Quiz about Environmental Science Review.

Question 1

Which statement accurately describes effective scientists?

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

They are willing to believe in ideas, even if there is no supporting evidence.

Answer

They usually accept what they hear from others.

Answer

They prefer to deal with questions that involve opinions and personal preferences

Question 2

The easiest component of biodiversity to measure is

Accepted Answer

species diversity

Answer

ecosystem diversity

Answer

genetic diversity

Answer

ecosystem health

Question 3

Which is the most direct way in which biodiversity can provide a source of income?

Accepted Answer

ecotourism

Answer

medicines

Answer

research

Answer

agriculture

Question 4

If current trends continue, the modern geologic era, known as the Quaternary period, may see the extinction of

Accepted Answer

more than half of all species.

Answer

almost 20 percent of all species.

Answer

all species on Earth.

Answer

one or two species per century.

Question 5

The Sikhote-Alin Mountains, and the Siberian tigers living on them, are separated from other mountain regions in which the tigers could live. The mountains are an example of a(n)

Accepted Answer

habitat fragment.

Answer

mass extirpation.

Answer

invasive species.

Answer

mass extinction.

Question 6

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity are examples of

Accepted Answer

treaties to protect biodiversity.

Answer

organizations that promote poaching.

Answer

polls measuring American opinion about biodiversity.

Answer

laws to increase the number of species.

Question 7

To manage, protect, and reintroduce threatened and endangered species are the goals of

Accepted Answer

Species Survival Plans.

Answer

wildlife corridors.

Answer

conservation concessions.

Answer

biodiversity hotspots.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a method for managing whole ecosystems and habitats?

Accepted Answer

mapping biodiversity hotspots

Answer

captive breeding

Answer

cloning

Answer

Species Survival Plans (SSPs)

Question 9

Relieving a nation from repaying some of the money it owes other nations in exchange for protecting its biodiversity is called a

Accepted Answer

debt-for-nature swap.

Answer

conservation concession.

Answer

Species Survival Plan.

Answer

wildlife corridor.

Question 10

A region that includes tigers, eagles, lizards, fish, rabbits, and many other types of organisms would be described as having a high level of

Accepted Answer

species diversity.

Answer

taxonomic diversity.

Answer

genetic diversity.

Answer

ecosystem diversity.

Question 11

Which is the highest level of biodiversity?

Accepted Answer

ecosystem diversity

Answer

general diversity

Answer

species diversity

Answer

genetic diversity

Question 12

Which type of organism dwarfs all others in terms of species diversity?

Accepted Answer

insects

Answer

plants

Answer

mammals

Answer

protists

Question 13

The disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not of the entire species globally, is called

Accepted Answer

extirpation

Answer

extinction

Answer

poaching

Answer

fragmentation

Question 14

By far, the biggest cause of biodiversity loss today is

Accepted Answer

habitat change and fragmentation

Answer

climate change

Answer

over harvesting

Answer

pollution

Question 15

In the United States, what is the major law that protects biodiversity?

Accepted Answer

Endangered Species Act

Answer

Convention on Biological Diversity

Answer

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Answer

Species Survival Plan

Question 16

Which of the following represents single-species approaches to protecting biodiversity?

Accepted Answer

captive breeding and cloning

Answer

building wildlife corridors

Answer

selling conservation concessions

Answer

mapping biodiversity hotspots

Question 17

In aquatic ecosystems, net primary productivity is related to

Accepted Answer

available sunlight and nutrients

Answer

whether the water is fresh water or saltwater

Answer

the speed at which the water moves

Answer

waves and tides

Question 18

In the graph, the solid line represents precipitation and the dashed line represents temperature. What type of conditions are indicated by the areas of the graph labeled A?

Accepted Answer

moist

Answer

hot

Answer

dry

Answer

freezing

Question 19

Which ecosystems are considered standing freshwater ecosystems?

