Environmental Science
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field that explores the complex interactions between the physical, biological, and human components of the environment. This course provides a comprehensive understanding of ecological principles, energy flow, resource management, and the impacts of human activity on natural systems. Students examine current environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development, gaining insights into both the scientific and socio-economic factors influencing environmental policy and management. Through case studies, laboratory investigations, and fieldwork, students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Sustaining the Earth 11th Edition by G. Tyler Miller
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14 Chapters
1050 Verified Questions
1050 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2339
Page 2
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46512
Sample Questions
Q1) The exponential rate of global population growth has declined since the 1960s. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Dealing with conflicts between scientific solutions and political solutions usually involves making ____________________.
Answer: trade-offs tradeoffs
Q3) The earth's natural income includes
A)the human population.
B)the renewable resources provided by Earth's natural capital. C)plants.
D)fossil fuels.
E)the nonrenewable resources.
Answer: B
Q4) List the three scientific principles of sustainability and give an example of each. Answer: The three principles are the reliance on solar energy, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling. Examples will vary.
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which two terrestrial ecosystems in the accompanying figures produce the least kilocalories of energy per year?
Answer: desert scrub and extreme desert
Q2) Oxygen is the most abundant element in the atmosphere. A)True B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Give two examples of how humans are disrupting the carbon cycle and explain why the carbon cycle cannot return to normal on the scale of tens or hundreds of years. Answer: 1. We clear trees and other plants, which absorb CO<sub>2</sub> through photosynthesis, faster than they can grow back. 2. We add large amounts of CO<sub>2</sub> to the atmosphere by burning carbon-containing fossil fuels and wood. These fossil fuels take a long time to recycle, sometimes millions of years.
Q4) A moderate temperature produces a(n) _____________________ for tiger snakes, who cannot survive at extremely high or extremely low temperatures. Answer: optimum range
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Chapter 3: Biodiversity and Evolution
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) On the accompanying temperate-zone lake, choose the zone of open water where photosynthesis can occur.
Answer: a
Q2) The aquatic ecosystem with the world's highest net primary productivity per unit area are found in the
A)euphotic zone.
B)abyssal zone.
C)bathyal zone.
D)coastal zone.
E)profundal zone.
Answer: D
Q3) The coastal zone contains 90% of all marine species but makes up only what percent of the world's ocean?
A)0.5
B)2
C)10
D)30
E)45
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Community Ecology, Population Ecology, and the Human Population
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Humans can extend the earth's carrying capacity for the species. Can the earth adequately support an exponentially growing human population?
Q2) In 1845, the human population of Ireland experienced a major crash as a result of A)the plague.
B)the potato fungus.
C)an influenza epidemic.
D)a prolonged drought.
E)HIV/AIDS.
Q3) The drop in China's total fertility rate between 1972 and 2012 has caused the average age of that country's population to decline.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An organism with a "few offspring" strategy generally
A)has a high genetic diversity.
B)is more responsive to environmental changes than other species.
C)exhibits a fast rate of evolution.
D)is less adaptable to change than other species.
E)is small and long lived.
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Chapter 5: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is one reason that the effectiveness of CITES is limited?
A)The treaty was written to protect the rights of poachers.
B)No member countries have signed the treaty.
C)Member countries have the ability to exempt themselves from protecting any listed species.
D)Member countries have the ability to enforce their own laws world-wide
E)The mandated fines are unreasonably heavy.
Q2) The European wild boar is considered an invasive species because it
A)competes for food with native endangered species.
B)causes traffic accidents.
C)provides game.
D)controls pest populations of the Argentina fire ant.
E)is a variety of the feral pig.
Q3) About one third of all endangered and threatened bird species in the United States live in
A)Alabama
B)Louisiana
C)Alaska
D)Hawaii
E)Florida
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Chapter 6: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The process of returning a degraded habitat or ecosystem to a condition as similar as possible to its natural state is known as A)restoration.
B)rehabilitation.
C)replacement.
D)creating artificial ecosystems.
E)deforestation.
Q2) The term "ecological restoration" refers to
A)a destructive consequence of road building.
B)the process of repairing damage caused by humans to the biodiversity and dynamics of natural ecosystems.
C)the natural cycles of habitat destruction.
D)the process that corals and sea snails use to create shells using carbonate ions.
E)an ecological initiative using small scale farming.
Q3) Discuss at least three difficulties associated with protecting marine fisheries.
Q4) Forests that have grown in an area through secondary ecological succession after a human or natural disturbance are called ____________________.
Q5) What is ocean acidification and why is it a threat to marine biodiversity?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Food, Soil, and Pest Management
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which scientist is responsible for alerting the public and scientific community to the threats of pesticides?
A)Rhonda Stavinski
B)Rachel Carson
C)Jacques Cousteau
D)Linda Applebaum
E)Tracy Lee
Q2) ____________________ occurs when the productive potential of topsoil falls by 10% or more because of prolonged drought and human activities.
Q3) Which of the following are advantages of animal feedlots?
A)increased meat production, higher profits, and reduced soil erosion
B)higher profits, less overcrowding, and reduced overgrazing
C)reduced overgrazing, greenhouse gas emissions, and higher profits
D)increased genetic resistance in humans, increased meat production, and higher profits
E)reduced soil erosion, less overcrowding, and increased genetic resistance in humans
Q4) Goiter is caused by a deficiency of ____________________.
