Environmental Studies
Final Exam
Course Introduction
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary course that explores the complex relationships between humans and their environment, examining the physical, biological, and social systems that shape our world. The course covers key topics such as ecosystem dynamics, natural resource management, environmental policy, sustainability, and the impact of human activity on the Earth. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of environmental challenges, including climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and environmental justice, and will learn about strategies and solutions for promoting a more sustainable and equitable future. Through case studies, discussions, and practical projects, students will gain the skills needed to critically analyze environmental issues and contribute to positive change within their communities and beyond.
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) Decreasing population growth in more-developed countries will
A)decrease resource consumption.
B)increase resource consumption.
C)decrease poverty.
D)increase the ecological footprint.
E)decrease education.
Answer: A
Q2) Developing countries have a significant negative effect on the environment because of the consumption per person.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Do you think that the numbers overlap in the accompanying graph, which illustrates the percentage of the world's population who lack access to basic amenities? Why or why not?
Answer: Often times the effects of poverty are not isolated. Also, the total percentage of the world's population without access to these amenities is greater than 100%.
Q4) A chemical dumpsite would be an example of a(n) ____________________ pollutant.
Answer: point source
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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 of the following are examples of macromolecules?
A)lipids, nucleic acids, and nucleotides
B)simple sugars, lipids, and complex carbohydrates
C)protein, nucleotides, and lipids
D)complex carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids
E)nucleotides, complex carbohydrates, and lipids
Answer: D
Q2) Ecology is the study of how nonliving things interact with one another in the natural world.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) A set of organisms that are similar in genetic make up and reproduce sexually to produce fertile offspring are members of the same species.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The _____________________ explains why a barrel of oil can be used only once as fuel.
Answer: second law of thermodynamics
Page 4
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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) Which of the following are aquatic life zones in rivers and streams?
A)source zone, floodplain zone, vertical zone.
B)floodplain zone, transition zone, upwelling zone.
C)source zone, transition zone, floodplain zone.
D)upwelling zone, transition zone, floodplain zone.
E)transition zone, vertical zone, floodplain zone.
Answer: C
Q2) Which type of human activity negatively affects deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains?
A)off-road vehicles
B)agriculture
C)conversion to cropland
D)depletion of groundwater
E)timber extraction
Answer: A
Q3) On the accompanying temperate-zone lake, choose the zone close to shore in which light reaches all the way to the bottom.
Answer: d
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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) 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
Q2) In ____________________, species interact in order to gain access to limited resources such as food or space.
Q3) ____________ provides educational and clinical services to help couples choose how many children to have and when to have them.
Q4) Organisms with opportunistic reproductive strategies generally
A)have a low biotic potential.
B)are small and short-lived.
C)give significant parental care to its offspring.
D)are not very adaptable to change.
E)are large and long-lived.
Q5) Most organisms have reproductive patterns between the opportunist and competitor extremes.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The polar bear is a(n)____________________ species to cold regions.
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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) Poaching, the illegal pet trade, and wildlife smuggling threaten biodiversity in several ways. Give examples of species under threat from these activities. What specific actions can individuals take to avert the threats that these activities pose?
Q2) The single greatest cause of extinction and decline in global diversity is habitat destruction of A)coral reefs.
B)grasslands.
C)tropical forests.
D)deserts.
E)temperate forests.
Q3) The best way to deal with harmful invasive species is to prevent them from becoming established in an area.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A(n) ____________________ is the percentage or number of species that go extinct within a certain period of time such as a year.
Q5) A city park and a freshwater lake are examples of ____________________ that are vulnerable to non-native species and pollution.
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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 removal of all trees from a given area in a single cutting is called
A)selective cutting.
B)seed-tree cutting.
C)clear-cutting.
D)shelterwood cutting.
E)strip cutting.
Q2) List and define four types of ecological restoration. Why is restoration important?
Q3) Storage of atmospheric carbon is an important ecological role of forests.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Currently, most of the world's forests are A)secondary-growth.
B)old-growth.
C)tree plantations.
D)clear cut.
E)protected.
Q5) Mining, recreation, lumber, and fuel wood are examples of the ____________________ of forests.
Q6) What is ocean acidification and why is it a threat to marine biodiversity?
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Chapter 7: Food, Soil, and Pest Management
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What agricultural style prevents erosion on steep slopes?
A)windbreaks
B)conservation tillage farming
C)terracing
D)strip cropping
E)crop rotation
Q2) What is a monoculture crop?
A)A cloned plant species
B)A large crop of a single species
C)A cultural identity of a species
D)A large farm that grows many varieties of crops
E)A crop that has been severely stricken by disease or drought
Q3) What causes waterlogging?
A)desertification
B)an excess of saltwater intrusion
C)heavy rain
D)erosion
E)a rise in the water table from irrigation
Q4) _____________________ result from altering an organism's genetic material to produce desirable traits and therefore, are very controversial.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What do excess organic wastes and plant nutrients deplete from water?
