chemical fertilizers 4.Increased susceptibility to plant disease 5.Increased resistance to pests

increase susceptibilty to plant disease

In an aquatic ecosystem experiencing eutrophication, levels of dissolved macronutrients ________ and dissolved oxygen levels ________.

increase; decrease

Any consideration of the true costs of sprawl must include ________.

increased use of fossil fuels

The Keystone XL pipeline ________.

is a hotly debated pipeline that would carry petroleum from Canada to the southern United States

Which of the following are classified as heavy metals? 1.carbon, hydrogen, oxygen 2.any nonbiodegradable materials 3.nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 4.lead, mercury, cadmium 5.aluminum, iron, silicon

lead, mercury, cadmium

In thermohaline circulation of global current systems, surface water is ________.

less salty, less dense, and warmer

Leachate

liquid from trash dissolved by rainwater

hazardous waste

liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans or ecosystems

Buildings designed to partially heat rooms by passive solar heating rely on

materials that absorb and store solar energy to warm the room

People who live entirely within an urban environment ________.

may become disconnected from nature and from the true costs of their needs and activities

If a mineral is opaque, lustrous, malleable and can conduct heat and electricity, it is a(n) ____________

metal

The most problematic greenhouse gas produced from most landfills is ________.

methane

Strip mining

method of mining shallow horizontal deposits in which layers of soil and rock are removed to expose the resource - Used for coal, oil sands, and gravel -Economically efficient, but environmentall damaging.

A naturally occurring solid chemical element with a distinct composition and a crystal structure is a(n) ________.

mineral

subsurface mines

mines that access deep pockets of a mineral through shafts and tunnels that follow deposits -used for mining zinc, lead, nickel, tin, gold, diamons, phopshate, salt, coal -the most dangerous form of mining.

placer mining

mining that uses running water to separate the lighter materials from the heavier minerals

Decomposition in a landfill will happen faster if there is more ________.

moisture

Municipal solid waste

nonliquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses

overburden

overlying soil and rock that is removed by heavy machinery

Land trusts are ________.

private nonprofit groups

mountaintop removal mining

process in which several hundred vertical feet of mountaintop are removed to allow recovery of entire seams of a resource

An urban growth boundary (UGB) is intended to ________.

provide guidelines for city development to separate areas desired to be urban from areas desired to be rural

Upwelling ________.

results in areas of high primary productivity at the ocean surface

acid drainage

sulfide minerals in exposed rock form sulfuric acid and flow into waterways

Prescribed burns would be used in forests ________.

that are subject to severe wild fires to remove fuel load and stimulate new growth

The greatest general problem with suburbs is ________.

that they spread environmental impact over a larger area

A watershed is ________.

the area of land from which rainfall drains into rivers or lakes

cogneration

the generation of electricity and other energy jointly, especially the utilization of the steam left over from electricity generation to produce heat.

Fires on the Cuyahoga River raised concerns that contributed to ________.

the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972

Population distribution describes ________.

the spatial arrangement of individuals of a single species within a particular area or ecosystem

LEED-certified buildings could be described in all of the following ways, except ________.

their construction costs much less than for conventional buildings

Carcinogens may be difficult to identify because ________.

there is a long lag time between exposure to the agent and disease

A trophic cascade is the effect of the loss of ________ on ________.

top consumers; the abundance of lower consumers and producers

Most of Earth's liquid fresh water is found ________.

underground

Sanitary landfills

waste buried in the ground or piled in large mounds to prevent contamination and health threats

Factors involved in soil formation include ________.

weathering of parent material and the addition of organic material

The danger from radon gas would most likely be greatest in

well-insulated homes