wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Earth Day Vocabulary

Total questions: 43

Worksheet time: 25mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What does the word conserve mean?

a)

protect from harm or overuse.

b)

make smaller or less.

c)

a community of living organisms.

d)

to use again.

2.

What does the word pollute mean?

a)

protect from harm or overuse.

b)

a layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays.

c)

to make water, land and air dirty.

d)

to change waste into something useful.

3.

What does the word recycle mean?

a)

the area around a person, animal, or plant.

b)

to keep from harm.

c)

make smaller or less.

d)

to change waste into something useful.

4.

What does the word reduce mean?

a)

the study of organisms and their surroundings.

b)

a community of living organisms.

c)

make smaller or less.

d)

to keep from harm.

5.

What does the word reuse mean?

a)

a community of living organisms.

b)

the study of organisms and their surroundings.

c)

a layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays.

d)

to use again.

6.

What does the word environment mean?

a)

the area around a person, animal, or plant.

b)

to make water, land and air dirty.

c)

a community of living organisms.

d)

to keep from harm.

7.

What does the word ecology mean?

a)

the study of organisms and their surroundings.

b)

to keep from harm.

c)

make smaller or less.

d)

a layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays.

8.

What does the word ecosystem mean?

a)

a community of living organisms.

b)

to change waste into something useful.

c)

to make water, land and air dirty.

d)

to use again.

9.

What does the word protect mean?

a)

the area around a person, animal, or plant.

b)

to keep from harm.

c)

to change waste into something useful.

d)

to make water, land and air dirty.

10.

What is the ozone layer?

a)

a layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays.

b)

the area around a person, animal, or plant.

c)

make smaller or less.

d)

to change waste into something useful.

11.

What does decompose mean?

a)

to rot away

b)

to make something new

c)

to build up

d)

to use again

12.

What are the 3 R's?

a)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

b)

Recycle, Reopen, Redo

c)

Reuse, Restart, Recycle

d)

Reduce, Reuse, Radiate

13.

Which of the following can NOT be recycled?

a)

plastic bottles

b)

glass jars

c)

newspaper

d)

oil

14.

What does reuse mean?

a)

to rot away

b)

to make something new

c)

to use less of

d)

to use again

15.

When is Earth Day?

a)

April 22

b)

June 22

c)

August 22

d)

December 22

16.

Which is an example of a way you can reduce?

a)

buy products with less packaging

b)

use cloth shopping bags

c)

walk to school

d)

collect plastic bottles

17.

What is one way that factories cause pollution?

a)

dumping chemicals into rivers and lakes

b)

driving cars

c)

eating too much pizza

d)

building too many fires

18.

If you are too hot and need to cool down, which of the following methods would use the least amount of energy?

a)

Open the windows to let a breeze in

b)

Open the freezer door to cool the room

c)

Turn on an electric fan

d)

Put the air conditioner on the coldest setting

19.

Which of the following is NOT disposable?

a)

plastic forks and spoons

b)

paper plates

c)

Styrofoam cups

d)

reusable shopping bags

20.

Which is an example of a way you can reduce?

a)

buy products with less packaging

b)

use cloth shopping bags

c)

walk to school

d)

collect plastic bottles

21.
Which is NOT true about Earth Day?
a)
People make sure that they use a lot of gas
b)
People conserve energy
c)
People excercise environmental protection
d)
People think about the Earth's needs
22.
In what year did Earth Day begin?
a)
1950
b)
1960
c)
1970
d)
1980
23.
Why is recycling important?
a)
It does not help the planet.
b)
It gives raccoons food.
c)
It reduces the amount of trash we make.
d)
The world will shrink.
24.

What happens to plastic waste?

a)

It is biodegradable material so it eventually disintegrates

b)

There is no such thing as plastic waste, all plastic is recycled

c)

It never fully goes away, it just breaks into little pieces

d)

It gets dumped in the ocean for fish to eat

25.

What is the greenhouse effect?

a)

The name of climate change legislation that passed by Congress

b)

When you paint your house green to become an environmentalist

c)

When the gasses in our atmosphere trap heat and block it from escaping our planet

d)

When you build a green house

26.

What percentage of plastic does the US recycle?

a)

1%

b)

9%

c)

35%

d)

50%

27.

Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags each year. On average, how long is a plastic bag used by a person before being thrown away?

a)

12 minutes

b)

1 hour

c)

1 day

d)

1 week

28.

Americans use about how many plastic drinking straws per day?

a)

25,000

b)

100,000

c)

250,000,000

d)

500,000,000

29.

The USA's energy consumption derived from renewable sources is ___% compared to Lexington, Nebraska at ____%

a)

20, 10

b)

10, 20

c)

20, 40

d)

40, 20

30.

Although the USA has not vowed to use only 100% renewable energy by 2050; which 2 states have proposed to use 100% renewable energy for electricity? [select 2 answers]

a)

Alaska

b)

Hawaii

c)

Florida

d)

California

e)

Nebraska

31.

The USA is 2nd in emitting the most Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. Which country is 1st?

a)

China

b)

USA

c)

UK

d)

India

32.

World leaders agreed to ______ when the Paris Agreement signed on Earth Day in 2016.

a)

quit making single-use plastics by 2020

b)

protect biodiversity and end deforestation [cutting down trees]

c)

use 100% clean, renewable energy by 2020

d)

keep global temperature rise below 2° C

33.

Why is plastic dangerous for marine life? [ 2 answers]

a)

animals mistake plastic for food and cannot digest it

b)

plastic is biodegradable - so it is not dangerous

c)

animals can digest plastic - thus, it is not a problem

d)

animals can get tangled in the plastic which hinders their ability to swim

34.

In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. This book described the effects of DDT. Name the bird that had fragile eggs due to DDT.

a)

Western Meadowlark

b)

Sandhill Crane

c)

California Condor

d)

Robin

35.

What is the effect(s) of climate change? [select 3 answers]

a)

Ice sheets are declining and glaciers are retreating globally

b)

global sea levels are decreasing

c)

Oceans are more acidic to do too much Carbon Dioxide

d)

surface temperatures are setting new records and there is more extreme weather events - hurricanes, droughts...

e)

increase in biodiversity

36.

A majority of the plastic waste ends up in the oceans. How many million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the oceans each year?

a)

1 million tons

b)

8 million tons

c)

20 million tons

d)

50 million tons

37.

Which country has not made a national plastic bag regulation?

a)

Kenya

b)

China

c)

Rwanda

d)

USA

38.

One tree provides a day's supply of oxygen for ____ people.

a)

1

b)

4

c)

10

d)

100

39.

Leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions are ____ [3 answers]

a)

electricity and heat production

b)

planting trees

c)

agriculture and forestry

d)

protecting endangered and threatened animals

e)

transportation

40.

What is the Sixth Extinction?

a)

The current period of time where species are disappearing at an extreme rate

b)

The 6th species that became extinct; a species of dinosaurs during the Jurassic

c)

The sequel to a movie call The 5th Element

d)

The 6 major species facing extinction today

41.

What is used to make plastic?

a)

coal

b)

oil

c)

natural gas

d)

water

42.

What percentage of Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by the oceans?

a)

10%

b)

20%

c)

30%

d)

40%

43.
a)

paper

b)

cans

c)

plastic

d)

trash