Environmental Science Midterm

The equation for determining population growth is

(births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration)

Most major laws in modern U.S. environmental policy were enacted in the

1960s and 1970s

Which is the highest population density of grasshoppers?

35 grasshoppers/10 square meters

Which of the following has the highest population density?

50 deer in 20 square kilometers

What percentage of earth's surface is covered in water?

75%

When energy is transferred between trophic levels, the amount of available energy lost is about

90 percent

Explain why, although water covers over 70 percent of our planet, water shortages and conflicts over water use can occur?

97.5% of all water is salt water, 2.5% is fresh water, of that only 0.5% is unfrozen available fresh water

Explain the purpose of environmental policy

A set of rules or boundaries to help protect and preserve the environment

Which of the following best describes a successful individual in evolutionary terms?

A successful individual is well adapted to its environment and produces offspring that survive to pass on genes.

What change caused the population increase around 8000 BC

Agricultural Revolution

Which statement about environmental policy in the US is true

All three branches of government are involved in environmental policy

What influenced the shift in environmental policy in the US during the mid-to-late 1900s?

Americans found themselves living amid dirtier air, dirtier water, and more waste and toxic chemicals

A human-centered view of our relationship with the environment is known as...

Anthropocentrism

What is an accurate statement about changes in science?

Changes in scientific thought demonstrate a key strength of science: the ability to self-correct and improve.

______________________ biomes have the lowest net primary production

Cold and dry

Government agencies and businesses that contract with them are required to prepare a(n) __________________________ before taking any major action that might significantly affect the environment, such as constructing a new dam or highway.

Environmental Impact Statement

What major entity of the U.S. government has the chief responsibility for overseeing environmental regulations?

Environmental Protection Agency

________________ is the study of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment

Environmental science

Green taxes are used widely in ___________

Europe

The final step of the environmental policy process is to

Guide the solution to law

What needs to be done first before proposing a solution to an environmental problem

Identify specific causes of the problem

What change caused the rate of population growth to increase around 2000 AD

Industrial Revolution

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Kyoto Protocol are examples of ________________________ designed to protect the environment

International Treaties

Why is environmental science considered an interdisciplinary field?

It borrows techniques from numerous subjects

Why is water often called "the universal solvent"?

It can dissolve many other molecules

A population of elephants with an even sex ratio contains 30 elderly elephants, 25 adult elephants, 10 juvenile elephants, and 3 baby elephants. What population trend do you predict in this population of elephants, and why?

It has a mostly old population that is decreasing in number over time

what has happened to resource consumption in the last several hundred years?

It has increased dramatically

What statement about cap-and-trade systems is true?

It issues permits that allow companies to emit a percentage of the overall amount of a given pollutant

What function does carbon dioxide play in Earth's atmosphere?

It keeps Earth warm through the greenhouse effect

How did the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency signal a new approach to environmental policy?

More environmental policies were formed keeping the environment protected

Name two ways a river ecosystem varies from the river's source toward its mouth

Near source water is cold and full oxygen, near mouth it's warmer with more oxygen

Where you might find carbon on Earth? List four examples

People, Fossil Fuels, ocean, atmosphere

A ______________ consists of a formal set of general plans and principles intended to address problems and guide decision making in specific instances

Policy

What happens after a scientist submits results for publication in a scientific journal?

Several other scientists specializing in the subject will examine the manuscript

Why is it often said that hiking up a mountain in the southwestern United States is like walking from Mexico to Canada?

The change in elevation experiences a change in biomes

What is one of the key differences between scientific theories and hypotheses?

Theories are broader explanations, whereas hypotheses deal with a narrower subject

What happened to the population around 2000 AD before the industrial Revolution, Why?

There was a dip where 1/3 of the European population died, because of the Black Plague

What is a statement that could accurately describe effective scientists?

They are open to results that change and may even refute a previously accepted idea.

One example of a question that can be addressed by science is:

What percent of people prefer roses to tulips?

Why is it important for international organizations to work together on environmental policy?

When an environmental problem involves more than one country, the only way to clean it up is if both countries work together

Providing interest-free credit, low-interest loans, or grants to countries for projects that will improve their citizens' living standards are actions taken by the

World Bank

"All living things and their physical environment within a given area" best defines

a community

explain why a food web is a better representation of energy flow in a community than a food chain

a food chain just gives an example of the hierarchy of the animals in an area while a food web explores all the possibilities of producers, consumers, and decomposers.

