1. Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas?

a. Nitrous oxide

b. Water Vapor

c. Sulfur dioxide

d. Carbon dioxide

e. Methane

ANS: C, Sulfur dioxide. The main greenhouse gases are CO2, CFCs, CH4, NOx, O3, H2O.

2. Which of the following pollutants has been reduced significantly over the past 25 years?

a. Lead

b. Methane

c. Sulfur

d. Mercury

e. Ozone

ANS: A. The use of lead-based paint was banned in the 1970s.

3. The Clean Water Act of 1977 aims to

a. Prohibit development on all wetlands

b. Eliminate discharge of pollutants into rivers and streams.

c. Protect or restore water quality for fishing and swimming

d. monitor drinking water

e. both b and c

ANS: E

4. In a pyramid of biomass, there is a _____ reduction of biomass for each successive trophic level.

a. 10%

b. 30%

c. 50%

d. 70%

e. 90%

ANS: E

5. Estuaries are areas where

a. The beach intersects with the ocean

b. waves dominate the shoreline

c. fresh and salt water meet

d. biodiversity is very low

e. two rivers merge

ANS: C

6. Intercropping refers to a growing technique in which

a. Two or more crops are grown separately in huge plots

b. two or more crops are grown at different times of the year so they do not intersect

c. two or more crops are alternated in the same field

d. one single type of crop is grown

e. contour plowing is used

ANS: C

7. One successful technique to prevent river flooding is to

a. Channel a river with high levees adjacent to the river

b. Allow the river to flow somewhat naturally with levees placed at a slight distance from the channel

c. Place levees at right angles to the river flow.

d. Never use levees.

e. Create parks on floodplains

ANS: B

8. The stratospheric ozone layer protect things on Earth from

a. Ultraviolet A radiation

b. Ultraviolet B radiation

c. Ultraviolet C radiation

d. All three of the above

e. Only b and c from above

ANS: E

9. The extent of desertification is most severe in which continent?

a. Africa

b. Australia

c. North America

d. Europe

e. Antarctica

ANS: A

10.The global distillation effect refers to

a. A new moonshine technique

b. The deposition of pollutants in the air at the poles, far from their source.

c. The deposition of pollutants in the air in the tropics, far from their source.

d. The increase of air pollution in the atmosphere.

e. A technique of removing sulfur from coal

ANS: B

11. A tsunami is caused by

a. The convergence of two large waves.

b. A large movement in Earth’s crust, usually under water.

c. Devastation of a coral reef near shore

d. All transform movement on land

e. Movement in the molten part of the Earth’s core

ANS: B

12. In a well-designed sanitary landfill, methane

a. Is controlled by plastic liners

b. escapes and adds to air pollution

c. is not a problem because it is used in decomposition

d. can be trapped and used for energy

e. leaks into groundwater

ANS: D

13. The Ogallala Aquifer is

a. Located on the Northeastern United States

b. The largest groundwater deposit in the world

c. Used for irrigation, which has lowered the water table significantly

d. Unusable because of farm waste

e. Both b and c

ANS: E

14. The negative effects of dams include

a. Prevention of flooding upstream from the dam

b. Loss of sediment to rebuild stream banks

c. Facilitation of salmon migrations

d. Increased fish populations downstream

e. Both b and c

ANS: B

15.Salinization is caused by

a. Salt water intrusion in the water table

b. Irrigation in dry climates

c. Traditional farming techniques

d. Too much rain and flooding

e. Oil spills

ANS: B

16. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

a. Is unlikely to contain more than a few days’ worth of petroleum

b. Is a biologically robust ecosystem that recovers easily from disturbance

c. Has very low species richness

d. Is home to numerous caribou, wolves, polar bears, and arctic foxes

e. is full of windmills to produce energy

ANS: D

17. Scrubbers are used

a. To reduce sulfur emissions generated by the burning of coal

b. To cleanse gas tank emissions in hybrid vehicles

c. To cleanse PCB’s from farmed salmon

d. As part of the petroleum refinery process

e. To enhance growth of wheat

ANS: A

18. Synfuels

a. Are naturally occurring liquid or gaseous fuels, including tar shales.

b. are alternative energies that are commonly available for consumers.

c. are virtually nonpolluting, so are a tremendous improvement over traditional fossil fuels

d. include biogas

e. are very inexpensive to produce, so will be viable for consumers in the very near future.

