Environmental Science 15th Edition
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True / False
1. Tomorrow is forecast to be 10°F warmer than today. This is an example of climate.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
2. Tropical regions normally receive more precipitation than other areas of the earth because the intense input of solar radiation leads to greatly increased evaporation of moisture.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
3. Deciduous forests are typically located at higher altitudes than coniferous forests.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
4. Many inland wetlands have been drained or filled to grow crops or have been covered with concrete, asphalt, and buildings.
a. True
b. False
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.4 - Identify the four major ways in which human activities disrupt and degrade freshwater systems.
5. San Diego, California has, on average, milder winters and cooler summers than Dallas, Texas. This is an example of climate.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
6. In terms of diversity, coral reefs are the marine equivalents to tropical rainforests.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.2 - Summarize the importance of marine aquatic systems as reservoirs of biodiversity.
7. Biomes are uniform, with sharp boundaries separating them.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
8. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is an interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere that affects the temperature of surface waters in the Atlantic Ocean.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
9. Lakes that have a small supply of plant nutrients are called oligotrophic lakes.
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07 -
Chapter
Climate and Biodiversity
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.1 - Contrast oligotrophic lakes with eutrophic lakes.
10. Desert ecosystems are fragile because they have slow plant growth, low species diversity, slow nutrient cycling, and very little water.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.2 - Distinguish between the three major types of deserts.
11. A connected loop of deep and shallow ocean currents transports warm and cool water to various parts of the earth.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
12. Taigas are found in scattered coastal temperate areas with ample rainfall and moisture from dense ocean fogs.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
13. Deserts are always hot places.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.2 - Distinguish between the three major types of deserts.
14. Overgrazing is a major impact human activities have on grassland ecosystems.
a. True
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Chapter 07 - Climate and
Biodiversity
Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.3 - Discuss how human activities are disrupting ecological and economic services provided by terrestrial ecosystems.
15. The Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans are actually a single and continuous body of saltwater.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
16. Net primary productivity (NPP) is quite low in the open sea, except in upwelling areas, where currents bring up nutrients from the ocean bottom.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.5 - Distinguish the three vertical zones of the open sea.
17. Climate moderation is an ecosystem service provided by the oceans.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.3 - List the ecological and economic services provided by marine systems.
Multiple Choice
18. Temperate deciduous forests typically have ____.
a. cool summers, warm winters, and abundant precipitation
b. warm summers, cold winters, and abundant precipitation
c. dry summers and rainy winters
d. cool summers, cold winters, and little precipitation
e. warm summers and dry winters
ANSWER: b
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DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
19. Vertical ocean circulation is generated by ____.
a. cold and dense ocean water sinking and warm and less-dense water rising
b. warm and dense ocean water sinking and cold and less-dense water rising
c. cold and dense ocean water rising and warm and less-dense water sinking
d. the Coriolis effect
e. prevailing winds
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
20. Surface-level ocean currents are caused by ____.
a. dense ocean water sinking
b. cool ocean water rising
c. warm ocean water exchanging with cool ocean water
d. prevailing winds blowing over the ocean surface and the Coriolis effect
e. upwelling near the equator and downwelling near the poles
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
21. The equator is warmer than the poles because ____.
a. the sun’s rays strike directly at the equator
b. cooler air is less dense
c. the Coriolis effect pulls cold air north and south
d. polar ice sheets cool the atmosphere
e. the sun exerts a gravitational pull on the warm air
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
22. There are separate belts (Hadley cells) in which warm air rises and cools, then falls and heats up again in great rolling patterns.
a. two
b. four
c. six
d. eight
e. ten
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Chapter 07 - Climate and
Biodiversity
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.2 - Explain the three factors that affect the circulation of air in the lower atmosphere.
23. One explanation for why polar regions are colder than equatorial regions is that ____.
a. the sun never reaches these areas because of the tilt of Earth on its axis
b. sunlight strikes the polar regions at an angle and spreads out over a much larger area
c. sunlight is more intense at the poles
d. the earth is spinning slower at the poles
e. the earth is spinning slower and the precipitation is more intense at the poles
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
24. Which of the following is a greenhouse gas?
a. oxygen
b. water vapor
c. sulfur dioxide
d. nitrogen
e. argon
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.3 - Explain how greenhouse gases play a role in determining the earth's average temperatures and its climates.
