APES Review
1. Justification that sees some aspect of the
environment as valuable because it
provides individuals with economic
benefits:
a) utilitarian
b) ecological
c) moral
d) aesthetic
e) economical
2. The example of the John Eli Miller
Family illustrates which of the
following themes:
a) global warming
b) sustainability
c) human population expansion
d) a global perspective
e) urbanization
3. What is meant by the “population
bomb”?
a) nuclear weapons used on urban centers
b) an uncontrolled increase in human
population
c) the number of individuals per unit area
d) a graphical representation of growing
population
e) an international plan to control the ever
growing number of people living on Earth
4. When did the most dramatic increase in
the history of the human population
occur?
a) in the early history of the human
population
b) in the last part of the twentieth century
c) during the industrial revolution
d) during the middle ages
e) human population has increased on a
steady rate
5. It is said that population crises become
worse the larger the population. This
worsening is the result of:
a) an open system
b) a closed system
c) negative feedback
d) positive feedback
e) the need to help Third World countries
6. Which of the following is not a major
theme of environmental science:
a) human population growth
b) an urbanizing world
c) sustainability of our population and all of
nature
d) science and values
e) all of the above are major themes of
environmental science
7. “Carrying capacity” refers to:
a) the maximum weight that can be put on
a vehicle or machine
b) the nutrient value of a food source
c) the amount of a mineral resource that
can be recovered economically from a
mine
d) the average life-expectancy of an
individual in a population
e) the maximum number of individuals that
can be supported by an ecosystem
8. The total effect of humans upon the
environment is:
a) the product of the average impact per
individual times the total number of
individuals
b) the product of the population and the
total number of births
c) the total number of births per individual
d) the total number of individuals
e) not predictable
9. The population density of the first
farmers was much higher than the density
of hunters and gatherers because:
a) of stable shelters
b) mortality of farmers is less than that of
hunters and gatherers
c) more food was available
d) of a lowered death rate
e) population has grown according to the Jcurve from the beginning of human
history
10. The rapid population increase since the
Industrial Revolution occurred for all of
the following reasons except:
a) invention of vaccines
b) advances in agriculture
c) increased food production
d) lower infant mortality
e) declining birth rates
11. Aspects and limitation(s) of the early approach
to environmental issues included:
a) a lack of scientific knowledge
b) a general recognition that real solutions to
environmental problems include and depend on
human beings
c) recognition that we must seek sustainability in
the environment and our economic activities
d) a lack of understanding that environmentalism
and economic progress are not contradictory
e) all of the above
12. What is the carrying capacity of the
Earth for humans?
a) zero
b) under 1 billion
c) just over 5 billion
d) between 10 and 20 billion
e) any estimate depends on who you ask
and what assumptions they make
13. Which of the following is the correct sequence
of steps, from beginning to end, in the Scientific
Method:
a) hypothesis –> controlled experiment –>
inferences –> conclusions
b) conclusions –> controlled experiment –>
observations –> hypothesis
c) controlled experiment –> inferences –>
deductive proof –> hypothesis
d) observations –> hypothesis –> controlled
experiment –> conclusions
e) conclusions –> observations –> alter
observations to fit conclusions –> future research
grants and awards
14. A scientist is testing the factors that lead to the
growth of larger tomatoes. In one particular
series of experiments, she holds the moisture
and the amount of fertilizer constant, but varies
the soil type and measures the resulting changes
in tomato weight. Which of the following is the
independent variable in these experiments:
a) moisture
b) amount of fertilizer
c) tomato weight
d) amount of sunlight
e) soil type
15. Deductive proof:
a) is speculative
b) is based on hypotheses
c) is probabilistic
d) is absolute
e) produces new knowledge
16. Models that offer very broad,
fundamental explanations of many
observations are called:
a) hypotheses
b) data
c) theories
d) methods
e) fringe science
17. Science and technology are often confused
with each other. Which of the following is an
incorrect statement regarding science and
technology?