ANS: A

19.Methods for preserving genetic biodiversity include

a. Releasing domesticated cattle into areas populated by bison.

b. use of inorganic fertilizer

c. cultivating genetically engineered varieties of plants

d. better irrigation

e. farmers planting traditional varieties of crops

ANS: E

20. Limiting factors

a. Prevent growth of an organism

b. may be phosphates or nitrates

c. may be sunlight

d. may be space

e. may be all of the above

ANS: E

21.Earth’s magnetic field is a result of movement within which layer?

a. Inner core

b. outer core

c. mantle

d. aesthenosphere

e. crust

ANS: B

22.Which of the following is true of divergent plate boundaries?

a. A common feature is an island arc

b. it’s a boundary where two plates slide past each other

c. the density of the plates plays an important role

d. they are where mid-ocean ridges occur

e. they float on the lithosphere

ANS: D

23. Most deaths in earthquakes occur because of which of the following?

a. Poisonous, hot gases released into the atmosphere

b. Violent shaking of earthquake waves

c. The speed with which the earthquake waves travel

d. Giant waves called tsunamis

e. Poorly constructed buildings

ANS: E

24.How can a particularly violent volcanic eruption impact global temperatures?

a. It can’t because volcanoes have very local impacts

b. the lava released from a volcano can spread over a very wide area, heating the atmosphere up

c. the ash and dust released from an eruption can bury nearby cities and villages

d. volcanoes create fertile soil that leads to more agriculture

e. Gases and ash emitted during a volcanic event can block out the sun’s energy, and provide extra greenhouse gases.

ANS: E

25.Our current atmosphere is composed mostly of

a. Carbon dioxide

b. nitrogen

c. hydrogen

d. helium

e. oxygen

ANS: B

26. Which statement about the Greenhouse Effect is NOT TRUE?

a. The Greenhouse Effect is a natural process

b. The Greenhouse Effect has a negative impact on the climate of the planet.

c. The burning of fossil fuels increases the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

d. Gases such as carbon dioxide trap solar radiation close to Earth’s surface.

e. Most of the radiation from the Sun never even reaches Earth’s surface.

ANS: B

27.The Coriolis Effect

a. Affect wind direction

b. Affects wind speed

c. is strongest at the equator

d. causes winds in the Northern Hemisphere to move to the west.

e. causes winds in the Southern Hemisphere to move to the east.

ANS: A

28.Water that falls to Earth’s surface may enter the groundwqter by which process?

a. Transpiration

b. Precipitation

c. Infiltration

d. Condensation

e. Evaporation

ANS: C

29.A well that would produce water should be drilled into which layer?

a. Zone of aeration

b. water table

c. Permeable aquifer

d. Impermeable aquifer

e. a sinkhole

ANS: C

30.The formation of soil is influenced by all of the following EXCEPT

a. Time

b. climate

c. Parent material

d. slope

e. farming

ANS: E

31.Around hydrothermal vents in mid-oceanic ridges, there are species of tubeworms. In the tissues of these tubeworms are chemosynthetic bacteria. The bacteria provide the tubeworms with organic nutrients, and the tubeworms provide the bacteria with safe places to live and constant streams of mineral-rich water. Which of the following describes the relationship between the tubeworm and the chemosynthetic bacteria?

a. Predator-prey

b. Commensalism

c. Competition

d. Mutualism

e. Parasitism

ANS: D

32.European missionaries and traders who settled in the Hawaiian Islands in the 1800s imported the mongoose to eliminate snakes from homes, fields, and settlements. From the information given, which of the following BEST describes the mongoose?

a. Indicator species

b. prey

c. alien species

d. native species

e. keystone species

ANS: C

33.Elements cycle through the atmosphere in all of the following biogeochemical cycles EXCEPT which?

a. Carbon

b. Phosphorus

c. Water

d. Oxygen

e. Nitrogen

ANS: B

34.A battery manufacturing plant accidentally leached cadmium into a local lake. Ecologists sampled various species from the lake and determined the cadmium concentration in the tissues of each organism. The data are shown below. Which species is most likely the second-order consumer?

a. Species A

b. Species B

c. Species C

d. Species D

e. Species E

ANS: C

Species Cadmium Concentration (mg/kg tissue)

A 100

B 10

C 30

D 65

E 20

35.Which of the following mechanisms of adaptation to environmental stress would NOT be applicable to a population?

a. Migration to another ecosystem

b. Natural selection

c. Succession

d. Migration within an ecosystem

e. Evolution

ANS: C

36.A change in the _______ cycle could induce a(n) _______ in an ecosystem.

a. Oxygen, geologic change

b. Water, acid rain

c. Sulfur, eutrophication

d. Nitrogen, hurricane

e. Carbon, climate shift

ANS: E

37.Which of the following communities might be a stage in the primary succession of a coastal sand dune ecosystem?