25. The transition zone between two ecosystems or biomes is called the ____.
a. bioline
b. interbiome
c. buffer
d. bio-boundary
e. ecotone
ANSWER: e
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
26. The rain shadow effect refers to ____.
a. more light on the windward side of mountain ranges
b. more light on the leeward (facing away from the wind) side of mountain ranges
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
c. drier conditions on the windward side of mountain ranges
d. drier conditions on the leeward (facing away from the wind) side of mountain ranges
e. reduced sunlight below rain clouds
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.4 - Discuss how the earth's surface features affect local climates.
27. The prevailing winds are generated by ____.
a. the heating of the ozone layer
b. variation in the input of solar radiation as you move east or west along a line of latitude
c. surface currents
d. major surface winds that blow almost continuously to help distribute heat and moisture over earth's surface
e. the gravitational attraction of the moon
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
28. A rain shadow is most likely produced by a ____.
a. forest
b. ocean
c. lake
d. sand dune
e. mountain
ANSWER: e
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
29. Large terrestrial regions characterized by a particular type of climate and a certain combination of dominant plant life are called ____.
a. biozones
b. communities
c. populations
d. biomes
e. niches
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
30. In tropical rainforests, vegetation layers are structured according to ____.
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
a. how deep the rainfall penetrates into the forest
b. the plants’ needs for sunlight
c. how well each plant handles predation by herbivores
d. nutrient availability and uptake by plant roots
e. sensitivity to temperature changes
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
31. In the western United States, an area called the Great Basin contains many mountain ranges that are separated from each other by high desert. Because these mountain ranges provide sanctuary for some species, they could be called ____.
a. taiga reserves
b. islands of biodiversity
c. broadleaf deciduous reserves
d. grazing animal reserves
e. island reserves
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
32. During El Niño conditions, ____.
a. ocean currents accelerate in the Pacific Ocean, bringing warmer weather to Japan
b. ocean currents slow in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing cooler weather to Europe
c. the thermocline throughout the Pacific Ocean deepens
d. the thermocline in the central Atlantic Ocean rises, bringing cold, deep water to the surface
e. the thermocline in the eastern Pacific Ocean deepens, disrupting upwelling
ANSWER: e
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
33. Succulent plants are most likely to be found in ____.
a. aquatic habitats
b. cold ecosystems
c. high elevations
d. temperate deserts
e. coastal ecosystems
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.2 - Distinguish between the three major types of deserts.
34. Animals in desert biomes may eat plants for their water content as a survival adaptation. Plants, in turn, may have as a defense against being eaten by animals.
a. poisonous leaves
b. camouflaged leaves
c. a lack of leaves
d. spines
e. both camouflaged leaves and spines
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
35. A tropical grassland with widely scattered clumps of trees would be called a ____.
a. veldt
b. steppes
c. savanna
d. pampas
e. taiga
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
36. Much of which biome has disappeared from the earth because it has been converted to farmland for growing crops and grazing cattle?
a. temperate grassland
b. temperate forest
c. tropical grassland
d. cold grassland
e. cold desert
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
37. Some large herbivores in the African tropical savannas have developed niches through eating habits that competition for vegetation.
a. specialized; increase
b. specialized; minimize
c. generalized; increase
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
d. generalized; minimize
e. similar; facilitate
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
38. Permafrost is characteristic of the biome.
a. tropical savanna
b. Arctic tundra
c. cold desert
d. thorn woodland
e. deciduous forest
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
39. The function of the thick outer coverings of insects and reptiles like rattlesnakes in desert biomes is to ____.
a. prevent sunburn
b. reduce water loss through evaporation
c. prevent drowning during typical desert flash floods
d. prevent sunburn and reduce water loss
e. serve as protection during competitive action during mating seasons
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.2
- Distinguish between the three major types of deserts.
