4,1,2 apes

Which soil horizon is best developed in areas with dense vegetation, such as forests and grasslands, since the horizon consists of decomposing leaves and other plant material?

A

A farm is experiencing extensive crop loss due to high rains causing overly saturated soils. Which of the following approaches would best help the farmer alleviate the problem?

Amending the soil with sand to increase the permeability of the soil

Which of the following best describes a transform boundary?

An area where two tectonic plates slide past one another

Organisms adapted to surviving in water with the widest range of salinity would most likely be native species in which of the following marine environments?

An estuary within a lagoon

This area is most susceptible to erosion, leading to increased suspended solids and increased turbidity downstream.

B

A community located downwind from a coal-fired power plant has seen a recent increase in the number of dead and dying trees. A soil scientist measured values for the following parameters before and after the trees died off. Which of the following soil data should be used to determine if the coal-fired power plant emissions were the cause of the damage to the trees?

Calcium and aluminum levels

At this site a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, which occurred at a nearby subduction zone, triggered one of the largest nuclear reactor disasters in history.

D

Which soil horizon is the least weathered horizon and contains rock that is starting to break down into soil?

D

Which process in the nitrogen cycle releases nitrogen gas into the atmosphere?

Denitrification of soil nitrates by bacteria

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.

Which of the following properties is most likely associated with soils that contain more sand-sized particles than soils that contain more clay-sized particles?

High permeability

A research team monitoring a local freshwater ecosystem noticed that over the past few years the otter population had declined significantly, while the populations of other species remained fairly constant. After running tests, the research team determined that mercury levels in invertebrates and small fish in the ecosystem were very high. In this ecosystem, what role did the otters occupy?

Indicator species

The many finch species of the Galápagos Islands evolved from a single species that immigrated to the islands from the coast of South America. These species differ primarily in beak shape, which is closely related to the type of food each species specializes in eating.

Islands have limited food resources, forcing species to feed on a small range of food items.

A team at a university in Pennsylvania has concerns about the health of streams in a watershed because of the various land uses in the area. There has been an increase in road repair work, and the area has many dairy farms. Which of the following would be most effective at preventing sediment runoff into the streams of the watershed?

Maintain zones of grass at least 100m wide on the sides of streams in the area.

Which of the following is the most abundant gas by volume in the atmosphere?

N2

Scientists are looking for new locations to generate electricity using geothermal energy. Which of the following locations would be the best choice for a geothermal energy generating plant?

Near tectonic plate boundaries

The city of London in the United Kingdom is found approximately at the same latitude as the city of Calgary in Canada. Calgary has an average high temperature in December of −4.6 degrees Celsius, while London has an average high temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius. 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.

On the coast of Oregon, mussels cover most of the rocky shoreline. Two mussel predators include Pisaster(ochre stars) and Nucella (whelks). A sixty-day removal study was conducted, and the results are presented in the graph. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the data in the graph?

Pisaster is a keystone species, because when Nucella was removed the proportion of live mussels was similar to the control.

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event was caused when an asteroid impacted Earth approximately 66 million years ago, near what is now the Gulf of Mexico. The indirect effects of the impact affected the entire globe. The event resulted in the extinction of nearly 75 percent of all plant and animal species on Earth, including the majority of dinosaur species. Which of the following likely best describes why most of these species went extinct?

Rapid climate and habitat change

Two bird species coexist by feeding on the same type of insects in different parts of a tree. One bird species hunts insects near the top of the tree. The other bird species hunts insects near the base of the tree. Which of the following concepts is demonstrated between the two bird species?

Resource partitioning

Corn is a crop that grows best in soil that drains well. Which of the following soils is best suited to grow corn?

Sandy loam because it has large amounts of sand and less than 20% clay.

Which of the following best describes why secondary succession generally occurs more quickly than primary succession?

Secondary succession takes place in areas that already have soil and nutrients in place, whereas primary succession occurs in areas that lack soil.

Which of the following is the primary energy source for producers in near-surface marine communities?

Solar energy from the Sun

This layer of Earth's atmosphere contains the ozone layer that absorbs the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Stratosphere

The thick forest of this biome tends to be well adapted to short growing seasons.

Taiga

Which of the following is the best method for preventing soil erosion in an agricultural area?

Terrace farming

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.

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.

In England approximately 250 years ago, the peppered moth had light-colored wing patterns that camouflaged them against the light-colored trees. Over time in urban areas, the number of peppered moths with dark-colored wings increased as pollution from the Industrial Revolution darkened the trees the moths rested on. Which of the following statements best describes how the moths adapted to the new environment over time?

The moths adapted to the new environment by changes in the genetics of the population.

Which of the following biogeochemical cycles is correctly paired with its largest reservoir?

The nitrogen cycle and the atmosphere

The Devils Hole pupfish is one of the world's rarest fishes, spending most of its life in the top few meters of very warm waters of a cavern located in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Devils Hole, a geologic pool, is the only naturally occurring habitat for the endangered Devils Hole pupfish. This fish's habitat is one of the smallest natural ranges known for any vertebrate. Devils Hole is an extreme environment, with water temperatures and dissolved oxygen concentrations near the lethal limits for most fish species. Which of the following statements best explains why the Devils Hole pupfish are able to live in this environment?

The pupfish are well adapted to the habitat of Devils Hole and can thrive in conditions that are outside of the range of tolerance for most other species.

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.

Which of the following is a measure of the biodiversity of an ecosystem?

The total number of different plant species

This layer of Earth's atmosphere contains the fewest molecules of the layers shown, and the low density of gas leads to very few molecules transferring heat to an object. In this layer, ultraviolet radiation causes photodissociation of molecules, creating ions.

Thermosphere

This biome has the highest net primary productivity, in part because of consistently warm temperatures and abundant sunlight.

Tropical rainforest

In which of the following atmospheric layers does most weather occur?

Troposphere

This layer of Earth's atmosphere has the highest density of any atmospheric layer and contains most of the water vapor in the atmosphere.

Troposphere

The underlying subsoil of this biome is permafrost, which prevents both water draining through and deep-rooted plants from growing. Additionally, there is very little precipitation per year.

Tundra

Which of the following agricultural practices would most likely lead to improved water quality in nearby streams and rivers?

Using crop rotation in fields

Which of the following is a primary cause of El Niño climate variations?

Warmer surface waters in the Pacific Ocean

Which of the following best describes a supporting ecological service provided by wetlands?

Wetlands provide a habitat for a wide variety of organisms.

A student reads that nanosilver particles are used in cosmetics to allow nutrients to penetrate deeper into the skin. When the cosmetics are washed off, the nanosilver particles can enter freshwater ecosystems. These particles may decrease survival in many aquatic organisms. The student determines that Daphniamagna, a tiny freshwater crustacean widely found in North America, might make a good test subject for an experiment. Which statement below is the most likely testable hypothesis based on the information provided?

When the concentration of nanosilver particles in water is increased, the population of Daphnia magna will decrease.

Which soil horizon has very little organic matter and accumulates soluble metals and nutrients that are transported from other soil layers?

c