AP Environmental Science Units

Which of the following best describes world population (WP) growth?

• WP is expected to decrease in size and be smaller by 2050.
• WP has been growing exponentially.
• WP has been increasing at a constant rate
• WP growth is split evenly between developed and developing countries

A resource that can be replaced in a human lifetime is known as a _________

• sustainable resource
• renewable resource
• conservative resource
• nonrenewable resource

The "Tragedy of the Commons" refers to the overuse of:

• Privately owned resources
• corporate resources
• free-access resources
• government subsidies

An example of point source pollution is:

• fertilizers from agricultural fields
• runoff from Midwestern farms
• oil spills from leaky pipelines
• smoke from an industrial plant smokestack

An ecological footprint is defined as

• The impact an individual may have on a given area of land
• The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to sustain an individual within a population
• The carrying capacity of the Earth for a given population
• The amount of land and water that has been converted to nonproductive use within a given geographical region

Environmental ethics can be defined as

• Using the environment wisely
• Maintaining environmental sustainability
• Examining the moral basis of environmental responsibility and its extent
• All of the above

Point pollution sources

• Can usually be identified within a given area
• Can never be located
• Are dispersed and difficult to identify
• Cannot be controlled

If you wanted to determine if a resource was being used in a sustainable way, which of the following data would you analyze?

• The difference between the demand for the resource and the availability of the resource.
• The total amount of resource available.
• The rate at which the resource was being recycled.
• The difference between the rate of resource consumption and the rate at which the resource is replenished.

Which of the following are considered to be causes of key environmental problems?
I.  Poverty within a population
II.  Population growth
III. Unsustainable resource use

• I, II, and III 
• I and II only
• II and III only
• III only

Affluence results in a safer, often more environmentally managed society in all ways EXCEPT

• Clean drinking water
• Abundant and safe food supply
• Reduction in life-threatening disease
• Education which spurs new technology, research, and environmental awareness