APES Semester 1 District Exam Review
1) Ecology is the study of …
Relationships between living organisms and their
environment; it studies the structure and function of
nature.
1) Environmental science is the study of…
Information and ideas from the physical sciences
(such as biology, chemistry, and geology) with those
from the social sciences and humanities (such as
economics, politics, and ethics) to learn how nature
works, and how we can deal with environmental
problems.
2) Define
Positive
feedback
Negative
feedback
Feedback loop that causes a system to change further in the
same direction
Artic Ice Melts  Ice Reflects Light Into Space  Warms Earth  More Ice Melts
Feedback loop that causes a system to change in the
opposite direction from which it is moving.
Home Thermostat
Homeostasis Is the property of a system that regulate its internal
environment and tends to maintain a stable, relatively
constant condition.
Synergy
You sweat when you are hot. As sweat evaporates, it cools your body.
Interaction of two of more factors or processes so that the
combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate
effects.
Smokers are 10 times more likely to get lung cancer than non smokers
Individuals exposed to asbestos are 5 times more likely to get lung cancer
People who smoke and are exposed to asbestos are 50 times more likely to get lung cancer
6) Define and give 2 examples:
Define
Example
Renewable
A resource that can be replenished rapidly Fresh H2O
resource
(hours to several decades) through natural Fresh Air
Example
Fertile Soil
processes as long as it is not used up
faster than it is replaced
Nonrenewable
resource
Resource that exists in a fixed amount in
the earth’s crust and has potential for
Copper
Aluminum
Coal
Oil
renewal by geological, physical, and
chemical processes taking place over
hundreds of millions to billions of years
Perpetual Resource
Define
Example
Essentially inexhaustible resource on a human time
scale because it is renewed continuously
Solar
Energy
7) During cultural revolutions
(like the agricultural & industrial revolutions)…
….the food supply (increased / decreased / remained the same)
….life expectancy (increased / decreased / remained the same)
….living standards (increased / decreased / remained the same)
...death rates (increased / decreased / remained the same)
8) Energy use during the Industrial Revolution
shifted from dependence on renewable wood
to dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels
9) Write the equation for doubling time
Doubling Time = 70/r
r = growth rate
10) If the growth rate of a country is 2%, how
long would it take the population to double?
(show work)
DT = 70/2 = 35 years
11) Growth rate =
+ Emigration)
(Births + Immigration) – (Death
12) What 2 countries have the largest
populations?
China
&
India
13) Compare and contrast developed and
developing countries:
Circle your choice
Higher percentage of the world’s population
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher percent of the world’s resource use
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Pyramid-shaped histogram
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher percent of the world’s pollution waste
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher rate of population growth
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher percent of the world’s wealth & income
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
India and Kenya
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher percentage of elderly people
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Higher status for women
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Subsistence agriculture is more common
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
14) Describe the first agricultural communities
Traditional Subsistence Agriculture = Production of enough crops or
livestock for family survival
Slash-and-Burn Cultivation = Cutting down trees and other vegetation in
a patch of forest and then burning it. The ashes are left to add nutrients
to the soil (TRF have nutrient poor soil) Plots much be abandoned for
several years until soil fertility returns
Shifting Cultivation = clearing a plot of land in the forest and planting
crops until the soil is depleted of nutrients. A new plot of land will be
cleared and the process repeated. The abandoned plot cannot
successfully grow crops for 10-30 years.
12) Define & give an example:
Define
Kinetic energy
Energy that matter has because of
mass and speed, or velocity.
Potential energy
Energy stored in an object because of
Example
Wind, flowing water, and
electricity
Unlit match, gasoline, and a
its position or the position of its parts. rock in your hand
1st Law of
In any physical or chemical change, no
Thermodynamics detectable amount of energy is
created or destroyed.
Gas  Car =
6% Mechanical Movement +
94% Heat
-does not apply to nuclear power
2nd Law of
In any conversion of heat energy to
Thermodynamics useful work, some of the initial energy
input is degraded to lower-quality,
more dispersed, less useful energy.
Gas  Car =
6% Mechanical Movement +
94% Heat
23)
Energy (cycles / flows in one direction).
Matter (cycles / flows in one direction).
24) Which nutrient cycle has no
atmospheric component?
Phosphorus
15) Define the terms associated with the water cycle:
Precipitation
Water in the form of rain, sleet, hail, and snow that falls from the
atmosphere onto land and bodies of water.