a. Lichen communities supplant moss communitites

b. beach grasses colonize the sands, thereby stabilizing the dunes.

c. oak trees supplant the grasses on the dunes

d. shrubs supplant maple trees on the dunes

e. lichen communities establish themselves on the loose sandy soil

ANS: B

38.Which of the following species is characteristic of the savanna?

a. Lichens

b. oak trees

c. douglas fir

d. mangrove trees

e. grass

ANS: E

39.The river that brings water to Townsville periodically floods and destroys homes upstream. To build the homes, wetlands were filled in. One proposal brought by local officials to fix the problem is to build a dam upstream of the homes and construct levees along the river to protect the homes and Townsville. Another proposal is to buy out the homes along the river and restore the wetlands. The second proposal is an example of using which of the following?

a. biogeochemical cycles

b. Food chain and webs

c. Natural selection

d. Ecosystem services

e. Ecological succession

ANS: D

40.A company wants to place an electrical power line through a forested area. The company workers cut an area through the forest, erect the power lines and cables, and plant grass in the clear-cut area. All of the following are true about the clear-cut area EXCEPT which?

a. Clear-cutting is an ecosystem stressor

b. The clear-cut area will induce an edge community

c. The clear-cut area will initiate primary succession

d. New species will migrate into the grasses of the clear-cut area

e. The clear-cut area will initiate secondary succession

ANS: C

41.An age-structure diagram has the shape of a pyramid with a wide base. What type of population growth does it indicate?

a. Zero growth

b. Negative growth

c. Slow growth

d. Rapid growth

e. Unknown growth

ANS: D

42.Rapid growth in nonhuman populations occurs in which phase?

a. Lag phase

b. Stable phase

c. Carrying capacity

d. Oscillating phase

e. Log phase

ANS: E

43.All of the following factors are density-independent factors EXCEPT which one?

a. Competition

b. Climate

c. The pH level

d. Water supply

e. Food supply

ANS: A

44.Which of the following organisms would be an example of an r-strategist?

a. Whale

b. cockroach

c. eagle

d. alligator

e. dog

ANS: B

45.Which provision might BEST be used as part of an antinatalist policy in a country whose religions beliefs are against contraception?

a. Legally mandated sterilization after two children

b. Making condoms widely available

c. Tax breaks for large families

d. Raising the legal age of marriage

e. Free birth control pills

ANS: D

46.You seed two flasks containing nutrient media with the same amount of the algae, Chlorella. Flask B contains twice the concentration of phosphate, a vital nutrient, than Flask A. Both flasks are incubated under the same conditions. Which of the following statements will be TRUE?

a. Flask A will grow faster the Flask B because the intrinsic growth rate is greater.

b. Both flasks will grow at the same rate and reach the same carrying capacity.

c. While the intrinsic growth rates are the same, Flask B will grow at a faster rate and reach a greater carrying capacity than Flask A

d. While the intrinsic growth rates are the same, Flask A will grow at a faster rate and reach a greater carrying capacity than Flask B

e. Flask B will grow faster than Flask A because the intrinsic growth rate is greater.

ANS: C (intrinsic growth rate is birth rate – death rate)

47.City officials face an increasing population size. They decide to fill in wetlands upstream along a river that runs through the city. They build homes on the filled in land. As a result, they must periodically deal with floods along the river that brings water into the city. This is an example of which of the following?

a. Pronatalist policy

b. Antinatalist policy

c. Habitat destruction

d. Pollution

e. Ecological stress

ANS: C

48. Your country has recently won a war, and the soldiers have returned home to their wives and families after many long years. What might the age-structure diagram look like if plotted over the next several decades?

a. A pinch at the bottom that will rise over the next several decades due to a boom in population.

b. There will be no change in the shape of the age-structure diagram

c. A bulge at the bottom that will rise over the next several decades due to a bust in the population

d. A pinch at the bottom that will rise over the next several decades due to a bust in the population

e. A bulge at the bottom that will rise over the next several decades due to a boom in the population

ANS: E

49.In the transitional phase from Pre-Industrial to Industrial economies, birth rates _______ while death rates _______.

a. Do not change, drop

b. Increase, remain the same

c. Decrease, decrease

d. Decrease, remain the same

e. Increase, increase

ANS: A

50.Which of the following actions is consistent with sustainable agriculture?

a. planting one crop only

b. Irrigating the fields

c. Applying heavy loads of fertilizers and pesticides

d. Planting alternating rows of multiple crops

e. Plowing the field under after harvesting

ANS: D