A species with a restricted tolerance for environmental conditions is

a specialist

Rocks, soil, water, and oxygen are all ____________________ factors in the Sierra Nevada ecosystem of California.

abiotic

during the process of nitrogen fixation, nitrogen gas is converted to

ammonia

You visit the state fair and see a display of 17 breeds of chicken. These chickens are the result of ____________________.

artificial selection

which layer of the geosphere supports the tectonic plates

asthensosphere

What is Earth's outermost sphere

atmosphere

Which of Earth's spheres consists of the layers of gases surrounding our planet?

atmosphere

The basic units of matter, the smallest units that maintain the chemical properties of an element, are called

atoms

In aquatic ecosystems, net primary productivity is related to

available sunlight and nutrients

Why does tundra have a low level of net primary productivity?

because it is cold and dry

The very bottom of a body of water is called the ___________ zone

benthic

Which of the following gives value to all living things, both human and nonhuman

biocentrism

Nutrients circulate endlessly throughout the environment in complex cycles called

biogeochemical cycles

A ______________ is a group of ecosystems that share similar abiotic and biotic conditions

biome

Ecologists use similarities between ecosystems to classify them into broad categories called

biomes

Earth's ____________________ consists of all the planet's living or once-living things and the nonliving parts of the environment with which they interact.

biosphere

The ____________ is the most complex level of organization that an ecologist studies

biosphere

The _____________ includes all parts of our planet Earth that host life, with all of its organisms and environments

biosphere

Which sphere are humans a part of?

biosphere

A dead tree is an example of a _____________ in a forest ecosystem

biotic factor

Water with a salinity that is greater than fresh water but less than saltwater is classified as

brackish

____________ are polymers that consist of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

carbohydrates

Chemosynthesis and photosynthesis use different energy sources, but each uses water and ______________ to produce sugars

carbon dioxide

Pandas depend on bamboo. The amount of intact bamboo forest will help determine

carrying capacity of the population

Criteria such as salinity, depth, and whether the water is flowing or standing are used by scientists to

classify aquatic ecosystems

____________ describes the average conditions, including temperature and precipitation, over long periods in a given area

climate

What is the name for diagrams describing climate?

climatograph

A law that prohibits dumping wastes into the ocean and punishes people who dump wastes demonstrates which approach to environmental policy?

command-and-control

With the ____________ approach to environmental policy, a government body set rules and threatens punishment for violations

command-and-control

Fish, cattails, frogs, water lilies, dragonflies, and all the other living things in a pond make up a

community

Giraffes, lions, zebras, hyenas, and all the other living things of the Serengeti make up a(n)

community

A cost-benefit analysis is a(n)

comparison between what is sacrificed and gained by a specific action

Animals gathering around a water hole in a drought-prone area and establishing hierarchies of access to the water is an example of _______________

competition

A change in state in which water returns to Earth's surface and changes from a vapor to a liquid is called

condensation

In temperate rain forests, trees such as cedars and spruces, which do not lose their leaves at any time of year, are called

coniferous

______________ are organisms, mainly animals, that must eat other organisms to obtain nutrients

consumers

______________ variables are variables kept constant in a study

controlled

Which biome would have the highest net primary production?

coral reefs

The leaders of a large city are considering adding a new public transportation system. When they compare the amount of money needed to build and maintain the system to the amount of money saved by commuters on fuel costs, what economic concept are they using?

cost-benefit analysis

The thing layer of rock that forms Earth's outer skin both on dry land and in the ocean is called Earth's

crust

what is the thinnest layer of Earth's geosphere

crust

Scientists record _________ or information, from their studies

data

Most trees in tropical dry forests are _____________, which means they lose their leaves and stop photosynthesis during part of the year

deciduous

The amount of a product people will buy at a given price if free to do so is

demand

The amount of a product people will buy at a given price if free to do so is...

demand

In an experiment, a scientist adds fertilizer to one pond in order to compare the algae growth in a pond that does not receive fertilizer. The amount of algae that grows would represent a...

dependent variable

Which biome would have the lowest net primary production?