40. A forest that is known for its year-round uniformly warm temperature is the ____.
a. temperate deciduous forest
b. taiga
c. tropical rainforest
d. boreal forest
e. sub-alpine forest
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4
- Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
41. At least half of the known species of terrestrial plants and animals are found ____.
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
a. in both temperate and tropical rainforests
b. only in temperate rainforests
c. only in tropical rainforests
d. in deciduous forests
e. evenly distributed amongst the biomes of the earth
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
42. Oak, hickory, maple, poplar, and birch are typical tree species in the ____.
a. boreal forest
b. tropical rainforest
c. temperate rainforest
d. temperate deciduous forest
e. coastal coniferous forest
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
43. Tropical rain forests are dominated by ____.
a. succulent plants
b. broadleaf evergreen plants
c. broadleaf deciduous plants
d. coniferous evergreen plants
e. saltwater-adapted plants
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
44. Cone-bearing trees are characteristic of the ____.
a. taiga or boreal forest
b. tropical rain forest
c. temperate deciduous forest
d. savanna
e. desert
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities
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Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
45. The majority of the world's forests are located ____.
a. at the equator
b. in the temperate zones
c. in mountains
d. adjacent to deserts
e. by large bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, and bays
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
46. Mountains ____.
a. have deep, rich soils
b. recover quickly from vegetation loss
c. do not affect climate
d. have little biodiversity
e. serve as sanctuaries for animals that are driven from lowland areas
ANSWER: e
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
47. Humans have which of the following major impacts on mountain biomes?
a. plowing and conversion to cropland
b. depletion of groundwater
c. overgrazing by livestock
d. hydroelectric dams and reservoirs
e. conversion of diverse forests to tree plantations
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
48. The ocean covers of the earth’s surface.
a. 15%
b. 30%
c. 50%
d. 71%
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
e. 97%
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
49. Coral reefs occupy about of the ocean floor.
a. 0.2%
b. 14%
c. 27%
d. 46%
e. 68%
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: Core Case Study: Why Should We Care About Coral Reefs?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
50. Marine snow refers to ____.
a. appearance of the water during freezing weather
b. animal and plant plankton that die and drift downward
c. white sand beaches
d. algal blooms
e. weather over the Arctic that contributes to the ice pack
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
51. Examples of economic services that oceans provide are ____.
a. food
b. waste treatment
c. drinking water
d. timber
e. groundwater recharge
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.3 - List the ecological and economic services provided by marine systems.
52. Water temperature drops rapidly between the euphotic zone and the abyssal zone of the ocean. This transition layer is called the ____.
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
a. thermocline
b. thermosphere
c. estuary
d. continental shelf decline
e. hydrocline
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
53. Most photosynthesis in the open sea occurs in the ____.
a. euphotic zone
b. abyssal zone
c. bathyal zone
d. coastal zone
e. benthic zone
ANSWER: a
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.5 - Distinguish the three vertical zones of the open sea.
54. The deepest zone of the sea, which is dark and very cold, is called the ____.
a. euphotic zone
b. abyssal zone
c. bathyal zone
d. coastal zone
e. pelagic zone
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
55. Which tree is characteristic of tropical coastal wetlands?
a. cypress
b. coconut
c. mangrove
d. palm
e. live oak
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
56. When the algae in coral reefs die off due to environmental stresses, the coral subsequently dies because of lack of food. This process is referred to as ____.
a. coral acidification
b. algal blooming
c. erosion
d. coral bleaching
e. parasitism
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: Core Case Study: Why Should We Care About Coral Reefs?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
57. Aquatic life zones are the aquatic equivalents of on land.
a. lakes
b. rivers
c. biomes
d. mountains
e. forests
ANSWER: c
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
58. A(n) is a partially enclosed body of water where seawater mixes with freshwater from a river.
a. benthic zone
b. littoral zone
c. sea
d. estuary
e. coral reef
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
59. Ocean acidification is occurring because ____.
a. of agricultural runoff into rivers
b. the ocean absorb about 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities
c. water changes pH as it warms
d. overfishing is changing the structure of ecosystems, harming the plankton that regulate the pH of ocean water
e. acid rain has worsened over the last two decades
ANSWER: b
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.6 - Identify seven major threats to marine systems from human activities.
