Sci 1121 Environmental Science, Section Two Exam, Spring 2012 (Watch for negatives like the word “not.”)
1. The social science of collecting, compiling, and analyzing all different sorts of human population data is:
A. Sociology
B. Archeology
C. Demography
D. Anthropology
2. World human population is presently (2012) very close to:
A. 2 billion
B. 5 billion
C. 7 billion
D. 10 billion
3. Most scientists estimate that world human population will plateau close to _______ within the next _______ years.
A. 2 billion, 10 years
B. 5 billion, 20 years
C. 7 billion, 50 years
D. 10 billion, 100 years
4. In spite of humans having most of the traits of being ___ selected, their population grows like ___ selected strategists.
A. K, r
B. r, K
C. Artificially, natural
D. Naturally, artificial
5. Throughout history each time the human population carrying capacity was reached ______ allowed it to be exceeded.
A. War
B. Art and culture
C. Disease and famine
D. Technological revolutions
6. Reduced mortality achieved through vaccination, water/sewage treatment, antibiotics, and better nutrition came with:
A. The Neolithic revolution
B. The industrial revolution
C. The medical revolution
D. The green revolution
7. Dramatically increased agricultural yields made possible with pesticide, fertilizer, and irrigation use is associated with:
A. The Neolithic revolution
B. The industrial revolution
C. The medical revolution
D. The green revolution
8. Those countries with a per capita income less than $1000/year, yet with more than 2/3’s of the world’s population are:
A. Highly developed, industrialized nations, like the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and most of Western Europe
B. Moderately developed nations, like some of Africa and the Middle East, Central and South America, and China
C. Developing nations like most of Africa and southern Asia, and parts of far Eastern Europe
D. There are no countries that poor on Earth
9. The world’s richest countries are responsible for producing the ______ pollution, and consuming the _____ resources.
A. most, most
B. most, least
C. least, most
D. least, least
10. The world’s poorest countries have the _________ fertility rates and ________ population growth rates.
A. highest, highest
B. highest, lowest
C. lowest, highest
D. lowest, lowest
11. A population age structure profile graph with a pyramid shape showing that most people are of pre-reproductive age:
A. Indicates that the population will likely remain at about the same number of individuals in the future
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B. Indicates that the population will likely decrease in its number of individuals in the future
C. Indicates that the population will likely increase in its number of individuals in the future
D. Indicates that the population will likely go extinct in the future
12. Which of the following statements is not true regarding the human population demographic transition?
A. Its first stage is characterized by both high birth and death rates, resulting in low population growth
B. Its second stage has lower death rates, but birth rates stay high, resulting in rapid population growth
C. Its third stage has both low birth and death rates, resulting in a stable or declining population growth
D. It has resulted in large increases in population growth rates in economically developed countries
13. The best solutions to the extreme poverty seen in many parts of the world do not include which of the following?
A. Accessible and affordable reproductive health, family planning, and contraception options
B. Improving educational access, particularly for women and children
C. Having more children to help parents earn more income
D. Equitable employment opportunities
14. The largest cause of death in the poorest countries is:
A. Communicable disease
B. Cardiovascular disease
C. Accidents and injury
D. Cancer
15. HIV/AIDS directly affects a greater percentage of people in _________ than anywhere else in the world.
A. Sub-Saharan Africa
B. The United States
C. Western Europe
D. Australia
16. Water covers almost three-fourths of the Earth; which of the following statements is true regarding water on the
Earth?
A. Most of the Earth’s water is “freshwater,” found in soil, aquifers, caves, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams
B. Of the Earth’s “freshwater,” most of it is bound up in glaciers and icecaps
C. Less than half of the Earth’s water is “saltwater,” in oceans and seas
D. Life on Earth can exist without water
17. Which of the following statements is true about the hydrologic cycle?
A. Water is continually purified by moving through the hydrologic cycle
B. The Earth’s organisms have nothing to do with the hydrologic cycle
C. Condensation and precipitation cause water to move into the atmosphere
D. Evaporation and transpiration cause water to return to the surface of the Earth in liquid form
18. Temperature has a huge effect on water; which of the following statements is true?
A. Cold air can hold more water than hot air
B. Hydrogen bonds between water molecules are permanent and rigid in liquid water
C. As cold air warms, water vapor turns into dew on surfaces, and fog and clouds in the atmosphere
D. The percentage of how much water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature is relative humidity
19. A convection (Hadley) cell:
A. Is a global cycle of heating and cooling that causes air to rise and fall
B. Is caused by the sun striking the poles most directly
C. Is a special type of microwave oven
D. Is a secretive group of terrorists
20. These convection (Hadley) cells have large effects on the Earth’s surface; which is true?
A. Large desert biomes are created at the equator
B. This is not correct — convection (Hadley) cells have little effect
C. Tropical rain forest biomes are created near 30 degrees north and south latitude
D. The trade winds are caused by the Earth’s rotational effect on these convection (Hadley) cells
21. The rain shadow associated with mountains:
A. Has no effect on local weather patterns
B. Causes it to be wetter on the upwind (windward) side
C. Causes it to be wetter on the downwind (leeward) side
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D. Causes it to be darker on one side of a mountain than the other
22. Precipitation infiltration is:
A. When rain and/or snow melt soaks into the ground versus running off into a watershed
B. When rain and/or snow melt runs off into streams and rivers of a watershed
C. When rain and/or snow melt freezes on the surface of the ground
D. When spies embed themselves in enemy organizations
23. An aquifer is:
A. A layer of impervious rock that water cannot move through
B. A layer of porous rock that can hold groundwater
C. The openings that let groundwater in or out
D. A brand of bottled water
24. Clearing forests for agriculture and overgrazing rangelands cannot result in which of the following?
A. Enhanced groundwater recharge due to less runoff
B. Erosion and sediment pollution
C. Desertification
D. Floods
25. Worldwide the largest use of water is for:
A. Cleaning and waste removal
B. Agriculture irrigation
C. Drinking and in food
D. Industry
26. Negative impacts of dams do not include which of the following?
A. The flooding and destruction of millions of acres of terrestrial ecosystems
B. The displacement of millions of people and destruction of their cultures
C. The destruction of river and riparian ecosystems
D. Hydropower and flood control
27. The most efficient type of agricultural irrigation systems use:
A. Center pivot and/or roller sprinkler systems
B. Drip style hoses and plumbing
C. Flood techniques
D. Treadle pumps
28. The most agriculturally productive soils:
A. Are a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and detritus
B. Are predominantly sand and some detritus
C. Are predominantly clay and some detritus
D. Are predominantly silt and some detritus
29. The topmost layer of soil (O Horizon) consisting of litter, decomposing plant and animal detritus, and decomposers is:
A. Bedrock
B. Subsoil
C. Topsoil
D. Humus
30. The second layer of soil (A Horizon) consisting of decomposed plant and animal detritus as well as mineral
components such as sand, clay, silt, and gravel is:
A. Bedrock
B. Subsoil
C. Topsoil
D. Humus
31. Plants need several mineral nutrients that can easily become limiting factors for a plant’s growth. Which is true?
A. All of these mineral nutrients only come from the breakdown of rocks in the soil
B. These nutrients can only be supplied as chemical fertilizers
C. Most of these nutrients come from decomposing detritus
D. Leaching increases a soil’s fertility
32. A fungal/plant symbiosis in most plants, which dramatically increases the available surface area for absorption:
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A.
B.
C.
D.
Is called mycorrhizae
Is called nitrogen fixation
Significantly hurts the plant, stunting its growth
Provides no benefits to either the plant or the fungus
33. Over-cultivation is a major cause of soil erosion; which of the following techniques is worst for causing erosion?
A. Traditional agriculture tillage practices of harvest, complete vegetation removal, and deep plowing
B. No or low-till agriculture where the previous crop is used as a mulch for the new planting
C. Contour strip cropping where fields rows are oriented at right angles to slopes
D. Shelterbelts, windbreaks, and other ‘wild’ zones and along the edges of fields
34. A permanent reduction in the productivity of arid, semiarid, and seasonally dry areas of the world is called:
A. Cryptogramic crust
B. Desert pavement
C. Desertification
D. Mycorrhizae
35. Humans have always provided food for themselves. In the past 30 years world food production:
A. Has substantially declined
B. Has remained about the same
C. Has more than doubled in quantity
D. Has increased over ten times in quantity
36. The world’s poorest countries:
A. Produce about the same amount of food per capita as do the world’s richest countries
B. Produce much more food per capita than do the world’s richest countries
C. Produce much less food per capita than do the world’s richest countries
D. Produce almost none of their own food
37. Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods that:
A. Have desired genes other than their own (transgenic) engineered into them
B. Have desired genes that have been artificially selected through breeding
C. Have no potential to help the environment or human hunger
D. Are not being used significantly in any part of the world
38. Food aid programs can help relieve temporary famine, but have many problems; which is of the following is true?
A. Free food stimulates the local economy
B. Local farmers are able to sell their crops at higher prices due to food aid programs
C. Food aid programs help to end the cycle of poverty that is the root cause of hunger
D. Food aid programs need to address political, social, economic, and self-sufficiency issues
39. In spite of the high level of world food production, as populations grow throughout the 21 st century, access to food
may become more and more difficult. Which of the following statements is true regarding this assertion?
A. Changing from grain, vegetable, and fruit based foods to meat, fowl, fish, seafood, and dairy products will help
B. This will be due to food’s ever-increasing cost, especially because of global climate change and oil shortages
C. This will not happen — there will always be plenty of food for everyone, it’s just getting it distributed
D. This will only be a problem in the world’s poorest countries, never here
40. Industrialized agriculture requires large amounts of oil/oil-based products; which of the following is not related to this?
A. The soil it is done upon
B. Fuel and lubricants for machinery
C. Packaging for supplies and products
D. Chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides
41. Biofuels have become quite controversial; which of the following statements is not true regarding biofuels?
A. Biofuels have negligible impact on greenhouse gases since the CO 2 they emit was recently fixed by plants
B. Biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel made from agricultural crops and wastes
C. Biofuel production may hurt food availability and contribute to higher food cost
D. The biofuel dilemma is a non-issue — there are plenty of clear answers
42. I realize we didn’t directly talk about it, but you were responsible for the pest control chapter. One of the most
important concepts from that chapter was biomagnification. This happens when chemicals:
A. Are water soluble so they move up the food chain
B. Are fat soluble so they move up the food chain
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C. Are not natural, organic compounds
D. Quickly degrade in the environment
43. One of the worst offenders regarding biomagnification was DDT. This chemical was banned because it:
A. Caused premature breakage of bird eggs leading to the near extinction of many birds of prey
B. Directly killed humans and many other mammals anywhere near areas it was applied
C. Was way too expensive for poorer countries to use
D. Did not work to kill insects
44. Endocrine disruptors were another important concept in the chapter; these are:
A. Chemicals that mimic and/or interfere with animal reproductive hormones
B. Not a problem with any insecticide or herbicide
C. A type of contraception
D. A rock music band
45. Probably the best types of pest control are ecologic/biologic; which of the following is not true regarding this concept?
A. Ecologic/biologic pest control often relies on natural, though perhaps not native, predators of the relevant pest
B. Ecologic/biologic pest control is always a great idea — never causing any problems
C. Nonnative ecologic/biologic pest controls have caused their own problems
D. Ecologic/biologic pest control minimizes the evolution of resistance
46. Insect pests that eat or somehow destroy wood do not include which of the following?
A. Eastern subterranean termites
B. Formosan termites
C. Carpenter bees
D. Fire ants
47. According to the Astro representative that talked to our class, the best solution for controlling fire ants is:
A. To apply pesticide containing bait products throughout the infested area
B. To pour gasoline down the mound and light it on fire
C. To apply insecticide directly to the mound
D. To apply hominy grits
48. According to the Astro representative, one of the biggest, worst, and most recent pest control issues in the USA is:
A. Mosquitos
B. Bedbugs
C. Roaches
D. Rats
49. According to the Astro representative, the commercial pest control industry is:
A. Perhaps the most regulated of all industries in the United States
B. Requires absolutely no training or certification
C. A total waste of time and money
D. Does not offer termite bonding
50. As for how well you think you did on this test . . . I hope that I did:
A. Much better on this test than the last one
B. Much worse on this test than the last one
C. I don’t give a damn what I did on this test
D. Why do you even care?
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