A)nitrogen
B)oxygen
C)particulate matter
D)minerals
E)iron
Q2) According to water resource experts, what is the fundamental cause of water waste?
A)lack of water-saving technology
B)cheap methods of desalination
C)low cost to users
D)subsidies for local farmers
E)evaporation
Q3) The Aral sea disaster led to which one of the following?
A)salinization, fish and wildlife kills, and human health problems
B)fish and wildlife kills, increased crop yields, and human health problems
C)human health problems, increased irrigation projects, and increased water pollutants
D)increased crop yields, fish and wildlife kills, and decreased pesticide use
E)decreased pesticide use, increased water pollutants, and salinization
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Chapter 9: Nonrenewable Energy Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) The U.S. has built and successfully tested an underground repository for nuclear waste storage.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following are forms of indirect solar energy?
A)wind, hydropower, and biomass
B)flowing water, geothermal energy, and vegetation
C)geothermal energy, oil, and falling water
D)vegetation, wind, and natural gas
E)hydropower, geothermal energy, and oil
Q3) A meltdown of the reactor core would occur if
A)control rods were inserted into the core.
B)too much coolant was lost.
C)the proportion of uranium-238 was too high.
D)the containment building developed an air leak.
E)the containment shell was too thick.
Q4) Future supplies of natural gas are likely to be more abundant than oil reserves.
A)True
B)False
Q5) If nonrenewable energy has so many negative effects, why is it so widely used?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which process transforms the sun's energy into heat, which is then used to produce electricity?
A)green roofs collectors
B)photovoltaic fuel transformers
C)electric solar converters
D)direct solar conversion
E)solar thermal systems
Q2) Provide one example of an environmental cost and one environmental benefit associated with using geothermal energy, solar energy, wind power, and hydro power.
Q3) Photovoltaic cells
A)produce more carbon dioxide than burning fossil fuels.
B)operate only on clear days.
C)have high air and water pollution during operation.
D)have a fairly high net energy yield.
E)are cheap compared to fossil fuels.
Q4) We can make energy use more sustainable by using energy more efficiently and relying on a mix of renewable energy sources.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The leading cause of preventable death each year in the U.S. is A)smoking.
B)accidents.
C)illegal drug use.
D)pollutants.
E)homicides.
Q2) Give two examples of how you can make your lifestyle more environmentally sustainable while reducing the major risks you face?
Q3) Discuss the factors that limit the usefulness of epidemiological studies in estimating the harmful effects of chemicals.
Q4) According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one of the five top toxic substances of major concern to human and environmental health is A)sodium.
B)lead.
C)oxygen.
D)gold.
E)polonium.
Q5) A volcano eruption is a(n) ____________________ risk because it involves a single event.
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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) The layer of the atmosphere that plays a major role in earth's weather and long-term climate is the
A)thermosphere.
B)mesosphere.
C)stratosphere.
D)troposphere.
E)tropopause.
Q2) Air pollutants come only from human sources.
A)True
B)False
Q3) 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
Q4) Industrial smog consists mostly of
A)nitrous oxide and suspended particles.
B)ozone and lead.
C)sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and suspended solid particles.
D)lead and cement.
E)methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfuric acid.
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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) Physical methods for detoxifying hazardous wastes include
A)filtering with charcoal or resins to remove harmful solids.
B)isolating the materials and placing them in safe storage.
C)destroying toxic substances with bacteria and enzymes.
D)activating chemical reactions to convert hazardous chemicals into harmless ones.
E)using deep-well disposal.
Q2) Sanitary landfills are most likely to result in
A)open dumps.
B)the release of methane.
C)better ecocities.
D)reintroduction of wildlife habitats.
E)less urban sprawl.
Q3) What are some of the challenges faced by the urban poor who live in slums or squatter settlements? What arguments can you make for and against some governments decision to recognize existing slums?
Q4) The use of DDT is banned worldwide.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss three challenges faced by cities as urbanization expands.
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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) In the U.S., public lands primarily used for mining, oil and gas extraction, and livestock grazing, are managed by the
A)U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
B)Department of Energy.
C)Bureau of Land Management.
D)National Park System.
E)Department of Defense.
Q2) Which of the following least reflects environmentally ethical guidelines regarding individual responsibility?
A)We should not waste resources.
B)We should not inflict unnecessary pain on other species.
C)We should leave the earth in as good or better shape than we found it.
D)We should make ourselves and our families as comfortable as possible.
E)We should acknowledge that every species has an intrinsic right to life.
Q3) National recreation areas are part of
A)the National Park System.
B)the National Wilderness Preservation System.
C)National Wildlife Refuges.
D)National Resource Lands.
E)National Forests.
Page 16
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