60. Cultural eutrophication involves ____.
a. clearing forest land for urban expansion
b. altering marine food webs by overfishing
c. accepting the degraded condition of aquatic ecosystems
d. placing excessive nutrients in lakes
e. disconnecting people from their environment
ANSWER: d
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.1 - Contrast oligotrophic lakes with eutrophic lakes.
61. Which zone that a stream flows through contains its headwater streams?
a. transition zone
b. source zone
c. floodplain zone
d. delta zone
e. meander zone
ANSWER: b
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.2 - Outline the course of freshwater streams and rivers as they carry water from the mountains to the oceans.
62. The land area around a stream that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances into the water is called the ____.
a. source zone
b. littoral zone
c. floodplain zone
d. transition zone
e. watershed or drainage basin
ANSWER: e
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6 - Summarize the ecological and economic services provided by freshwater aquatic systems.
Matching
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Match the items listed below with the appropriate choice
Figure 7.19
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES:
7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.5 - Distinguish the three vertical zones of the open sea.
63. On the ocean life zones figure, choose the zone in which most organisms get their food from marine snow.
ANSWER: e
64. On the ocean life zones figure, choose the zone that contains the majority of all marine species.
ANSWER: a
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07 - Climate and Biodiversity
Chapter
Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
65. On the ocean life zones figure, choose the zone that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis.
ANSWER: c
66. On the ocean life zones figure, choose the zone that is dimly lit and contains zooplankton.
ANSWER: d
67. On the ocean life zones figure, choose the zone where coral reefs would be located.
ANSWER: a
Completion
68. Climate and vegetation vary with changes in latitude and with changes in ____________________.
ANSWER: elevation, altitude
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
69. are the result of a mutually beneficial relationship between polyps and tiny single-celled algae called zooxanthellae that live in the tissues of the polyps.
ANSWER: Coral reefs
Corals Reefs
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: Core Case Study: Why Should We Care About Coral Reefs?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
70. is a set of physical conditions of the lower atmosphere, including temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, and other facts, in a given area of a period of hours or days.
ANSWER: Weather
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
71. A lake with a large supply of nutrients is called a(n) lake.
ANSWER: eutrophic
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.1 - Contrast oligotrophic lakes with eutrophic lakes.
72. Some desert plants reduce evaporation by closing their pores during the day and opening them at night to take up ____________________.
ANSWER: carbon dioxide, CO2
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.2 - Distinguish between the three major types of deserts.
73. is the general pattern of atmospheric conditions in a given area over periods ranging from at least three decades to thousands of years.
ANSWER: Climate
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
74. Because of the ____________________, air masses moving north or south from the equator are deflected to the east.
ANSWER: Coriolis effect
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
75. Carbon dioxide and methane are released by human activities such as the production and burning of fossil fuels, clearing of forests, and growing of crops.
ANSWER: greenhouse gases
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.3 - Explain how greenhouse gases play a role in determining the earth's average temperatures and its climates.
76. Marshes, swamps, and prairie potholes are all examples of ____________________.
ANSWER: inland wetlands wetlands
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6 - Summarize the ecological and economic services provided by freshwater aquatic systems.
77. The tendency for a transition zone between two different ecosystems to have greater species diversity and a higher density of organisms than are found in either of the individual ecosystems is called the ______________________________.
ANSWER: edge effect
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
78. occur primarily in the interiors of continents in areas that are too moist for deserts to form and too dry for forests to grow.
ANSWER: Grasslands
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities
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07 -
Chapter
Climate and Biodiversity
Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
79. The tops of trees in tropical rain forests form a dense that blocks most light from reaching the forest floor.
ANSWER: canopy
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
80. The open sea can be dived into three zones: the euphotic zone, zone, and abyssal zone.
ANSWER: bathyal
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.5 - Distinguish the three vertical zones of the open sea.
81. A(n) is an area at the mouth of a river built up by deposited sediment and often containing estuaries and coastal wetlands.
ANSWER: delta
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.2 - Outline the course of freshwater streams and rivers as they carry water from the mountains to the oceans.
82. One type of tropical grassland, called a(n) ____________________, contains widely scattered clumps of trees.
ANSWER: savanna
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
83. is underground soil in which captured water stays frozen for more than two consecutive years.