Accepted Answer

all of the above

Answer

lakes

Answer

wetlands

Answer

ponds

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

biomes

Answer

littoral zones

Answer

estuaries

Answer

benthic zones

Question 21

Which biome would have the lowest net primary production?

Accepted Answer

desert

Answer

tropical rain forest

Answer

temperate grassland

Answer

coral reef

Question 22

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

Accepted Answer

wide hooves for travel on mud and snow

Answer

thin coats of fur to prevent overheating

Answer

a diet that consists mostly of deciduous tree leaves

Answer

the ability to hibernate

Question 23

Which zone of an aquatic ecosystem tends to have the highest temperatures?

Accepted Answer

photic zone

Answer

aphotic zone

Answer

benthic zone

Answer

All have roughly the same temperatures

Question 24

What is the difference between swamps and freshwater marshes?

Accepted Answer

Swamps have mostly woody shrubs and trees, but marshes have mostly grasses

Answer

Swamps have deep water, but marshes have shallow water

Answer

Swamps usually have saltwater, but marshes have fresh water

Answer

Swamps have lots of wildlife, but marshes do not

Question 25

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

Accepted Answer

estuaries

Answer

bogs

Answer

flood plains

Answer

limnetic zones

Question 26

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

Accepted Answer

intertidal

Answer

neritic

Answer

open ocean

Answer

aphotic

Question 27

What is the name of the type of large brown algae that grows from the ocean floor of continental shelves, reaching upward toward the sunlit surface?

Accepted Answer

kelp

Answer

coral

Answer

chiton

Answer

phytoplankton

Question 28

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

Accepted Answer

atoms

Answer

lipids

Answer

compounds

Answer

molecules

Question 29

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

Accepted Answer

macromolecules

Answer

solutions

Answer

elements

Answer

hydrocarbons

Question 30

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

Accepted Answer

geosphere

Answer

lithosphere

Answer

hydrosphere

Answer

Atmosphere

Question 31

The lithosphere is carried on a softer, but still firm, layer of rock called the

Accepted Answer

asthenosphere

Answer

geosphere

Answer

core

Answer

crust

Question 32

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

Accepted Answer

condensation

Answer

transpiration

Answer

evaporation

Answer

recharge

Question 33

What products are created by the process of photosynthesis?

Accepted Answer

oxygen and carbohydrates

Answer

the sun's light and energy

Answer

phosphorus and nitrogen

Answer

carbon dioxide and water

Question 34

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

Accepted Answer

nucleus

Answer

electron

Answer

bond

Answer

compound

Question 35

Which type of macromolecule is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur, and can produce tissues, act as hormones, and serve as enzymes?

Accepted Answer

proteins

Answer

lipids

Answer

nucleic acids

Answer

carbohydrates

Question 36

Water molecules are composed of

Accepted Answer

one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms

Answer

two oxygen atoms and two hydrogen atoms

Answer

two oxygen atoms and one hydrogen atom

Answer

one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom

Question 37

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

Accepted Answer

producers

Answer

consumers

Answer

legumes

Answer

decomposers

Question 38

In extreme cases, eutrophication can lead to extremely low levels of oxygen in a body of water as decomposers break down all the dead producers, a condition called

Accepted Answer

hypoxia

Answer

nitrogen fixation

Answer

respiration

Answer

photosynthesis

Question 39

Which of the following are common sources of phosphorus?

Accepted Answer

fertilizer and detergent

Answer

gases in the atmosphere

Answer

snow and rain

Answer

volcanoes

Question 40

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

Accepted Answer

ammonia

Answer

water

Answer

phosphorus

Answer

carbon dioxide

Question 41

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

Accepted Answer

legumes, like soybeans

Answer

grain crops like wheat and oats

Answer

large evergreen trees

Answer

aquatic plants, like algae

Question 42

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

Accepted Answer

primary succession

Answer

secondary succession

Answer

tertiary succession

Answer

a climax community

Question 43

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

Accepted Answer

predators, parasites, and competitors

Answer

cane toads, kudzu, and zebra mussels

Answer

exotic species

Answer

symbiotic and commensalist species

Question 44

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

Accepted Answer

90 percent

Answer

50 percent

Answer

25 percent

Answer

10 percent

Question 45

Which best describes evolutionary success?

