Review for Final Exam
Don’t panic- you know 80% or more of this already! Go through the list and make a quizlet or other
study guide of the items you DON’T know. Don’t forget to use the online text vocab review to help you
study. Please let me know if I can help you review after school next week.
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Chapter 1 and 2 Review Sheet AP Environmental Science 2015
Define environment and environmental science.
Explain what a system is and explain how that applies to an ecosystem and what is required to
make up an ecosystem.
How do environmentalism and environmental studies differ?
Give some examples of ways in which humans have altered their environment.
Explain what ecosystem services are and give some examples.
List and describe the three sub-types of biological diversity.
How are species richness and biodiversity different?
Describe how background extinction rates differ from present extinction rates.
What has happened to world grain production over the last three decades?
Why is it important to understand the anthropogenic nature of greenhouse gas increase?
What other factor must be considered when predicting the effects that the human population is
having on the planet?
Explain development.
What is sustainability and sustainable development? Give three requirements of living
sustainably.
How are human needs and wants in conflict?
Describe an ecological footprint and explain how it differs based on lifestyle.
Explain the scientific method and why it has such strong credibility.
Use the vocabulary list from chp 1 or chp 2 and understand that you can be asked to define any
of them, or identify any of them in a given situation.
o Chapter 2
Explain the relationship between mass and matter.
Explain how atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds are related to each other.
Describe how the periodic table is organized.
Use the periodic table to identify each of the following for the first 20 elements; atomic number,
mass number, electron configuration before and after ionization, likelihood of bonding ionically
or covalently, likelihood of creating polar or non polar covalent bonds with other given
elements.
Define isotopes and how they relate to radioactive decay.
Explain the half-life concept.
How are covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonds different?
Explain what is necessary to have a polar molecule.
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Explain the emergent properties of water that result from its polar nature.
Explain acids and bases and describe what the pH system shows and how it is related to pOH.
What are chemical reactions.
Explain what is meant by the law of conservation of mass and the law of conservation of energy.
How do organic and inorganic molecules differ.
Explain what the similarities and differences are among proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and
carbohydrates.
Give a basic description of cells and their structure.
Explain energy.
What is electromagnetic radiation, the electromagnetic spectrum, and photons.
Define the difference between Energy, work, and Power.
What do the joule, calorie, Calorie, Btu, and kWh have in common and how do they differ? Be
able to calculate between these units
Describe the differences between potential, kinetic, and chemical energy.
Describe the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
Explain energy efficiency, inputs, and outputs.
What is entropy?
How do energy conversions underlie all ecological processes and what is all energy headed
Review for test Chp 3 and 4
Biotic vs abiotic factors
Define ecosystem
Energy flow within an ecosystem, including direction of flow and amount gained/lost
Photosynthesis vs Respiration (which organisms are involved, products and reactants of each)
GPP and NPP (see example from chp review)
Flow of energy in a food web, components of a food web (primary/secondary consumer, etc.)
How to read/make a graph
Water cycle, including water testing from Suson (cause of algal bloom, sources of pollution, etc)
Carbon cycle, including man’s disruption of it
Limiting nutrients
Disturbance, resilience, resistance
Benefit categories of ecosystems (provisions, cultural, ecological, etc.)
Nitrogen cycle
Climate vs weather
Layers of the atmosphere, characteristics of each
Tilt of the planet and the effects on climate/biomes; equinoxes vs solstices
Global air currents; Coriolis Effect
Gyres, upwelling, ocean currents
El Nino
Rain Shadow Desert
Biomes (see ppt from class on website)
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Aquatic zones (Chemosynthesis, benthic zone, decomposition, etc.)
How do open and closed systems differ?
Explain a steady state system.
What is feedback and how do positive and negative feedback loops differ.
Give examples of each of the above.
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Study Guide for Chp 5 Quiz
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Diversity of an ecosystem- define and how is it measured? What are the processes that create,
increase, or decrease diversity?
Define a species, discuss how closeness of species’ relationship is determined
Define evolution, mutation, recombination, natural selection, natural variation, genotypic
variation and give examples
Define and give examples of adaptations, artificial selection, Founder effect, Geographic
isolation, Genetic Drift
Bottleneck effect, Sympatric speciation, Allopatric speciation, niche
Be able to use the Principle of Superposition and Principle of Faunal Succession
Define/Discuss Evenness vs. Richness
Know the vocabulary from Chp 5- it will help you determine the best choice in a multiple choice
question
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Study guide Chp 6 and 7
Define types of population distribution/benefits/drawbacks of each
Causes of population changes
How to calculate r (without a calculator)
Define carrying capacity
Causes of rapid growth
density-independent regulation. Vs density-dependent regulation.
Define/examples of predator, prey, parasite, population, niche
Define/examples of competitive exclusion. resource partitioning. habitat fragmentation.
Symbiosis. mutualism. Commensalism, mutualistic relationship
Define/examples of keystone species
Define/examples of primary, secondary succession
Human population, including current and past growth, projected growth, decreasing current
growth
Reading/explaining various types of population graphs, including exponential, logistical growth,
and population pyramids
Rule of 70 (without a calculator)
Define GDP, factors that affect it
Malthusian Catastrophe
Countries with high rates of HIV, other causes of density-dependent death
Factors affecting TFR
Estimating population size
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Layers of the Earth and approximate densities
Age of the Earth
Define hot spot
Discuss Theory of Plate Tectonics
Know the boundaries, including locations, movement, and resulting formations
Be able to do calculations of plate movements (Hawaii activity from class)
Be able to discuss rock cycle, including examples of different types of rock and how they form
What makes soil acidic and what makes it basic (soil ppt from class)
Define and discuss weathering (chemical AND physical) and erosion
Fertile soil, including defining and discussing the role of loam, silt, sand, and clay on porosity
Locate, define, and discuss Soil Horizons O, A, B, C; what is humus and where is it found?
Causes of poor soil, uses of soil
Define and discuss benefits and drawbacks of various mining techniques
How much freshwater is on Earth, and in what forms/amounts is it found?
Define/discuss aquifers, water table, cone of depression, floodplains, Eutrophication, levees,
artesian wells, springs
Devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina
Benefits/Drawbacks of dams, aqueducts, creation of fish ladders
Define/discuss desalination, reverse osmosis, hydroponic agriculture
Usage of water/amounts for various tasks, how much of the world lives without clean water?
Gray water usage
Richter scale
Acid Mine Drainage (see ppt from class)
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977