a) science cannot be advanced without technology
b) technology is the application of scientific
knowledge
c) science is limited by the technology available
d) science leads to new technological advances
e) science is the search for understanding the
natural world
18. A scientist wishes to test the effects of
different amounts of water and fertilizer on yields
of corn. In a series of test fields, she varies the
supply of water and the amount of fertilizer
applied to a given strain of corn and measures
the weight of the crop that results. In this
experiment, which is/are the dependent
variable(s)?
a) corn yield and variety of corn strain
b) water supply and supply of fertilizer
c) corn yield
d) water supply and effect of climate
e) supply of fertilizer and variety of corn strain
19. Which of the following statements is not true
about assumptions of science?
a) events in the natural world follow patterns
b) science is based on a type of reasoning known
as induction
c) basic processes and laws are not the same
throughout the universe
d) generalizations can be subjected to tests that
disprove them
e) science can provide absolute proof of the truth
of its theories
20. In the ancient civilizations of Babylon
and Egypt, observations of the
environment were carried out for all of the
following purposes except:
a) planting crops
b) religious reasons
c) predicting human events
d) to understand the fundamental laws of
the universe
e) for navigation of ships
21. The growth rate at which the
amount doubles in a fixed unit of
time is called
a) linear growth
b) negative feedback
c) exponential growth
d) positive feedback
e) equilibrium
22. Change that tends to stabilize a
system is called
a) linear growth
b) negative feedback
c) exponential growth
d) positive feedback
e) equilibrium
23. Simply stated, the principle of
environmental unity states that:
a) humans have only one
environment
b) resources are finite
c) time is money
d) the environment is a closed system
e) everything affects everything else
24. Considering inputs to a pool and
outputs from it, the pool will be in
steady state when:
a) inputs exceed outputs
b) outputs cease
c) inputs equal outputs
d) outputs exceed inputs
e) inputs cease
Locust population
(individuals per hectare)
25. The figure on
the right
describes:
a) negative
feedback
b) biofeedback
c) an open system
d) dynamic
expansion
e) exponential
growth
..
Time
26. Philosophy 101 had 50 students on the first
day of class. However, the class has a reputation
for being an easy A (unlike the class you’re
taking now), and the enrollment is unlimited.
The number of students has increased at an
average rate of 5% per class day. What is the
doubling time of the enrollment in the class?
a) 2 weeks
b) about 6 weeks
c) 14 class days
d) 20 class days
e) 14 years
27. The region of the Earth where life
exists is known as:
a) the biota
b) the crust
c) the biosphere
d) the biozone
e) Gaia
28. Why did Amboseli National Park suffer a
serious loss of the woodland habitat?
a) changes in rainfall and soil
b) overgrazing of cattle by the Masai people
c) damage to the trees by elephants
d) damage to the woodlands by wildebeest
and zebras
e) all of the above
29. The Gaia hypothesis proposes that:
I. the global environment at a global level has been
profoundly changed since life appeared on Earth
II. life is sacred, and eating meat or animal by-products is
immoral
III. changes in the environment tend to improve the
environment for life
a) I only
b) II only
c) I and II
d) I and III
e) I, II, and III
30. Which of the following are associated with
natural systems that have long residence times
(for example, underground aquifers)?
a) throughput is greater than pool size
b) difficulty in flushing out pollutants once they are
introduced
c) the system is quickly polluted and quickly
cleaned
d) the system is quickly polluted but slowly
cleaned
e) short regeneration times following periods of
greater output than input
31. A
type of feedback
mechanism functions as a
_______________ process for the system
as a whole.
a) negative; destabilizing
b) negative; stabilizing or self-regulating
c) equilibrium; stabilizing
d) positive; stabilizing or self-regulating
e) positive; cleansing
32. Positive feedback:
a) tends to be self-regulating
b) works in the opposite direction of
perturbations
c) trends towards an equilibrium
d) accelerates change
e) is rarely beneficial
33. Systems can be regarded as either
open or closed. Using the example of a
small life-raft in the Pacific Ocean:
a) wind in the sails is an open system;
cans: of food are a closed system
b) wind in the sails is a closed system;
cans: of food are an open system
c) both are closed systems
d) both are open systems
e) a life-raft cannot be considered in terms
of systems
34. A hypothetical strain of bacteria
doubles every two minutes (exponential
growth). One single bacterium was put in
a sealed bottle at 8:00 AM, and the bottle
was filled at exactly 10:00 AM. What time
was the bottle half full?