desert

In the US, the strength of environmental policy is _________ from state to state

different

Tectonic plates move apart from one another at _____________ plate boundaries

divergent

When demand for a product is low, the producer will

drop price and supply

"Energy Star," "USDA Organic," and "Fair Trade Certified" are all examples of

ecolabelling

You will be conducting a study of the interactions of vegetation, animals, mineral composition of the soil, and water levels in a saltmarsh. You are studying the saltmarsh

ecosystem

Ultimately, where do economies get their resources and put their wastes?

ecosystems

A _______________ us a chemical substance with a given set of properties that cannot be broken down into substances with other properties

element

All economies depend on the ____________________

environment

The ____________ includes all the living and nonliving things with which organisms interact

environment

The question "Did we, as humans, have a responsibility to ban CFC's and protect the ozone layer?", is a matter of ____________ ___________

environmental ethics

What term describes a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world from undesirable changes brought about by human actions?

environmentalism

Where rivers flow into the ocean, mixing fresh water with saltwater, brackish ecosystems occur which are called

estuaries

A set of moral principles or values held by a person or a society is called

ethics

____________ is a branch of philosophy that involves the study of a society's morals and principles.

ethics

In a process called __________________, the addition of phosphorus to bodies of water can lead to an overgrowth of producers (usually algae)

eutrophication

In year one of a study, there are 100 mice living in a field. In year two, there are 110. In year three, there are 121. In year four, there are 134. The mouse population is experiencing a ____________ growth pattern

exponential

A sharp decline in the number of tigers throughout Asia worries many conservationists. This decrease in population size might indicate that tigers are in danger of _________

extinction

When the environment changes too quickly for an organism to adapt, what will occur?

extinction

T/F: the process of science takes place in one specific order

false, no specific order

In the US during the 1960s and 1970s, environmental policy began to move more toward the ___________ level

federal

A process in which an event acts as both the input and output of the same system is called a(n)

feedback loop

Which of the following are common uses of phosphorus?

fertilizer and detergent

Nitrogen ____________________ is the conversion of nitrogen gas to ammonia.

fixation

Areas nearest a river's course that are flooded periodically are said to be within the river's ________________

flood plain

Rivers and streams are types of ______________ freshwater ecosystems

flowing

What are some examples of parts of the environment?

forests, people, buildings

Marshes, swamps, and bogs are examples of

freshwater wetlands

A reintroduced population of wolves in a national park is 90% grey and 10% black, consistent with the wolf population in other regions. After several generations in isolation, the national park's wolf population is 60% grey and 40% black. The wolf population has likely experienced

genetic drift

Which sphere of Earth is made of all the rock above and below Earth's surface?

geosphere

In a food web that consists of grass, mice, deer, coyotes, and hawks, which species is likely to have the greatest biomass?

grass

Sometimes, a company that generates pollution will pay extra taxes, based on the amount of pollution it produces. These are known as

green taxes

Over a given unit of time, the rate at which plants and algae convert solar or chemical energy into energy stored in the bonds of organic sugars is called

gross primary production

Aquifers hold ____________________, fresh water found underground.

groundwater

A caribou is adapted to live in cold tundra environments. It would not be able to survive in a tropical forest because the tropical forest does not provide a suitable...

habitat

______________ provide organisms with the resources needed to survive, including food, shelter, water, and mates

habitats

A clumped population density would most likely display the distribution of a population of a plant that

has few specific resource requirements

A deer browsing on a shrub is an example of

herbivory

In temperate forests, some animals avoid the winter by going into ___________________, a deep, sleeplike state that an animal enters for most of the winter

hibernation

_____________ are organic compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon

hydrocarbon

Oceans, polar ice caps, and groundwater would all be considered part of Earth's atmosphere

hydrosphere

A _____________ is a testable idea that attempts to explain a phenomenon or answer a scientific question

hypothesis

Which steps are usually near the beginning of a scientific investigation?

hypothesizing and theorizing

The first step of the environmental policy process is to

identify the problem

Pikas are small mammals, related to rabbits, that are adapted to cool temperatures and life at high altitudes. In recent years, ecologists studying pikas have noticed that pika colonies at lower elevations are being abandoned, while new pika colonies are appearing at higher regions where pikas have not lived before. The movement of pikas uphill is an example of ____________________ to a new area.

