APES unit 4 exam

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.

Based on the soil texture triangle, which of the following would describe soil that was 25% clay, 25% silt, and 50% sand?

sandy clay loam

At which of the following sites does seafloor spreading result in rifts and possible volcanoes?

A

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

The Sun's radiation provides the energy for all of the following EXCEPT

plate tectonics

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.

Region that contains the majority of molecules in the atmosphere

Troposphere

Which of the following would you expect to have the highest albedo?

fresh snow

Area where new crust is being created at a divergent plate boundary

B

At which of the following sites would activity result in volcanoes, island arcs, and mountains?

B

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

B

Area that exhibits a growing nonvolcanic mountain chain due to uplift

C

At which or 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

What are the proportions of sand, silt, and clay for the soil at point T?

% sand = 60 % slit = 30 % clay = 10

At what latitude is the surface of the Earth moving at the highest velocity?

0

Volcanoes are readily formed along 1. Convergent boundaries 2.Divergent boundaries 3. Transform fault boundaries

1 and 2

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

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 clay to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil

Which of the following best describes a transform boundary?

An area where two tectonic plates slide past one another

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

The diagram below shows the tectonic plate activity on the West Coast of the United States. Which of the following statements correctly explains the tectonic plate activity on the West Coast of the United States?

Earthquakes occur at the San Andreas Fault when stored energy is released from locked plates.

Region with the lowest atmospheric pressure

Exosphere

As plates move, organisms must respond to changes such as

I, II, III

. Which of the following changes in eastern Pacific Ocean food webs is typically associated with La Niña events?

Increased phytoplankton concentrations

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 100 m wide on the sides of streams in the area.

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 is the most abundant gas by volume in the atmosphere?

N2

The deterioration of soil by human actions can be considered a

Positive feedback loop because once soil becomes degraded, further consequences occur as a result

The deterioration of soil by human actions can be considered a

Positive feedback loop because once the soil has become degraded, further consequences occur as a result

Based on the data in the table above, which of the following samples would be the most prone to becoming waterlogged?

Sample D

Corn is a crop that grows best in soil that drains well

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

Corn is a crop that grows best in soil that drains well.

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

Which of the following best describes why the engineer chose to calculate the permeability of the soil sample in the experimental design in order to evaluate a natural containment system to protect groundwater?

Soils that have low permeability would best help protect groundwater because the soil traps pollutants so that chemical and biological breakdown can occur.

Region where the protective ozone layer is located

Stratosphere

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.

If the digram 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

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.

Which of the following is the BEST description of a region's climate?

The average temperature and precipitation over several decades

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 latitudes?

The cold ocean currents off Africa absorb hear 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

Which of the following should be included in a watershed map to best determine the non-point source of a pollutant, such as fertilizer, found in a river

The land use upstream of the river and water quality indicators in streams that run downstream into the river

sis environmental engincer wants to examine the permeability of different soils to determine the best natural containment system to protect groundwater from pollutants. The emeineer Yests four different soil samples, places them into a wet column, and pours 50 mL of water over each sample. The engineer records the totai amount of water that moves through the column as well as the total amount of time for the water to fully percolate through the soil. The data from the study are shown below. Which of the following best describes the independent variable in this research design?

The sample of material chosen as the potential container material is the variable being tested, so it is the independent variable.

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 does NOT exert a major influence on Earth's overall climate?

The seasonal development of temperature inversions in geographical basins

what best explains why the lower portion of the troposphere is warmer than the upper

The surface of Earth absorbs sunlight, heating the lower porfion of the troposphere more than the upper part.

Which of the following best explains why the lower portion of the troposphere is warmer than the upper portion?

The surface of the Earth absorbs sunlight, heating the lower portion of the troposphere more than the upper part

The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are found in which atmospheric layer?

Thermosphere

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

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.

Which of the following causes the air to rise high into the atmosphere in the areas labeled A, B, and Con 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

When you consider thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, what would you expect to occur as a consequence of northern glaciers melting in the region?

Water would become less salty, preventing sinking

The difference between weathering and erosion is that

Weathering refers to the breakdown of rock; erosion refers to the removal of the rock from its landscape

As plates move, organisms must respond to changes such as 1. Speciation 2. Extinction 3. Alterations in behavior of predators and prey

all of them

Plant roots cause

both physical and chemical weathering

Which of the following is a biome found at 30* N and 30° S as seen in the diagram?

deserts

Which of the following is the source of energy driving the circulation pattern labeled C in the diagram?

solar radiation

Region largely responsible for the weather experienced at the Earth's surface

troposphere

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 would best describe the observation that warm air is more humid than cool air?

warmer air has a higher capacity for water vapor than colder air

W

yclay silt sand