ANSWER: Permafrost
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.3 - Distinguish between the three major types of grasslands.
84. are cone-bearing, evergreen trees.
ANSWER: Conifers
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
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Chapter 07 -
Climate and Biodiversity
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
85. is the amount of various salts such as sodium chloride dissolved in a given volume of water.
ANSWER: Salinity
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
86. Aquatic life zones in higher-salinity waters are called life zones.
ANSWER: marine, saltwater, ocean
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.4.1 - Describe how the earth's water serves as aquatic life zones.
87. The zone is the brightly lit upper zone of the open sea, where drifting phytoplankton carry out about 40% of the world’s photosynthetic activity.
ANSWER: euphotic
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.3 What Are the Major Types of Marine Aquatic Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.5.5 - Distinguish the three vertical zones of the open sea.
Subjective Short Answer
88. Explain how the rain shadow effect occurs.
ANSWER: When moist air blowing inland from an ocean reaches a mountain range, it is forced upward. As it rises, it cools and expands, and loses most of its moisture as rain and snow that fall on the windward slope of the mountain.
As the drier air mass passes over the mountaintops, it flows down the leeward slopes (facing away from the wind), and warms up. This warmer air can hold more moisture, but it typically does not release much of this moisture and instead tends to dry out plants and soil below.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.4 - Discuss how the earth's surface features affect local climates.
89. How do mountains serve as major storehouses of water for humans and wildlife in the surrounding area?
ANSWER: During winter, precipitation is stored as ice and snow. In the warmer weather of spring and summer, much of this snow and ice melts, releasing water to stream for use by wildlife and by humans for drinking and for irrigating crops.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.5 - Outline the four important ecological roles that mountains play.
90. Describe two ecosystem or economic services provided by wetlands.
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
ANSWER: Answers could include:
-filtering and degrading toxic wastes and pollutants
-reducing flooding and erosion by absorbing storm water and releasing it slowly, and by absorbing overflows from streams and lakes
-helping to sustain stream flows during dry periods
-helping to recharge groundwater aquifers
-helping to maintain biodiversity by providing habitats for a variety of species
-supplying valuable products such as fishes and shellfish, blueberries, cranberries, and wild rice
-providing recreation for birdwatchers, nature photographers, boaters, anglers, and waterfowl hunters
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.3 - List seven ecological and economic services provided by inland wetlands.
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07 - Climate
Chapter
and Biodiversity
Figure 7.11
91. Refer to the first graph above of a temperate desert and observe that the months of March and April are not the warmest, coldest or wettest months in this biome. However, the bloom of desert wildflowers will typically occur in these two months. Explain why this is the case.
ANSWER: The majority of rainfall occurs, usually, in January and February. This large input of moisture enables the seeds of plants to sprout, and the blossoms to emerge. This event will typically happen within a few weeks after the wettest period, but before the hot and dry summer. The extreme heat of the summer would make it difficult for the plants to produce blossoms, as they are struggling to survive the extreme conditions at that time of year.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES:
7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
PREFACE NAME: Figure 7.11
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.1 - Summarize how the world's major biomes vary with climate.
92. Observe the second graph above, which is from a cold desert. What month of the year would you expect to see flowers bloom in the cold desert?
ANSWER: In the cold desert, one would expect flowers to bloom in about October or November, right after the highest precipitation, and when temperatures have begun to fall.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
PREFACE NAME: Figure 7.11
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.1 - Summarize how the world's major biomes vary with climate.
93. Describe one way that human activities are disrupting and degrading freshwater systems. ANSWER: Possible answers include:
-Dams and canals restrict the flows of many rivers, altering or destroying terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats along those rivers.
-Flood control levees and dikes built along rivers disconnect the rivers from their floodplains, destroy aquatic habitats, and alter or degrade the functions of adjoining wetlands.
-Cities and farms add pollutants and excess plan nutrients to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes.
-Many inland wetlands have been drained or filled to grow crops or have been covered with concrete, asphalt, and buildings.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Remember
REFERENCES: 7.4 What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.6.4 - Identify the four major ways in which human activities disrupt and degrade freshwater systems.
