AP Environmental Science

AP Environmental Science: Review Session 1

FRQ Practice 1

Unit 1

Open Ended

a) Based on the information in the graph, identify the percent of cover for mosses in the unburned plot.

Open Ended

b) Based on the information in the graph, identify the dominant groundcover in the plot where a fire occurred 32 years before the data were collected.

Open Ended

c) Based on the information in the graph, describe the percent coverage of sedges and grasses in the unburned plot compared to that in the plot burned most recently.

Open Ended

(d) A researcher hypothesizes that in the Alaskan tundra area in the study, shrubs will dominate the landscape in later succession stages. Make a claim based on evidence in the graph to support or refute this hypothesis.

Open Ended

(e) Lichen have become extinct in large areas since the Industrial Revolution. Lichen are sensitive to sulfur dioxide because they can quickly and efficiently absorb the sulfur from the atmosphere. Describe how lichen could be used as an environmental indicator species to determine if an area has high levels of acid precipitation.

Open Ended

(f) Identify the independent variable in the investigation

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(g) Identify one variable that was not mentioned in the description above that could affect the results of the investigation

Open Ended

(h) Describe the relationship between average thaw depth and time since the last fire.

Open Ended

Now a scientist wants to investigate how burning of land affects nutrient levels in soil. The scientist sets up 10 plots, each with an area of 1 m2 . Five plots are burned, and five plots are not burned. Over the next year, a variety of soil tests are performed in the plots every month. (i) Explain why the scientist would test for nitrate levels in the soil in the study plots.

Open Ended

(j) Soil texture also affects soil nutrient levels. Make a claim about the relative soil nutrient levels in silty loam soil compared to sandy loam soils.

Open Ended

(g) Identify one variable that was not mentioned in the description above that could affect the results of the investigation