immigration

In a population in which most of the individuals are of pre-reproductive or reproductive age, the population is likely to _________ quickly in the future

increase

In the last several hundred years, human population has ____________ dramatically

increased

A forest fire that kills a large percentage of a pine beetle population is an example of a density ____________ factor that limits population

independent

The variable a scientist manipulates is called the ___________ variable

independent

The __________________ is the simplest level of organization that the ecologist studies

individual

In which ocean zones do crabs, mussels, anemone, barnacles, and sea stars live?

intertidal

A species introduced to a new environment without limiting factors could become _____________

invasive

An _______ species of plant or animal can upset the balance of an ecosystem.

invasive

Which branch of the U.S. government is involved in interpreting environmental laws and hearing lawsuits regarding environmental issues?

judicial branch

Which ecosystems are considered standing freshwater ecosystems?

lakes, wetlands, and ponds

On a biome map, patches representing the same biome tend to occur at similar ___________

latitudes

What type of plant is associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

legumes, like soybeans

In lakes and ponds, the _____ zone is the area farther from the shore.

limnetic

Describe how humans interact with three of Earth's spheres

live on the crust, a part of the biosphere, breathe the atmosphere

___________ involves efforts to influence an elected official into supporting a specific interest

lobbying

A population of wolves is reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park. For the first decade, the wolf population grows exponentially. Then, the population growth slows. The new pattern is known as

logistic growth

Wolverines have a lifespan of about 10 years. Females reach sexual maturity at around age three, and give birth to two kits every other year, if food resources are adequate. This birth rate suggests that wolverines have ____________________ biotic potential.

low

Because of their large size, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids are together called

macromolecules

The nutrients required in relatively large amounts are called_______________ and include nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus

macronutrients

All material in the universe that has mass and occupies space is called

matter

Every summer Siberian cranes fly from India to Siberia, where they breed and raise their young. When winter comes, the cranes fly back to India. This is an example of...

migration

Self-corrections to scientific interpretations are usually ________

minor

What tool would be very useful to geologists because they cannot easily perform experiments to test the effects of tectonic plate motion?

modeling

Sound science is based on __________

multiple occurrences

Sound science is based on ______________

multiple occurrences

You have many species of bacteria living in your gut that help you with digestion. This relationship is best defined as _______________________

mutualism

A beehive depends on pollen from flowers to survive. Flowers depend on bees to pollinate them. Humans tend bee hives, offering the bees a place to live in exchange for some of their honey. The relationship among these three sets of organisms is

mutualistic

what is an example of a nonrenewable natural resource?

natural gas

In a ____________ feedback loop, the output of a system moving in one direction acts as input that causes the system to move in the other direction

negative

Predator prey relationships are an example of a

negative feedback loop

An organism's __________ describes its use of resources and functional role in a community

niche

Things that we appreciate for beauty, that help define our culture, or that teach us about ourselves are said to have

non-market values

A natural resource that is naturally formed much more slowly than we use it is called...

nonrenewable

The central core of very atom, containing particles called protons and neutrons, is called a(n)

nucleus

Matter that organisms require for their life processes are called

nutrients

Humans are generally

omnivores

In a controlled study, all variables are controlled except _______

one

Water molecules are composed of

one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms

The ______________ contains over 90 percent of the ocean's water

open ocean

What ocean zone begins at the edge of the continental shelf and then extends outward into deeper water?

open ocean

In making environmental policies, government interacts with

organizations, businesses, and citizens

What products are created by the process of photosynthesis?

oxygen and carbohydrates

The acidity or basicity of a solution is described by the _________ scale

pH

An organism that depends on another without killing it is a ____________

parasite

The process in which several scientists read an article and provide feedback to the author is known as

peer-review

Results published in _____ are the most respected in science because they have passed through a rigorous evaluation process involving feedback from multiple sources.

peer-reviewed journals

The uppermost layer of an aquatic ecosystem, where there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur, is called the __________ zone

photic

Communities that are powered by the sun depend on ___________________ for their energy

photosynthesis

In ________________________, producers pull carbon dioxide out of their environment and combine it with water in the presence of sunlight

photosynthesis

A herd of mule deer living on a certain mountain and separated from other herds of mule deer represents a ___________

population

If 300 deer live within a 20-km2 area, then 15 deer per km^2 is the deer ______ for that area.

