Chapter 2 APES practice test
The amount of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river system is likely to be increased by the presence upstream of which of the following? I. Artificial levees and embankments II. Dams III. Extensive natural wetlands
(A) I only
Which of the following elements constitutes the highest percentage of mass in Earth's crust?
(A) Oxygen
Which method is used most frequently in the United States today?
(A) Sanitary landfill
According to the information in the graph above, which of the following would most effectively slow the loss of arable land?
(B) Reducing urban development
Which of the following actions would be the most effective in decreasing acid rain and acid deposition problems?
(B) Reducing use of fossil fuels
Which of the following is an inorganic compound?
(C) Table salt
The rate of population growth starts to slow down at which point?
(C) The beginning of phase III
All of the following substances are derived from petroleum EXCEPT
(C) cellulose
Environmentalists oppose the mining of Antarctic mineral resources because
(C) the Antarctic environment is fragile and extremely vulnerable to the disturbance that would accompany development
If an incandescent light bulb used for lighting has an efficiency rating of 5 percent, then for every 1.00 joule of electrical energy consumed by the bulb, which of the following is produced?
(D) 0.05 joule of light energy
Approximately what percent of the population in Country II is under age 15?
(D) 25 %
The major reservoirs of nitrogen and sulfur in the biosphere are correctly identified by which of the following?
(D) Atmosphere Rocks
Which method would be best suited for neutralizing the acidic components of waste?
(D) Chemical treatment
Which of the following is most likely a significant cause of the general trend indicated by the graph?
(E) Increase in consumption of fossil fuels
An energy transformation occurs and results in increased disorder.
(E) Second law of thermodynamics
Which of the following would most likely have the greatest positive impact on the quality of the natural environment worldwide?
(E) Stabilization or reduction of the size of the human population
Measured on the pH scale
(A) Acidity
The source whose use is a direct cause of deforestation
(A) Biomass
Which of the following best explains why DDT has been found in penguin eggs in the Antarctic?
(A) Chemicals used in one region of Earth can circulate in the biosphere and affect organisms in a distant region.
Exemplified by moss growing on a tree trunk in a forest
(A) Commensalism
Of the following, which is the best example of a point source of water pollution?
(A) Factory effluent
Of the following, which constitutes the greatest percent of domestic use of water in the United States?
(A) Flushing toilets
Energy is transferred from one object to another as the result of a temperature difference.
(A) Heat flow
Countries undergoing rapid population growth include which of the following?
(A) I only
All of the following gases have been implicated in contributing to the increase in global temperatures via the greenhouse effect EXCEPT
(A) O2
Is a flammable gas produced by landfills
(C) Methane
Is an important precursor to acid rain
(E) Sulfur dioxide
Fragmenting one large park or preserve into many small parks with human habitation in between them is most likely to lead to which of the following?
(A) Reduction in species diversity
Which of the following is most likely to occur in a forested region that has been recently clear-cut?
(A) The concentration of nitrates in streams running through the region will increase.
El Niño, a periodic warming of ocean surface waters, occurs in which of the following regions?
(A) Tropical East Pacific
Which of the following metals is considered an energy resource?
(A) Uranium
The primary cause of Earth's seasons is the
(A) constant tilt of Earth's rotational axis with respect to the plane of its orbit around the Sun
The most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere is
(A) nitrogen
Most volcanism in the world is associated with
(A) plate boundaries
In models of global warming, the most important factor contributing to an increase in sea level is
(A) thermal expansion of the oceans
Overgrazing of public land by privately owned livestock is an example of the
(A) tragedy of the commons
According to the graph, the increase in CO2 concentration, in parts per million, between 1970 and 1990 is closest to
(B) 30 ppm
Has a stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen has
(B) Carbon monoxide
Which of the following countries has the largest coal reserves?
(B) China
In a human population undergoing the demographic transition, which of the following generally decreases first?
(B) Death rate
Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level?
(B) Deer
Which method reduces the volume of waste but could release toxic emissions into the atmosphere?
(B) Incineration
Matter in motion has energy.
(B) Kinetic energy
Of the following, which is the most serious immediate problem associated with sanitary landfills?
(B) Leachate contamination of groundwater
Exemplified by ticks feeding on a deer
(B) Parasitism
In general, which of the following is the best long-term method of preventing extinctions?
(B) Protecting the habitats of endangered species
Which of the following best describes soils in many tropical rain forests?
(B) They are quickly depleted of nutrients when the forest is removed.
Caused by suspended particulates
(B) Turbidity
Compared with people in developing countries, people in industrialized countries are more likely to eat
(B) beef
The main environmental effects of ozone depletion could include all of the following EXCEPT
(B) decreased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere
In the United States, the largest single component of municipal solid waste is
(B) paper
There are various stages in the formation of coal as heat and pressure are increased and moisture content is decreased. These stages, in order, are
(B) peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
The two major processes involved in the carbon cycle are
(B) photosynthesis and respiration
Ozone in the stratosphere is important to organisms at Earth's surface because ozone molecules are very strong absorbers of
(B) ultraviolet rays
Approximately what percentage of the water on Earth is freshwater (liquid and solid)?