94. Explain why energy input from the sun is highest at the equator and lowest at the poles.
ANSWER: Air is heated much more at the equator, where the sun’s rays strike directly, than at the poles, where sunlight strikes at an angle and spreads out over a much greater area. Thus, sunlight is more intense at the equator, providing a greater energy input per unit area.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.1 What Factors Influence Climate?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1 - Specify the five key factors that influence an area's climate.
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Chapter 07 - Climate and
Biodiversity
95. Briefly describe how mountains can offset global warming.
ANSWER: Mountaintops are covered with glacial snow and ice that reflect some solar radiation back into space, which helps to cool the earth and offset global warming.
96. Explain briefly how global warming negatively impacts coral reefs.
ANSWER: Global warming can raise the water temperature above the narrow range of tolerance for coral reefs. Additionally, increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can increase the acidity of the oceans, making it difficult for the polyps in coral reefs to create calcium carbonate.
REFERENCES: Core Case Study: Why Should We Care About Coral Reefs?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.1.1 - Differentiate weather from climate.
Essay
97. Explain why you cannot clear tropical forests to grow crops or graze cattle on a sustainable basis.
ANSWER: Dropped leaves, fallen trees, and dead animals decompose quickly in tropical rain forests because of the warm, moist conditions and the hordes of decomposers. About 90% of the nutrients released by this rapid decomposition are quickly taken up and stored by trees, vines, and other plants. Nutrients that are not taken up are soon leached from the thin topsoil by almost daily rainfall. As a result, very little plant litter builds up on the ground. The resulting lack of fertile soil helps to explain why rain forests are not good places to clear and grow crops or graze cattle on a sustainable basis.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2.4 - Distinguish between the three major types of forests.
98. What climate factors determine the differences between different types of forests, or different types of deserts, and why?
ANSWER: Average precipitation and average temperature, acting together as limiting factors over a long time, help to determine the type of desert, grassland, or forest in any particular area, and thus the types of plants, animals, and decomposers found in that area. Plants and animals have to adapt to survive in dry or wet places, and in hot or cold places, leading to large differences.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
99. Explain what the difference is between major climate zones and major biomes, and how the two interact.
ANSWER: Climate zones are distinctive areas of the planet that have generalized atmospheric conditions that are the same for long periods of time. They are categorized as polar, subarctic, cool temperate, highland, warm temperate, dry, tropical, and major upwelling (for oceans).
The major biomes are large terrestrial (only) regions that are each characterized by certain types of climate and dominant plant life. The climate zones effectively drive the conditions that create the biomes.
DIFFICULTY: BLOOM’S: Understand
REFERENCES: 7.2 What Are the World's Major Terrestrial Ecosystems and How Are Human Activities Affecting Them?
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: ENVS.MLSP.16.7.2 - Describe how differences in climate affect the nature and location of biomes.
100. Which one of the three major principles of sustainability is a driving force behind climate and biodiversity? Include in your answer an explanation of why this is true.
ANSWER: Solar energy is a major driving force behind differences in biodiversity in different areas on the planet. The heating of the Earth’s surface varies, according to the way the sun’s rays strike Earth. Air is much warmer at the equator, since the sun’s rays strike directly. In temperate and polar regions, the sun’s rays are spread out at an angle, over much larger areas.
This physical fact explains why tropical regions near the equator are so hot, why polar regions are so cold, and temperate regions have intermediate temperatures between the two extremes. In tropical areas with very hot average annual temperatures, the precipitation is also much greater since the evaporation is greater. The high temperatures and precipitation are the driving factors in high species diversity in these areas.
101. Assume for the sake of discussion that you had been considering the purchase of an off-road vehicle for recreational use. Now that you have studied this chapter and are familiar with some of the issues of human disturbance of ecosystems, will this change your thinking? Explain why or why not.
ANSWER: Answers will vary. Some possible points are:
off-road vehicles are a major factor in damage to almost all terrestrial biomes
the use of ORV’s is contradictory to the idea of sustainable lifestyles
owners of ORV’s think they can be careful enough to avoid ecosystem damage
many people believe in multiple-use of all public lands, regardless of the outcomes
many people believe the only way they can see places too far to walk because of health/condition issues is to use an ORV
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Chapter 07 - Climate and Biodiversity