Runoff
Freshwater from precipitation and melting ice that flows on the earth’s
surface into nearby lakes, streams, wetlands, and reservoirs
Percolation
Passage of a liquid through the spaces of a porous material
Transpiration
Process in which water is absorbed by the roots of plants, moves
through the plant, passes through the pores (stomata) in their leaves,
and evaporates into the atmosphere as water vapor
Evaporation
Conversion of a liquid to a gas
Water table
Upper surface of the zone of saturation, in which all available pores in
the soil and rock in the earth’s crust are filled with water.
Groundwater
Water that sinks into the soil and is stored in slowly flowing and slowly
renewed underground reservoirs called aquifers; underground water in
the zone of saturation, below the water table.
Surface water
Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or return to the
atmosphere by evaporation or transpiration.
25) Define the terms associated with the carbon
cycle. Does each increase or decrease the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere:
Cellular
respiration
AKA
Aerobic respiration
Photosynthesis
Combustion
Decomposition
Sequestration
Define
Is the set of the metabolic reactions and processes
that take place in the cells of organisms to convert
biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste
products
C6H12O6 + O2  CO2 + H2O
Is a process used by plants and other organisms to
convert the light energy captured from the sun
into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the
organism's activities.
CO2 + H2O  C6H12O6 + O2
Or burning, is the sequence of exothermic
chemical reactions that produces heat
Is the process by which organic substances are
broken down into simpler forms of matter
Technology used to store carbon dioxide from
industry emissions
Increase / Decrease
Increase / Decrease
Increase / Decrease
Increase / Decrease
Increase / Decrease
26) What is the largest carbon dioxide ‘sink’?
The Ocean
27) Define the steps of the nitrogen cycle:
Nitrogen
fixation
Assimilation
Nitrification
Ammonification
Denitrification
Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into forms useful to plants by
lightning, bacteria, and cyanobacteria (N2 to NH3/ NH4+ or NO3-)
Plants Incorporation of NH3 and NO3- into biological tissues
A two-step process in which NH3/ NH4+ is converted to NO3Is the conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonia
Is the reduction of NO3- to gaseous N2 by anaerobic bacteria (NO3- to N2)
19) Draw an example of:
Linear growth
Exponential growth
Logistic growth
20) Define and give 2 examples of each type of species relationship:
Competition
Predation
Mutualism
Parasitism
Commensalism
Define
Two or more individual organisms of a single
species (intraspecific competition) or two or
more individuals of different species
(interspecific competition) attempting to use
the same scarce resources in the same
ecosystem.
Examples
Two plants struggling
for sunlight
Interaction in which an organism of one
species (the predator) captures and feeds on
parts or all of an organism of another species
(the prey)
Type of species interaction in which both
participating species generally benefit
A fox hunting and
eating a rabbit
Interaction between species in which one
organism, called the parasite, preys on another
organism, called the host.
An interaction between organisms of different
species in which one type of organism benefits
and the other type is neither helped nor
harmed to any great degree
Clownfish gains
protection and food by
living among the
anemone and helps
protect the anemone
from it’s predators.
A tick on a deer
Epiphytes living in
large trees.
21) Define and give an example:
Autotroph
Heterotroph
Producer
Primary
consumer
Secondary
consumer
Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
Scavenger
Decomposer
Detritus
feeder
Define
Organism that uses solar energy to manufacture the organic
compounds it needs as nutrients
Organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it
needs and gets its organic nutrients by feeding on the tissue
of producers or other consumers
See Autotroph
Organism that feeds on all or part of plants or other
producers
Organism that feeds only on primary consumers
See Primary Consumer
Animal that feeds on other animals
Animal that can use both plants and other animals as food
sources.
Organism that feeds on dead organisms that were killed by
other organisms or died naturally
Organism that digests parts of dead organisms and cast-off
fragments and wastes of living organisms by breaking down
the complex organic molecules in those materials into
simpler inorganic compounds and then absorb the soluble
nutrients.
Consumer organism that feeds on detritus, parts of dead
organisms, and cast-off fragments and wastes of living
organisms.
Example
Palm Tree
Humans
Orange Tree
Hippo & Rhino
Spider &
Hyenas
Elephant
Lion
Humans
Vultures, Flies,
& Crows
Bacteria &
Fungi
Earthworms &
Termites
22) Explain why food chains are rarely
longer than 5 organisms.
