Environmental Science Questions PDF

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Quiz 1 What conditions were characteristic of the early Earth (3.8 billion years ago) when life first appeared? The Earth's atmosphere was lacking in free oxygen. Which of the following relationships is most likely to occur if global climate change policies are not enacted soon? the wealthiest nations will contribute most to global climate change yet the poorest people of the world will suffer most What is a “pocket of sunlight”? It is the energy from ancient algae and plants that is stored in fossil fuels. During most of our species' existence, and until about 10 000 years ago, what was the main source of food for humans? hunting and gathering Which of the following continents has the greatest water scarcity? Africa Currently, where does most of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere come from? algae in the oceans What is one example of some of the positive changes that suggest a reason for hope that changes can be made in time? Greater efforts to find sustainable programs for forests, agriculture, fisheries, etc. Many factors can contribute to the inability of a country to be food self-sufficient. Which of the following choices is not one of those factors? the use of high-yield crop varieties Worldwide, which of the following activities has the greatest use of water? irrigation

Crop (grain) production from agriculture has increased significantly over the last 60 years. How is most of this extra grain used? To feed animals for meat production In addition to energy obtained from fossil fuels, what are two different products made by the petrochemical industry that are made specifically for modern industrialized agriculture? fertilizers and pesticides Modern agriculture has led to the loss of crop diversity. Why? Modern agriculture uses a few productive crops that are easy to grow and transport. Which of the following statements is currently true about the world’s population? People are moving into cities from rural areas. Hundreds of millions of years ago, when fossil fuels were formed, large amounts of carbon dioxide were trapped underground. Increasing global demands for energy is increasing political attention to oil production and global climate change. What has resulted from the draining of wetlands for agricultural and urban development? habitat destruction The tragedy of the commons is that any resource to which a group of people has free access is likely to become overexploited and degraded as each seeks to maximize personal benefit without consideration for the needs of others. Borneo, which is the fourth largest island in the world, was covered by tropical forests as recently as 20 years ago. These forests were destroyed within 10 years as the forests were converted to agricultural land for palm oil production. Which of the following would not be included on a list of indicators of climate change and global warming identified over the past 50 years? fewer extreme weather events (e.g. drought, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires)

In the movie "Home", what country is most at risk for water shortages that will impact its ability to transition to an agricultural exporting country? India How is anthropogenic (= man-made) climate change different from the climate change experienced by the Vikings on Greenland? It is caused by human actions. How old is our species Homo sapiens? 200,000 years old Due to their complexity, any given response to an environmental problem involves significant __________ and no one response is likely to present the ultimate solution. Trade-offs When considering the use of minerals mined from the earth, what percentage is used by the richest countries that have about 20% of the world’s population? 80 Which of the following is not a renewable resource? oil reserves, buried deep below the surface of the ground What are ecosystem services? They are economically valuable services provided by natural systems. Which of the following terms best describes the practice of environmental science? interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Coal, natural gas, and oil are examples of non-renewable resources. Which factors make up the “triple bottom line”? social, economic, and environmental Which phrase best describes the term environment? the living and nonliving surroundings in which an organism exists

What are two factors that have been suggested to account for the disappearance of the Viking settlements on Greenland? Dwindling resources and inability to adapt to changing conditions What is the lesson to be taken from the Rapa Nui and their civilization on Easter Island? Conservation of resources is necessary for societies to be sustainable. What is a key "take-home message" about Easter Island? An island population must live as responsible stewards or caretakers of its resources. What is true about the solutions to environmental problems? Solutions should be designed with the goal of sustaining Earth's natural resources. The more developed a country becomes the less the demand it has for meat. False The engine of life is a linkage because water, air and soil are inseparable, and united by living organisms that share all of the earth’s resources through recycling of essential matter and allowing the flow of energy from the external environment through ecosystems. Is this statement true or false? True Fossil fuels (like coal, gas and oil) are referred to as “pockets of sunlight” because these “pocket-like” deposits store the energy captured by millions of ancient plants using ancient sunlight from millions of years ago that were not allowed to decompose prior to burial. True

Quiz 2 1. Zero population growth occurs in a population when ________. a. birth rate equals death rate, and there is no migration

2. Citizens of the poorest countries may resent restrictions on carbon emissions imposed by wealthy countries because developed countries a. have a greater impact on the environment.

3. If there is ________, a country's population growth rate will increase. a. Increased immigration

4. For predicting human population patterns in a country, a growing population trend will have a ________ age structure diagram, while with a shrinking population trend will have a ________ age structure diagram. a. bottom-heavy; top-heavy

5. What is the earth's carrying capacity of the human population? a. the size of the human population that the earth can support indefinitely

6. Which of the following correlates most closely with a reduction in human population growth in many regions of the world? a. education of girls

7. Today, Canada, France and the United States each exhibit an aging population. Why is this such a concern for demographers (an expert in the study of statistics relating to the changing structure of human populations)? a. More people are retiring with fewer younger people to support them.