a) 9:00 AM
b) 9:30 AM
c) 9:47 AM
d) 9:58 AM
e) time depends on the size of the bottle
35. Uniformitarianism is:
a) the principle that everything affects everything
else
b) a New England religion, the first to become
active in environmentalism
c) the principle that the past can be understood by
studying the processes operating at present
d) the belief that the Earth functions as a single
living organism
e) the principle that differences within the
environment are small relative to the overall
similarities
36. The herd of caribou on Edwardan Island
was measured in 1959. At that time,
there were 20 animals, and the herd was
growing at a steady rate of 14% annually.
What was the doubling time of the herd?
a) 2 years
b) 5 years
c) 7 years
d) 14 years
e) 28 years
37. A system with a greater input
than output would experience:
a) an increase in storage
b) a decrease in storage
c) no change in storage
d) zero storage
e) compound interest
38. Which of the following examples
describes the S-shaped curve according to
which a population grows rapidly but
eventually reaches a constant population?
a) demographic transition
b) replacement fertility curve
c) logistic growth curve
d) sustainability
e) carrying capacity
39. Which of the following examples
describes the movement of a nation from
a high population growth to a low
population growth?
a) demographic transition
b) replacement fertility curve
c) logistic growth curve
d) sustainability
e) carrying capacity
40. The figure on the
right illustrates which
of the following
concepts?
a) replacement level
fertility
b) population age
structure
c) low death rates
d) Malthus’ theory of
human population
e) logistic population
growth
55 +
50-55
45-50
40-45
35-40
30-35
25-30
20-25
15-20
10-15
5-10
0-5
Female
Male
16
12
8
4
0
4
Percent of the population
8
12
16
41. According to the concept of the “demographic
transition,” a population will go through a period
of expansion, but later stabilize at:
a) its original number
b) at the maximum carrying capacity of the land
c) at a population larger than before the transition,
but with zero growth
d) a constant rate of growth
e) a level where deaths caused by famine and
disease equal new births
42. The doubling time of a population:
a) is two-thirds of the tripling time
b) is a function of exponential growth
c) is based on a constant birth rate
d) Growth rate =(# of births) – (# of
deaths per unit time) / (total
population)
e) refers to demographic fertility
43. Decreased death rate and the accelerated rate
of human population growth are related to:
I. improved sanitation and health
II. increased food supply
III. control of disease-spreading organisms
a) I only
b) II only
c) III only
d) I and II
e) I, II and III
44. The “demographic transition” refers to:
a) declining population growth rate
following rapid growth
b) democratic mandates for contraceptives
to control human population growth
c) the maximum human population
sustainable by the Earth
d) the transition from population growth to
population decline
e) overpopulation in less developed
countries
45. Human population growth during the
pre-industrial agricultural period and
during the Industrial Revolution period
occurred with little change in:
a) birth rates
b) death rates
c) growth rates
d) maximum human life expectancy
e) average life expectancy
46. In a developing country, chronic
diseases account for a _________
proportion of total mortality. Acute
diseases account for a _________
proportion of total mortality.
a) large; small
b) small; large
c) large; large
d) small; small
e) in developing countries, population is
controlled by food supply, not disease
47. Rapid human population growth
puts an especially heavy burden on:
a) the environment
b) the wildlife
c) sewage treatment plants
d) the ocean
e) rapid human population growth
burdens all of the above
48. Human demography suggests that an
improving economy in a country correlates with:
a) decreased birth rate, increased population
growth rate
b) decreased death rate, increased population
growth rate
c) decreased birth rate, decreased population
growth rate
d) increased birth rate, decreased population
growth rate
e) increased birth rate, increased population
growth rate
49. Which of the following gives an
example of an acute and a chronic
disease:
a) measles and cholera
b) influenza and heart disease
c) stroke and measles
d) cancer and stroke
e) plague and tooth decay
50. Which of the following parameters
is/are necessary to describe
exponential population growth?
a) carrying capacity
b) population size
c) juvenile death rate
d) time lag
e) all of the above
The End!