The second law of thermodynamics supports the 10%
rule which states, only 10% of the energy is passed from
one trophic level to the next. If a food chain has 5
organisms, only .01% of the energy from the producer is
available to the last consumer on the chain.
100% - producer
10% - primary consumer
1% - secondary consumer
0.1% - tertiary consumer
0.01% - quaternary consumer
23) Name 2 ecosystems with high net
primary productivity per unit area:
Terrestrial = Tropical Rain Forest
Aquatic = Estuary
23) Name 2 ecosystems with low net
primary productivity per unit area:
Terrestrial = Desert
Aquatic = Open Ocean
24) Define each of the following terms
related to evolution:
Macroevolution Is evolution on a grand scale—what we see when we look at the
over history of life: stability, change, lineages arising, and
extinction.
Microevolution
Coevolution
Convergent
evolution
Gene pool
Geographic
isolation
Natural
selection
Niche
Is a change in gene frequency within a population. Evolution at this
scale can be observed over short periods of time
Evolution in which two or more species interact and exert selective
pressures on each other that can lead each species to undergo
adaptations
Is the process whereby organisms not closely related,
independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to
similar environments or ecological niches.
Sum total of all genes found in the individuals of the population of
a particular species
Separation of population of a species for long times into different
areas.
Process by which a particular beneficial gene is reproduced in
succeeding generations more than other genes
Total way of life or role of a species in an ecosystem
25)
Cities are (warmer / cooler) than forests at the same latitude.
The leeward side of a mountain is (drier / wetter) than the
windward side of a mountain.
Ecosystems located near large bodies of water tend to be
(cooler / warmer) in the winter and (cooler / warmer) in the
summer when compared to similar ecosystems that are not
located near large bodies of water.
The 2 most important factors in determining climate are
temperature and (altitude / precipitation / wind currents).
26) During El Nino the (Atlantic / Pacific / Indian)
ocean current near the equator stops or reverses and
flows to the (east / west). When this occurs the
upwellings of (cold / warm), nutrient (poor / rich)
water (occur / are suppressed).
27) List 3 threats to coral reefs:
Thinning Ozone Layer
Sediment Erosion
Fishing Techniques
28) Where are the following lake & ocean
life zones?
Lake zone
Limnetic
Littoral
Profundal
Benthic
Location
Open, sunlit surface  Photosynthesis
Near shore  High Biodiversity
Deep, open water  No Photosynthesis
Bottom  Decomposers & Detritivores
Ocean zone
Euphotic
Location
Brightly lit upper zone  phytoplankton 40%
of earth photosynthesis
Warm, nutrient rich, shallow water
Dimly lit middle zone  no Photosynthesis
Dark and very cold  little dissolved oxygen
Coastal
Bathyl
Abyssal
29) Explain why mountain ecosystems are
ecologically important.
• Home to 1.2 billion people
• 4 billion people depend on mountain systems for all or
some of their food
• Contain the majority of the world’s forests
• Habitats for much of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity
• Sanctuaries for animal species driven to migrate from
lowland areas
• Help regulate earth’s climate
• Play a critical role in the hydrologic cycle by serving as
major storehouses of water
30)
Eutrophic lake are (high / low) in nutrients and
(high / low) in dissolved oxygen. Eutrophic
lakes are (clear / cloudy).
Oligotrophic lakes are (high / low) in nutrients
and (high / low) in dissolved oxygen.
Oligotrophic lakes are (clear / cloudy).
31) Match the biome to the description:
A. tundra
B. desert
C. savanna
D. temperate grassland
E. temperate deciduous forest
F. taiga
G. tropical rain forest
H. chaparral
G Poor soil because the nutrients are rapidly absorbed
___1.
B Succulent plants
___2.
F Boreal forest
___3.
H Fire adapted community near coast
___4.
E Leaves change colors and fall off the trees
___5.
A Permafrost
___6.
C Large herds of grazing animals and their predators; threatened by desertification
___7.
G High competition resulted in the evolution of many specialized species
___8.
D Much of this biome has been converted for agricultural use because of its excellent soil
___9.
F
___10.
Needle-like evergreen leaves
A Cold temperatures and low rainfall
___11.
G Most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem
___12.
32) Define and give an example for each of
the following species roles:
Species role
Define
Endemic
Species that is found in only one area  Vulnerable
to extinction
Exotic
Species that migrate into an ecosystem 
Accidental or Deliberate
Keystone
Species that play roles affecting many other
organisms in an ecosystem
Generalist
Species with a broad ecological niche
Specialist
Species with a narrow ecological niche
r-strategist Species that reproduce early in their life span and
produce large numbers of usually small and shortlived offspring in a short period.
