Environmental Systems Unit

On a field trip to a volcano that has recently erupted, your teacher asks you to classify the types of rock that you see and include them in a diagram of the rock cycle. You could expect to find samples of —

• sedimentary rock, such as breccia, shale, and conglomerate

• igneous rock, such as rhyolite, scoria, and basalt

• metamorphic rock, such as slate, marble, and gneiss

• all three types of rock would be found in equal amounts

Farmers decide to stop growing legume crops. This reduces the number of nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. How would this affect the nitrogen cycle?

• Precipitation would increase, causing lightning to fix more nitrogen in the atmosphere.

• After a few years, plant production would decrease and farmers would have to add more synthetic fertilizers to get the same crop yields.

• Nitrates would accumulate in the soil.

• The amount of atmospheric nitrogen would decrease.

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In a biome, elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon move between living things and their environment. These transfers of matter are part of —

• ecological succession

• energy pyramids

• biogeochemical cycles

• symbiotic relationships

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Recent climate data suggests a global warming trend. Disruption of which natural cycle most likely contributes to this temperature increase?

• Phosphorus cycle

• Nitrogen cycle

• Potassium cycle

• Carbon cycle

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Fluctuations in the hydrologic cycle could negatively affect a desert biome in all these ways except ―

• change in seasonal cycles causes animal populations to migrate or hibernate

• animals breed at a time when there are limited resources

• available fluctuation causes species loss

• formation of a new ecosystem

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Which is the correct order of the layers (beginning at the Earth’s surface)?

• Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere

• Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Troposphere

• Thermosphere, Mesosphere, Stratosphere, Troposphere

• Mesosphere, Troposphere, Thermosphere, Stratosphere

Which components of the Earth’s systems are most correctly matched with their related topics?

• Biosphere: Earth’s mantle and core

• Hydrosphere: Plate tectonics

• Geosphere: Ocean currents

• Cryosphere: Glacier thickness

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A student made a model of the Earth and its atmosphere by covering a box with plastic wrap and placing thermometers inside and outside of the box. A heat lamp was shined on the box. The temperature inside the box increased at a faster rate than the outside temperature. This model best represents —

• the role of carbon dioxide in trapping heat from radiation in the greenhouse effect

• the effects of acid rain on temperature inversions

• the role of convection creating the Coriolis Effect in the ocean

• ozone depletion and its effect on global temperatures

Currents carrying water past the continental shelves influence climate patterns. Currents such as the Gulf Stream in the Northern Hemisphere and the Brazilian Current in the Southern Hemisphere continually transport water heated by solar radiation from the equator toward the poles. Compared to inland areas at the same latitude, the coastal areas affected by these currents will —

• be cooler in temperature

• have more storms

• have a shorter growing season

• be warmer in temperature

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Deep water ocean currents, sometimes called “conveyer belt currents,” flow as warm waters from the Gulfstream lose thermal energy, decrease in density, and sink in the Northern Atlantic. The waters then flow southward and eventually into the Pacific where they are heated again and rise. Energy flows through this system due to —

• conduction

• convection

• radiation

• deposition

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