population density

Water which returns from the atmosphere to Earth's surface as rain or snow is called

precipitation

An interaction in which an individual of one species kills and consumes an individual of another is called

predation

If these are present in a new environment, a species is unlikely to become invasive.

predators, parasites, and competitors

Any being that uses the sun's energy to create sugars is a

primary producers

A landslide causes part of a mountainside to fall away, leaving bare rock. In the years immediately following the landslide, the area will experience

primary succession

the ability to perform photosynthesis or chemosynthesis defines a ___________

producer

Primary _________ convert solar or chemical energy into energy stored in the bonds of organic sugars.

producers

What is the term for organisms, including plants and algae, that create their own food?

producers

___________ are polymers of amino acids that serve many functions in organisms, such as the production of bones, skin, and muscles

protein

Name a "service" provided by ecological systems

purify water

The scattered diagram shows ___________ distribution pattern

random

A niche restricted by competition is a

realized niche

Natural resources that are naturally replenished over months, years, or decades are called

renewable resources

Scientists accept scientific ideas that are supported by ________________

research and experiments

In Madagascar, several species of lemur eat bamboo, but each species specializes in one part of the bamboo--one species eats mature bamboo stalks, one species eats bamboo shoots, and one species eats leaves. This is an example of

resource partitioning

There are limits to many of our ______________, the materials and energy sources provided by nature, that humans need to survive

resources

Water, a den site, a mate, and a population of small rodents are examples of ____________________ that a fox needs to survive.

resources

You are studying the vegetation communities of the Mongolian grasslands in a 1000-square-kilometer-area. What is your best strategy for estimating the number of individuals of different plant species growing throughout the grasslands

sampling

You need to count the number of trees of a certain species within a 300-km2 area. Your best strategy for estimating the number of trees is _______________

sampling

______________ is a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it

science

In a woodland, a rabbit eats grass, and a coyote eats the rabbit. The coyote is a ___________________

secondary consumer

In the years immediately after a fire, a forest will experience

secondary succession

In a population of 100 monkeys, you count 48 males and 52 females. This population has an approximately even

sex ratio

In a population of elephants in Kenya, researchers found that about 80 percent of the elephants were female, and only 20 percent were male, resulting in an unbalanced

sex-ratio

Ecologists tend to divide the photic zone of lakes and ponds based on distance from the________________

shoreline

A _____________ is a giveaway of cash or public resources that is intended to encourage a particular activity or lower the price of a product

subsidy

A power company is given free land by the government to reduce the cost of providing wind-generated electricity to rural residents. This is an example of a

subsidy

Under water, photosynthesis by aquatic plants and phytoplankton is mostly limited by the amount of___________ available.

sunlight

The amount of a product offered for sale at a given price is

supply

_________________ is a close, long-term association between two organisms

symbiosis

As the asthenosphere moves, it drags along large plates of crust called ____________________ plates.

tectonic

An example of a density-dependent limiting factor is

the amount of available food

The ultimate source of energy in an ecosystem in which deer eat grass and coyotes eat deer is

the sun

Which of the following describes the aphotic zone in an aquatic ecosystem?

the zone where no sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis cannot occur

An idea must effectively explain a phenomenon, make accurate predictions in a wide range of situations, and have undergone extensive, rigorous testing, to be accepted as a scientific___________

theory

What is an example of quantitative data?

there are 3 tulips

Why do shorter trees and plants that make up the understory in tropical rain forests have large, flat leaves?

to allow maximum surface for light absorption

Water also enters the atmosphere by ______________, the release of water vapor by plants through their leaves.

transpiration

T/F: Science can never completely prove or disprove an idea

true

In an oscillating population vs. time graph, the population size is...

undergoing cyclic change

Many bird species are territorial. In territorial birds species, what kind of population structure would you expect?

uniform

What is an example of a renewable natural resource?

wave energy

Day-to-day conditions in Earth's atmosphere, such as "sunny and humid," describe

weather

To help them survive in the tundra, caribou have various adaptations, such as

wide hooves for travel on mud and snow