Q5) Explain how eating fish or poultry leads to more sustainable agriculture.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the best solution to groundwater depletion?
A)Grow more water intensive crops, waste less water, and lower the price of water.
B)Limit number of wells, grow more water-intensive crops, and build rain gardens.
C)Subsidize water conservation, waste less water, and limit the number of wells.
D)Lower the price of water, build rain gardens, use permeable paving materials.
E)Waste less water, lower the price of water, and subsidize water conservation.
Q2) In rural and suburban areas, the systems most commonly used to treat raw sewage on personal property are
A)living machines.
B)compost toilets.
C)primary sewage treatments.
D)secondary sewage treatments.
E)septic tanks.
Q3) Water pollution threatens wildlife but not the health of human beings.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The land area from which surface water drains into rivers, lakes, and wetlands, is known as its ____________________.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Nonrenewable Energy Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which type of energy source do you think will grow as a proportion of total commercial energy in the future in the United States?
Q2) Light-water reactors
A)move control rods in and out of the reactor core to absorb neutrons.
B)use a heating fluid to raise the temperature of the reactor.
C)release radioactivity into the atmosphere to prevent explosions.
D)produce and mine uranium to make fuel.
E)store the spent radioactive waste safely.
Q3) Future supplies of natural gas are likely to be more abundant than oil reserves. A)True B)False
Q4) ____________________ is the most polluting fossil fuel but is cheap, abundant, and readily retrieved.
Q5) The nonrenewable energy source with the lowest net energy yield is A)nuclear. B)oil.
C)natural gas. D)biomass.
E)coal.
Q6) What are three disadvantages of relying on oil as a primary energy source?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The development of renewable energy resources will likely
A)increase international tensions.
B)increase the need for oil imports.
C)decrease national security.
D)cause long-term economic hardship.
E)reduce harm to the environment.
Q2) Photovoltaic solar cells work on cloudy days.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following are renewable energy resources?
A)The sun, the earth's internal heat, and the wind
B)The wind, petroleum, and water
C)Natural gas, the earth's internal heat, and the wind
D)The earth's internal heat, water, and petroleum
E)Water, natural gas, and petroleum
Q4) Almost half of the commercial energy available for use in the U.S. is wasted due to inefficiencies in devices and processes used.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are two examples of widely used devices that waste large amounts of energy?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A large-scale outbreak of a disease is called a(n) ____________________ and a global-scale outbreak is called a(n) ____________________.
Q2) The influenza virus is typically spread by
A)body fluid contact or airborne emissions.
B)sharing needles.
C)resistance to cleaning chemicals.
D)body fluid contact only.
E)airborne emissions only.
Q3) The endocrine system is least likely to be disrupted by the intake of A)herbicides.
B)PCBs.
C)mercury.
D)Vitamin E.
E)DDT.
Q4) Mutagens
A)are fatal to humans in low doses.
B)are the primary cause of birth defects.
C)are harmful largely as allergens.
D)cause changes in cell DNA.
E)cannot be passed to future generations.
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Chapter 12: Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone
Depletion
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Even if we immediately halt all new releases of ozone depleting chemicals, the ozone layer can never be restored to its pre-1950s levels.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Climate scientists are deeply concerned about tipping points. What are tipping points and why should we avoid crossing them? Provide two examples of tipping points and explain why they are dangerous.
Q3) Which of the following represents an output strategy for combating climate change?
A)carbon capture and storage schemes
B)energy efficiency laws
C)fossil fuel reductions
D)nonrenewable energy source initiatives
E)tropical forest logging certifications
Q4) Global warming is causing sea level to rise for two separate reasons. What are they?
Q5) ____________________ pollutants are formed by the reactions of ____________________ pollutants and other naturally occurring substances to form new harmful chemicals.
14
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Chapter 13: Urbanization and Solid and Hazardous Waste
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is one disadvantage of urbanization?
A)lack of transportation options
B)higher infant mortality rates
C)less access to medical care and social services
D)fragmentation of wildlife habitats
E)less recycling alternatives
Q2) Instead of being sent to landfills, containers made from bioplastic could be composted to produce a soil conditioner.
A)True
B)False
Q3) List four smart growth tools and give an example of how each tool may be used in controlling urban sprawl.
Q4) Some European countries have established cradle-to-grave responsibility laws that require companiesto
A)keep track on all of its hazardous waste.
B)bury their waste in hazardous waste landfills.
C)take back the consumer products they sell.
D)use only new materials in manufacturing.
E)exchange their wastes with other companies.
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Chapter 14: Economics, Politics, Worldviews, and Sustainability
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A constitutional democracy would have the most difficulty in responding to A)a threat of attack
B)the possibility of long-range global warming
C)an economic depression
D)a labor strike
E)a sharp increase in gasoline prices
Q2) Which of the following is an assumption of ecological economists?
A)Resources are limited and we should not waste them.
B)Pollution control and economic growth are not interrelated.
C)The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited.
D)Current economic models should be fine-tuned to help offset environmental damage.
E)Government should bear full responsibility for environmental damage through subsidies.
Q3) Internalizing external costs
A)involves making the market price approach the true cost of an economic good.
B)fails to include the cost of pollution.
C)omits the costs of taxes.
D)increases the chance for environmental degradation.
E)lowers the cost of goods and services.
Page 16
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