Name: _________________________________________ Date: ________________________________ Period: _______
Unit 2 Practice Quiz – and FRQ
1. Human activities have dramatically changed the
water cycle by
I. Increasing infiltration
II. Increasing surface runoff
III. Increasing condensation
a. I only
b. II only
c. III only
d. I and II only
e. II and III only
2. Carbon is released back into the environment by all
of the following processes EXCEPT
a. Burning fossil fuels
c. Respiration
b. Decomposition
d. Assimilation
3. The water cycle
I. Is powered by energy from the sun and
gravity
II. Involves only liquid and gaseous phases
III. Is expected to cease due to global warming
a. I only
b. II only
c. III only
d. I and II only
e. I, II and III
4. Phosphorous is found in all of the following except
a. Atmosphere
d. Shells
b. Bones
e. Terrestrial rocks
c. Cell membrane
5. Nitrogen fixing bacteria would most likely be found in
nodules on the roots of
a. Opportunistic plants
d. Pine trees
b. Shrubs
e. Legumes
c. Grass
6. The primary environmental abiotic carbon source for
the carbon cycle is
a. The carbon dioxide in the air
b. The carbon dioxide in the water
c. The carbon monoxide in the air
d. The carbon monoxide in the water
e. The carbon dioxide in plants
7. CaCO3 is the compound of carbon that
I. Is condensed to form limestone
II. Is found in shells and skeletons of marine
organisms
III. Is used for plants as a major source of
nutrition
a. I only
d. I and III only
b. II only
e. I, II and III
c. I and II only
8. Phosphates are often the limiting factor for aquatic
ecosystems because
a. They don’t have a gaseous phase
b. They aren’t as easily assimilated as nitrates are
by plants
c. The often form insoluble compounds
d. They have no anthropogenic source
e. They are relatively unstable molecules
9. The major reservoirs of phosphorous and carbon in
the lithosphere exist in what forms respectively?
a. Atmosphere, rocks
b. Rocks, vegetation
c. Rocks, atmosphere
d. Animals, rocks
e. Animals, animals
10. In the nitrogen cycle, the primary abiotic nitrogen
source is/are
a. The atmosphere
d. Nutrients
b. The ocean
e. Plants
c. The soil
11. Humans contribute to the increased sulfur in the
atmosphere by
a. Adding hydrogen sulfide into commercial
fertilizers
b. Burning coal and oil to produce electric power
c. Cutting down trees and increasing erosion of
sediments of sediments containing sulfur
d. Producing dimethyl sulfide as a commercial
fertilizer
e. Being decayed by aerobic decomposers as dead
matter and releasing hydrogen sulfide
12. Which of the following elements is most abundant
in the atmosphere?
a. Nitrogen
d. Helium
b. Oxygen
e. Carbon
c. Hydrogen
13. The process most responsible for continuous
phosphorous release from rocks is
a. Acid rain
d. Evaporation
b. Earthquakes
e. Volcanic eruption
c. Erosion
14. Carbon is restored to the environment by all of the
following EXCEPT
a. Cellular respiration
b. Earthquakes
c. Forest fires
d. Precipitation
e. Volcanic eruption
Base your answers to question 15 (to the right) on the
diagram below.
15. The region labeled A refers to
a. The action of denitrifying bacteria
b. The action of nitrogen-fixing bacteria
c. The process of ammonification
d. Photosynthesis
e. Transpiration
16. Which cycle does the most in shaping the earth’s
landscape?
a. Nitrogen cycle
d. Hydrological cycle
b. Sulfur cycle
e. Carbon cycle
c. Phosphorous cycle
17. A sample of radioactive waste has a half-life of 10
years and an activity level of 2 curies. After how many
years will the activity level of this sample be 0.25 curie?
a. 10 years
d. 40 years
b. 20 years
e. 80 years
c. 30 years
18. Which of the following is an inorganic compound?
a. Ethanol (CH3COOH)
b. Benzene (C6H6)
c. Table salt (NaCl)
d. Sucrose (C12H22O11)
e. Propane (C3H8)
Additional textbook questions to practice: page 49, questions #2-4
Answer Key: 1-D, 2-D, 3-A, 4-A, 5-E, 6-A, 7-C, 8-C, 9-C, 10-A, 11-B, 12-A, 13-C, 14-D, 15-A, 16-D, 17-C, 18-C
Textbook answers: 2-D, 3-E, 4-C
Practice FRQ – From 2009, Question 1
(d) Earth’s natural nitrogen cycle occurs in several steps. Describe one chemical transformation that occurs in
the natural nitrogen cycle and discuss the importance of that transformation to an ecosystem.