K-strategist Species that produce a few, often fairly large
offspring but invest a great deal of time and energy
to ensure that most of those offspring reach
reproductive age
Example
Golden Toad
(Extinct)
Chicken &
African Bees
Bats & Lions
Flies & Humans
Giant Panda
Cockroaches &
Turtles &
Dandelions
Rhinos &
Humans &
TRF trees
33) Compare and contrast the characteristics of
vegetation found in early and late successional stage
ecosystems.
Early
Late
Pioneer Species / Generalists / High Dispersal
Lichens / Mosses / Weeds / Grasses / Shrubs
Requires Thick Soil / Climax Community
Shade Tolerant Trees
Primary Succession
Secondary Succession
No soil
Soil
34) Describe the soil horizons:
O-horizon
A-Horizon
B-horizon
C-horizon
Leaf Litter
Topsoil
Subsoil
Parent Material
35) What are 2 properties of substances
that biomagnify and bioaccumulate?
Fat Soluble
Persistent
36) Name 2 substances that biomagnify
and bioaccumulate
• DDT – Used for an insecticide
• PCBs – Used in electrical, heat transfer, and hydraulic equipment; as
plasticizers in paints, plastics, and rubber products; in pigments, dyes, and
carbonless copy paper; and many other industrial applications.
• Pb – Lead is toxic. There is a good chance that any home, building, school
or daycare center built before 1978 contains some lead paint.
• Hg - When coal is burned, mercury is released into the environment. Coalburning power plants are the largest human-caused source of mercury
emissions to the air in the United States
• Cd - Common industrial uses for cadmium today are in batteries, alloys,
coatings (electroplating), solar cells, plastic stabilizers, and pigments.
• Dioxins - Dioxins can be released into the environment through forest
fires, backyard burning of trash, certain industrial activities, and residue
from past commercial burning of waste.
37) What is the difference between
biomagnifications and bioaccumulation?
Biomagnification – Substances
are concentrated at higher
trophic levels
Bioaccumulation – Substances
concentrate in organs
38) List 3 properties of water:
 Universal Solvent
 Cohesive
 Changes Temperature Slowly
 Expands when Freezes
39) List the top 3 uses of water starting
with the greatest:
• Irrigation
• Industry
• Domestic Use
40) What are the environmental effects of
excessive groundwater withdrawal
• Subsidence
• Aquifer Depletion
41) Most freshwater is
Frozen
42) What is the most important cause
of desertification?
Overgrazing
43) Describe and give an example of each
of the following types of pesticides:
Describe
First generation
Example
natural chemicals borrowed from plants
nicotine sulfate
produced in a laboratory
DDT
Chlorinated
Organic compound made of C, H, & Cl.
DDT and PCBs
hydrocarbon
Attack nervous and endocrine system
botanical
Second generation
synthetic
Organophosphate
Non-persistent insecticide that causes
malathion
nerve damage. (degrades under UV light)
Carbamate
Kidney and liver damage.
Furadan
44) List four qualities of an ideal
pesticide:
1. Profitable = the benefits out weight the cost
– Increase food production
2. Non-Persistent = break down quickly
– Safe
3. Target = kill the right thing and not anything else
– Only kills what you want to be killed (herbicides)
4. Speed = work fast
45)
Genetic variability is (higher / lower) in
crop monocultures making them
(more / less) susceptible to disease
and pest infestation.
46) What is integrated pest
management? IPM
Combined use of biological, chemical, and cultivation
methods in proper sequence and timing to keep the
size of a pest population below the size that causes
economically unacceptable loss of a crop or livestock
animal.
47) Name 3 methods that may be used
in IPM to control pests
1. Sex Hormones
2. Intercropping
3. Natural Predators
48) Define and give an example of
each type of water pollution:
Point source
Nonpoint source
Define
Example
Single identifiable source that
Smokestack
discharges pollutants into the
Drainpipe
environment
Chimney
Pollutants enter bodies of
Runoff
surface water or air from broad
• Feedlots
and diffuse areas
• Parking lots
49) What nutrients cause
eutrophication?