8. Which event 10 000 years ago resulted in a dramatic growth spurt in the global human population? a. Agricultural Revolution

9. From 1900 to 2000, the human population on Earth a. Tripled

10. In general, high poverty produces a. high fertility and greater environmental damage.

11. Addressing which of the following will help countries lower their total fertility rates? a. lack of job opportunities for women b. poverty c. high infant mortality d. lack of education for women e. all of the answer choices are correct

12. Countries that have completed the demographic transition (historical shift from high birth rates and high infant death rates) typically have a. good use of technology and high per capita income

13. A population that has been at or below replacement-level fertility for decades will a. stop growing.

14. Worldwide, where are the highest densities of human populations found? a. near shorelines of oceans or rivers

15. Which of the following is the most accurate definition of economics? a. the study of how humans use potentially scarce resource supplies to meet their demands

16. Today, if we were to purchase goods or services at their true cost, how would the price compare to what we are accustomed to paying for such goods or services? a. The price would be higher.

17. A subsistence (maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level) economy is one that ________. a. meets the society’s needs through agriculture without having to purchase additional products

18. An assessment of the cost of a good or service that includes the environmental, social, and economic costs is called the __________. a.

triple-bottom line

19. What is a reason for the "economy against environment" divide? a. Frequently environmental policies force choices because they add more costs for industry and infringe on the rights of private citizens.

20. Including both internal and external costs, when setting a price for a good or service, is an example of ______ cost. a. True

21. What term describes the land needed to provide the resources and assimilate the waste of a person, a business or a country? a. ecological footprint

22. Mainstream economics makes the inaccurate assumption that natural resources are not a problem because they are ___________ and that if necessary substitute resources can always be found. a. Infinite

23. According to the IPAT model, what is expected when affluence increases? a. The impact of humans on the environment will increase. Environmental impact = population x affluence x technology à (I=P×A×T)

24. One of the limitations of mainstream economics is that it does not take into account the ___________ costs when a price is assigned to a product or service. a. External

25. At what stage is Canada in the demographic transition model? a. post-industrial stage

26. From a global perspective, the overall impact of humans on the Earth is a combination of all but which of the following factors? a. population size b. affluence c. shrinking land mass d. use of resources e. technology 27. Which of the following is an issue that a country with a top-heavy age structure diagram would face? a. younger members of the population being forced to care for a large number of older relatives b. more retirement residences and long-term care homes constructed c. higher wages, better working conditions, and more jobs to choose from for younger members of the population d. a shrinking workforce e. all of the options listed are correct

28. What three factors are multiplied in the IPAT model to gauge a population’s ecological impact? a. population, affluence and technology

29. Where are population growth and fertility rates the lowest? a. upper-income countries.

30. The development of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution made food a. less of a limiting factor on population growth.

31. In terms of reaching Earth's carrying capacity, developing nations exacerbate the problem due to their ________, while developed nations aggravate the situation due to their ___________. a. High fertility rates; overconsumption

32. Why is the product or process provided by some ecosystem services considered priceless? a. There are currently no substitutes for these services.

33. Which of the following is not an ecosystem service? a. pest control b. climate regulation c. landfilling waste d. water purification e. crop pollination

34. Ethanol is often produced in locations where farmers also grow corn. Underground water reservoirs are used to grow the corn and to process the ethanol. These common reservoirs are being seriously depleted in some areas of the midwestern United States. Which of the following terms best describes such water depletion situations? a. tragedy of the commons[me1]

35. A graph of world population growth over the past 500 years most closely resembled the letter a. J

36. Using the following information, at what stage in the demographic transition would a country be classified? The characteristics of this country include: (1) advances in food safety and health care (2) a significant decline in the death rate (3) minimal or no decline in the birth rate (4) a trend towards a growing population growth a.

Stage 2 - industrializing[me2]

37. According the demographic transition model, as a country progresses from the pre-industrial stage to the post-industrial stage, what will happen to the birth rate and death rate? a. Both with decrease

38. Thomas Malthus warned that ________. a. overpopulation could greatly harm humanity

39. According to the documentary “Overpopulation or Overconsumption?”, all of the following are among the world's top five most populous nations except a. India b. Brazil c. Indonesia d. United States e. Japan

40. Based on the documentary “Overpopulation or Overconsumption?”, where will most of the world population growth in the near future take place? a. Africa

Quiz 3 1.

What are the two processes that determine the world's current biodiversity? a. extinction and speciation

Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species.

2.

What is the most likely location of a biodiversity hotspot? a. Islands

3.

An object’s or species’ worth, based on its usefulness to humans, is its _____. a. instrumental value

4.