(C) 2.5%
A sample of radioactive waste has a half-life of 10 years and an activity level of2 curies. After how many years will the activity level of this sample be 0.25 curie?
(C) 30 years
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 required all agencies responsible for a major federal project that could significantly affect the quality of the environment to file which of the following?
(C) An environmental impact statement
Which of the following substances is released by CFCs and catalyzes a chain reaction that breaks down ozone in the upper atmosphere?
(C) Chlorine
Measured by the amount of Ca2+ and Mg2+
(C) Hardness
Living organisms must acquire energy from their environment. Examples of adaptations that help organisms acquire this energy include which of the following? I. The dark, heat-absorbing coloration of a reptile. II. The fangs and claws of a lion III. The light coloration of a peppered moth
(C) I and II only
High rates of species extinction caused by human activities have taken place at which of the following times in Earth's history? I. At the end of the Permian period II. At the end of the Cretaceous period III. During recent times
(C) III only
Which of the following best describes the mechanism of the greenhouse effect in Earth's atmosphere?
(C) Infrared radiation from Earth's surface is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere.
In the removal of a pollutant from wastewater, which of the following is true of the cost per unit of pollutant removed?
(C) It increases as the concentration of the pollutant decreases.
Exemplified by bees consuming nectar and carrying pollen from one flower to another
(C) Mutualism
Which of the following most directly explains the periodic fluctuations of the curve?
(C) Seasonal variations in photosynthetic activity
The current world population is closest to which of the following?
(D) 5 billion
Which of the following best shows the process of evolution?
(D) A population of mosquitoes develops resistance to a pesticide.
Which of the following procedures would be best for remediating the effects of soil salinization?
(D) Addition of large amounts of water to leach out salts
Decreased by the breakdown of organic waste
(D) Dissolved oxygen
The amount of energy in an isolated system stays constant.
(D) First law of thermodynamics
The graph above shows how seed production in a plant species varied with population density in an unfragmented habitat (site A) and in a fragmented habitat (site B). Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the data?
(D) Habitat fragmentation has more effect on seed production than does population density.
Elements that cycle in the environment and that also have a gaseous phase at some point in their cycle include which of the following? I. Carbon II. Phosphorus III. Sulfur
(D) I and III only
Which of the following is most likely to be the direct result of lack of genetic diversity in a food crop such as corn?
(D) Increased susceptibility to plant disease
Which of the following is most likely the primary cause of high death rates in phase I?
(D) Infant and childhood mortality
Road construction, logging, and. mining are banned in which of the following federal lands?
(D) National wilderness preservation areas
The source that is not renewable
(D) Nuclear fission
The source that produces long-lived hazardous wastes
(D) Nuclear fission
Which of the following will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lakes, and bays?
(D) Phosphates
Has been implicated as the cause of as much as 15 percent of lung cancer cases
(D) Radon
Which of the following correctly orders the methods of solid-waste management in terms of energy required? Least Energy → Most Energy
(D) Reduce Reuse Recycle
Most data indicate that, during the past 100 years, mean global annual temperature has
(D) increased by O. 5°C
Although ozone in the stratosphere has been decreasing in recent years, ozone near Earth's surface is on the increase. This ozone near the surface is undesirable because it
(D) is a strong oxidant and a respiratory irritant
The major biological source of dissolved oxygen in the ocean comes from
(D) photosynthesis by phytoplankton
The land on a 100-acre farm is equally suited for grazing cattle and growing com. Of the following ways of distributing land use, which would produce the greatest number of calories for human consumption? Acres for Acres for Grazing Cattle Growing Corn
(E) 0 100
Which of the following is most likely to result from destruction of wetlands surrounding a river?
(E) An increased frequency of flooding of the river valley
Which method introduces microorganisms to break down hazardous organic compounds?
(E) Biological treatment
Exemplified by starlings displacing bluebirds from nesting sites
(E) Competition
Which of the following not only results from greenhouse warming but also contributes to additional warming of Earth (i.e., is a positive feedback process)?
(E) Decreased size of snowpack
The diagram above illustrates how the number of individuals in a population changed with time as a result of external stresses and resource limitations. Which lettered portion of the curve most likely corresponds to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem?
(E) E
Reasons that human populations historically have settled in floodplains include which of the following? I. The soil in floodplains is usually fertile. II. The terrain in floodplains tends to be flat. III. Floodplains are close to rivers for transportation.
(E) I, II, and III
The source that is converted directly into electrical energy by photovoltaic cells
(E) Sunlight
The presence of high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in a water source indicates that the water
(E) has been contaminated by untreated human or animal waste
Zero population growth is associated with
(E) phases I and IV
All of the following are considered toxic metal pollutants EXCEPT
(E) potassium
In contrast to low-level radioactive waste, most high-level radioactive waste is currently
(E) stored at reactor sites
The ultimate source of energy for terrestrial ecosystems is
(E) the Sun