Accepted Answer

A successful organism possesses adaptive traits and is able to pass those traits on to numerous offspring which then reproduce.

Answer

A successful organism possesses traits that are different from traits in the rest of the population and that allow the organism to compete more successfully.

Answer

A successful organism produces more offspring than others in the population.

Answer

A successful organism possesses adaptive traits and produces more offspring than survive.

Question 46

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

Accepted Answer

secondary succession

Answer

primary succession

Answer

tertiary succession

Answer

a climax community

Question 47

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

Accepted Answer

predation

Answer

parasitism

Answer

herbivory

Answer

symbiosis

Question 48

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

Accepted Answer

mutualistic

Answer

parasitic

Answer

commensalist

Answer

symbiotic

Question 49

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

Accepted Answer

the sun

Answer

the grass

Answer

the deer

Answer

chemosynthesis

Question 50

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

Accepted Answer

grass

Answer

mice

Answer

coyotes

Answer

hawks

Question 51

A niche restricted by competition is a

Accepted Answer

realized niche

Answer

fundamental niche

Answer

resource partitioned niche

Answer

displaced niche

Question 52

In a mass extinction, the rate of extinction exceeds

Accepted Answer

the rate of background extinction

Answer

99%

Answer

85%

Answer

the rate of environmental change

Question 53

A deer browsing on a shrub is an example of

Accepted Answer

herbivory

Answer

predation

Answer

parasitism

Answer

symbiosis

Question 54

What is the main cause for global wind patterns?

Accepted Answer

unequal heating of different parts of Earth

Answer

currents in the ocean affect the air above it

Answer

differences in elevation on different landmasses

Answer

greenhouse gases

Question 55

As a result of global warming, some plant species in the mountains of California have

Accepted Answer

shifted their locations higher into the mountains

Answer

developed shorter root systems

Answer

increased the amount of area they cover

Answer

become extinct

Question 56

What is the biggest danger posed by global warming to people living in coastal areas?

Accepted Answer

rising sea level

Answer

increased precipitation

Answer

increased acidity of seawater

Answer

lack of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Question 57

The amount of carbon dioxide emissions for which an individual or group is responsible is known as a

Accepted Answer

carbon footprint

Answer

carbon sequestration

Answer

carbonic acid

Answer

carbon offset

Question 58

Which action can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions caused by driving?

Accepted Answer

using public transportation

Answer

taking more trips by car each day

Answer

driving gasoline-powered automobiles

Answer

living farther from the workplace

Question 59

How can the planting of new trees help reduce climate change?

Accepted Answer

Trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis

Answer

Trees help create breezes

Answer

Trees release moisture that cools the atmosphere

Answer

Trees block the release of greenhouse gases from soil

Question 60

Gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide that trap heat near Earth are known as

Accepted Answer

greenhouse gases

Answer

global gases

Answer

proxy gases

Answer

offset gases

Question 61

Prevailing winds move

Accepted Answer

warm air away from the equator

Answer

warm air toward the equator

Answer

cool air toward the poles

Answer

warm air away from the poles

Question 62

How do volcanic eruptions affect weather?

Accepted Answer

Gases and particles may block sunlight and lower temperatures

Answer

Eruptions form clouds that drop large amounts of precipitation

Answer

Vibrations caused by eruptions shift ocean currents, which in turn affect weather

Answer

They cause a long-term increase in temperature

Question 63

Which human activity contributes the most carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

burning fossil fuels

Answer

fishing

Answer

breathing

Answer

farming

Question 64

How has global warming made it more difficult for polar bears to hunt the seals they feed on?

Accepted Answer

Polar bears are forced to swim longer distances between ice sheets

Answer

The population of seals has declined

Answer

Seals now have more places to hide

Answer

Polar bears are now being hunted more by other predators

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