Which of the following terms best describes the loss of a particular population from a given area (but not the entire species globally)? a. Extirpation

5.

The greatest species diversity is found in which of the following groups? a. Insects

6.

Biodiversity enhances human food security because it a. provides potentially new food items or new genetic varieties of existing foods

7.

What is biodiversity? a. the variety of all living things on Earth

8.

What term best describes the genetic variation among individuals of a single population or within the species as a whole? a. Genetic diversity

9.

What phenomenon explains what happens when there is a decrease in the frequency of a particular trait due to random mating? a. Genetic drift[me1]

10. The arrival of Western settlers caused the destruction and disappearance of much of the original prairie grasslands and woodlands in central North America leading the loss of biodiversity including driving some species (e.g. passenger pigeon) to extinction. Through these activities, the settlers affected a. the niches of the species in these ecosystems b. the trophic relationships within these communities c. the energy flow through the prairie ecosystem d. the habitats of many species e. all of the answers provided are correct

11. Which of the following is not a major cause of the worldwide loss of species diversity? a. invasive species b. habitat destruction c. environmental pollution d. climate change e. habitat restoration

12. When are populations expected to grow close to or at their intrinsic (or maximum) rate of growth? a. when their numbers are low

13. What does the logistic growth model describe? a. A population that grows rapidly at small numbers, but whose growth rate slows and eventually stops as it reaches the number that the environment can support 14. Which choice represents the correct hierarchy of ecological organization from the largest category to the smallest category? a. biosphere - biome - ecosystem - community - population – individual

15. Which of the following is an example of a density-independent [me2] factor? a. an ice storm causing damage to trees and shrubs

16. A single bacterium is put in an environment with no competition. As long as resources remain unlimited, how will the bacterial population respond? a. It will reproduce exponentially.

17. What term describes populations of different species (e.g. trees, beavers, salmon, bears, wolves) living close enough together for potential interactions to occur? a. Community

18. Which of the following characteristics is not required when describing a particular biome? a. dominant vegetation b. size c. temperature d. precipitation e. distinct climate

19. In the Everglades food chain below, which organism is a secondary consumer? sawgrass → insect → frog → raccoon → alligator a. Frog

20. What is true of all of the species that are found together in the same trophic level? a. Their energy source has passed through the same number of steps to reach them.

21. During a typical predator-prey population cycle, the increase in the predator population is normally seen _____________ an increase in the prey population. a. After

22. What does the concept of the trophic pyramid explain? a. The fact that each transfer of energy as you move up the food web results in a loss of about 90%.

23. What is the role of decomposers in the nitrogen cycle? a. To release ammonium and other inorganic nitrogen compounds from organic compounds, thus returning nitrogen to the environment (e.g. soil or water)

24. When an oak tree undergoes photosynthesis, it is essentially __________. a. removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

25. Humans have dramatically altered the rate of nitrogen fixation into forms usable by photosynthetic organisms (plants, algae and cyanobacteria) by ________. a. producing synthetic fertilizers and applying them to crops, lawns, and parks

26. Grain is eaten by cows and cows are eaten by humans. If the energy transfer efficiency between each trophic level is 10 percent, how much grain is required to produce 70 kg of human biomass? a. 7000kg

27. Which of the following is known to move in only one direction in an ecosystem? a. Energy

28. Which nutrient lacks a gaseous form that is found in the atmosphere of Earth? a. Phosphorus

29. What term describes the intentional breeding for certain traits or combination of traits, commonly used in agriculture? a. natural selection b. the founder effect c. genetic drift d. the bottleneck effect[me3] e. artificial selection

30. Which of the following human activities has the potential to influence selection and affect evolution? a. use of pesticides, antibiotics, and herbicides

31. Biologists studying a population of birds observe that individual birds with average-sized wings survive severe storms better than those individual birds with either longer wings or shorter wings. Over time, the population is made up of more birds with average-sized wings. What term would apply to this situation? a. stabilizing selection b. directional selection c. the bottleneck effect d. disruptive selection e. the founder effect[me4]

32. The intentional breeding for certain traits, or combination of traits, is ________. a. Artificial selection

33. Natural selection acts on ________ while ________ evolve. a. Individuals, populations

34. A species of lizard has gone extinct. All of the following may have contributed to this extinction except a. introduction of a species that was a competitor for food resources b. habitat destruction by humans c. inbreeding among related individuals d. increased genetic diversity within the species e. climate change

35. What is extinction? a. It is a natural process.

36. In Earth’s history, there has/have been ____ major extinction event(s) leading to the loss of 50% or more of the species present. a. Five[me5]

37. For a beaver population living in a pond environment, the law of the minimum [me6] states that their survival, growth, and _______ determined by the critical resource in least supply. a. Reproduction

38. A population of sexually reproducing animals like beavers that is growing in a pond ecosystem will have a ________ age structure diagram, while a popul...