Nitrates and Phosphates
50) Describe the steps in sewage
treatment:
Primary
Secondary
Advanced
TERTIARY
Disinfection
Physical process that uses screens and a grit tank to
remove large floating objects and allow solids such as sand
and rock to settle out
A biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as
much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygendemanding organic wastes.
Uses a series of specialized chemical and physical
processes to remove specific pollutants left after 1o and 2o
treatments (cost lots of $$$ = not widely used)
Bleaching (cholorination), UV light, or Ozone is used to kill
bacteria and some viruses
*** Chapter 20 ***
51) Describe each of the Earth’s zones:
Crust
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Mantle
Outer core
Inner core
soil and rock. The outermost and thinnest zone of the
earth
Continental / oceanic crust and the outermost part of the
mantle (above the asthenosphere)
A zone of hot partly melted rock that flows and can be
deformed like soft plastic
A thick zone surrounding the Core. Most of the mantle is
solid rock, but under its rigid outermost part is the
asthenosphere is a zone of hot, partly melted rock
molten or semisolid material
extremely hot and solid
52) Define and give examples:
Mineral
Rock
Define
Any naturally occurring inorganic
substance found in the earth’s crust as a
crystalline solid
Any solid material that makes up a
large natural continuous part of the
earth’s crust
Examples
Fossil fuels
Gold
Diamonds
Igneous
Metamorphic
Sedimentary
53) Match the rock type to each description:
Igneous, Metamorphic or Sedimentary
Igneous
_______________a.
Form from magma cooling into rock at or below
the surface of the earth
Sedimentary
_______________b. Form from the lithification of sediments at the
surface of the earth
Metamorphic
_______________c.
Formed when rocks are exposed to high
temperatures and pressures below the earth’s surface
Metamorphic
_______________d.
Examples include marble and gneiss
Sedimentary
_______________e. Examples include limestone and shale
Igneous
_______________f. Examples include granite and obsidian
54)
Strip mining is an example of
(surface / subsurface) mining. Subsurface
mining disturbs (more / less) land than
surface mining. Subsurface mining
produces (more / less) waste material than
surface mining. Subsurface mining is
(more / less) dangerous than surface
mining. Sub surface mining will get out
(more / less) of the resource than surface
mining.
55) What can be done to extend the
‘depletion time’ of a nonrenewable
resource?
Reduce use
Reduce Non-renewables
Recycle
Find new alternatives/materials
56) What is the US Mining Law of 1812 and
why don’t environmentalists like it?
• It was designed to encourage mineral exploration and
the mining of hard-rock minerals (such as gold, silver,
copper, zinc, nickel, and uranium) on US public lands
and to help develop the then-sparsely populated West.
• To file a claim, you say you believe the land contains
valuable hard-rock minerals and you promise to spend
$500 to improve it for mineral development.
• People have constructed gold courses, hunting lodges,
hotels, and housing subdivisions on public land that
they bought from taxpayers at 1872 prices.
• In 1992, the 1872 law was modified to require mining
companies to post bonds to cover 100% of the
estimated cleanup cost in case they go bankrupt
Exam Question Breakdown
Warning – this is not my information, but taken from
another APES teacher.
You still need to STUDY EVERYTHING
1. 1
2. 2
3. 1
4. 1
5. 0
6. 1
7. 0
8. 1
9. 5
10.1
11.1
12.2
13.1
14.1
15.1
16.1
17.0
18.3
19.1
20.4
21.1
22.1
23.1
24.7
25.2
26.1
27.1
28.2
29.1
30.1
31.3
32.2
33.2
34.1
35.1
36.1
37.1
38.1
39.2
40.1
41.0
42.1
43.1
44.1
45.1
46.1
47.1
48.1
49.1
50.1
51.1
52.1
53.2
54.1
55.1
56.1
Total = 77
Also on Exam
Limiting Factor
Estuaries
Predation Defenses
Carrying Capacity
Density Dependent / Independent Factors
Food Chains
Replacement Level Fertility
Human Population Growth
Demographic Transition
Environmental Impact of Livestock
Aquaculture
Soil Salinization
Soil Erosion
Water Use
Type of agriculture
Clean Water Act
Types of Scientific Research