1. Justification that sees some aspect of the environment as valuable because it provides individuals with economic benefits:
a) utilitarian
b) ecological
c) moral
d) aesthetic
e) economical
2. Discomfort, symptoms, or disease reported by many occupants of the same structure:
a) formaldehyde
b) sick building syndrome
c) chimney effect
d) black lung disease
e) radon
3. "Carrying capacity" refers to:
a) the maximum weight that can be put on a vehicle or machine
b) the nutrient value of a food source
c) the amount of a mineral resource that can be recovered economically from a mine
d) the average life-expectancy of an individual in a population
e) the maximum number of individuals that can be supported by an ecosystem
4. An observation that is agreed upon by the majority of scientists is called a
a) hypothesis
b) controlled experiment
c) technology
d) theory
e) fact
5. Which of the following statements is not true about assumptions of science?
a) events in the natural world follow patterns
b) science is based on a type of reasoning known as induction
c) basic processes and laws are not the same throughout the universe
d) generalizations can be subjected to tests that disprove them
e) science can provide absolute proof of the truth of its theories
6. The growth rate at which the amount doubles in a fixed unit of time is called
a) linear growth
b) negative feedback
c) exponential growth
d) positive feedback
e) equilibrium
7. Which of the following are associated with natural systems that have long residence times (for example, underground aquifers)?
a) throughput is greater than pool size
b) difficulty in flushing out pollutants once they are introduced
c) the system is quickly polluted and quickly cleaned
d) the system is quickly polluted but slowly cleaned
e) short regeneration times following periods of greater output than input
8. Systems can be regarded as either open or closed. Using the example of a small life-raft in the Pacific Ocean:
a) wind in the sails is an open system; cans: of food are a closed system
b) wind in the sails is a closed system; cans: of food are an open system
c) both are closed systems
d) both are open systems
e) a life-raft cannot be considered in terms of systems
9. Which of the following examples describes the movement of a nation from a high population growth to a low population growth?
a) demographic transition
b) replacement fertility curve
c) logistic growth curve
d) sustainability
e) carrying capacity
10. A devastating tsunami on December 26,2004 killed an estimated 230,000 people. With a growth rate at just 1.2% per year, replacing the number of lives lost took:
a) a couple of hours
b) a couple of days
c) a couple of weeks
d) a couple of years
e) this amount of people has not been replaced yet
11. Human demography suggests that an improving economy in a country correlates with:
a) decreased birth rate, increased population growth rate
b) decreased death rate, increased population growth rate
c) decreased birth rate, decreased population growth rate
d) increased birth rate, decreased population growth rate
e) increased birth rate, increased population growth rate
12. The reservoirs and pathways that any chemical element follows through the Earth's system is called the:
a) carbon cycle
b) nitrogen cycle
c) hydrologic cycle
d) geological cycle
e) biochemical cycle
13. The original source of energy that drives the hydrologic cycle is:
a) rain
b) thermal energy
c) solar energy
d) gravity
e) photosynthesis
14. A set of interacting species that live in the same area is called a(n):
a) ecological community
b) community level effect
c) keystone species
d) ecosystem
e) individual species
15. A species upon which the entire ecosystem depends on is called a(n):
a) ecological community
b) community level effect
c) keystone species
d) ecosystem
e) individual species
16. An ecological community is:
a) a set of interacting species that occur in the same place
b) a system of interdependent living and nonliving components in a given area over a given period of time
c) a system based on the living environment
d) the smallest group that has all characteristics necessary to sustain life
e) the total physical and chemical environment of a continent
17. These organisms live at or near deep ocean vents and derive energy from inorganic sulfur compounds:
a) autotrophs
b) chemautotrophs
c) biotrophs
d) heterotrophs
e) homotrophs
18. What is meant by energy "fixation"?
a) storage of light energy in the green parts of a plant
b) the capture of light energy by plants
c) the production of biomass
d) the transfer of light energy to energy in chemical bonds of an organic compound
e) the energy flow in ecosystems
19. Gradual, sequential changes in the composition of an ecosystem, particularly following an initial disturbance is called:
a) tolerance
b) succession
c) facilitation
d) interference
e) reforestation
20. Why does the availability of chemical elements increase immediately after a fire?
a) many elements are blown onto the atmosphere
b) fire restores the natural habitat
c) many compounds in the ash are highly soluble in water
d) toxins are removed by smoke
e) natural predators are eliminated by the fire
21. Which of the terms below refers to the farming of foods in marine and freshwater habitats:
a) forage crops
b) subsistence crops
c) aquaculture
d) mariculture
e) agriculture
22. Which of the following would lead to a significant increase in per capita demand for food worldwide?
I. lower food prices
II. an increase in personal income of the richest 5% of a population
III. rising expectations of the populace
a) I only
b) II only
c) I and II
d) I and III
e) I, II, and III
23. Soil eroded from one location has to go somewhere else. A lot of it is washed down streams and rivers. Which of the following is not a form of environmental degradation associated with eroding soils?
a) destruction of fisheries
b) destruction of coastal coral reefs
c) deposition in reservoirs
d) chemical enrichment of waters downstream
e) global warming
24. Which of the terms below refers to cutting all but a few mature trees with good genetic characteristics:
a) seed-tree cutting
b) shelterwood cutting
c) selective cutting
d) edge effect
e) rotation use
25. Forests differ from many other natural resources in that:
a) their management is inexpensive
b) in the U.S., most are publicly owned
c) they are potentially renewable
d) there is little government regulation associated with their use
e) overuse has adverse environmental consequences
26. According to the textbook, the nation with the largest forested land surface is:
a) Brazil
b) Russia
c) Canada
d) USA
e) Argentina
27. The term for the population at which the number of individuals is just sufficient for the resources available to them:
a) logistic carrying capacity
b) maximum sustainable yield
c) minimum viable population
d) optimum sustainable population
e) maximum sustainable population
28. The first target in recovery programs for endangered species is:
a) logistic carrying capacity
b) maximum sustainable yield
c) minimum viable population
d) optimum sustainable population
e) maximum sustainable population
29. Which of the following terms refers to the capture and use of waste heat:
a) potential energy
b) kinetic energy
c) cogeneration
d) soft path energy
e) first-law efficiency
30. Which of the following are the three main energy sources used in the U.S?
a) petroleum, coal, and nuclear
b) wood, petroleum, and nuclear
c) hydroelectric, natural gas, and coal
d) coal, gasoline, and nuclear
e) petroleum, natural gas, and coal
31. All fossil fuels require a certain amount of energy input to get them out of the ground and process them into useful forms. Which of the following energy sources generally requires the most energy before it can be used as a fuel:
a) oil
b) low-sulfur coal
c) natural gas
d) oil shale
e) high-sulfur coal
32. Which of the following terms refers to energy produced from any source other than fossil fuels:
a) power tower
b) alternative energy
c) fuel cell
d) biofuel
e) renewable energy
33. Which of the following is the greatest environmental impact of using biofuels:
a) destruction of ozone in the stratosphere
b) accumulation of large volumes of waste material
c) acid rain
d) air pollution
e) creation of toxic byproducts
34. The worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power happened in 1986 at Chernobyl, where a uranium fuel meltdown occurred. According to the Environmental Science text, in the next 20 to 30 years, there will be an increase in cancer:
a) worldwide
b) in the northern hemisphere
c) in northern Europe
d) within 100-200 km of the reactor side
e) in workers at the plant the day of the accident
35. Local water-management strategy that may include surface water, groundwater, desalination, or other supplies, depending on present and future water needs:
a) overdraft
b) water budget
c) influent streams
d) variable-source approach
e) Wetlands
36. Use of groundwater at a rate faster than it is naturally re-supplied:
a) overdraft
b) water budget
c) influent streams
d) variable-source approach
e) wetlands
37. A specific location where pollution is introduced into surface water or groundwater:
a) acid mine drainage
b) point source
c) secondary treatment
d) cryptosporidium
e) fecal coliform bacteria
38. The principle advantage of using wetlands for wastewater treatment is:
a) the resulting water exceeds all drinking water standards
b) a natural ecosystem replaces industrial methods for secondary and advanced treatment
c) it removes dioxin and other pollutants in the sediment of the wetland
d) the method eliminates the production of methane, which contributes to global warming
e) it replaces all need for a centralized wastewater treatment facility
39. Which of the following is a major effect of El Niño:
a) heavy rains along the western coast of South America
b) droughts in California
c) increased tooth decay
d) global warming of the Earth
e) widening of the ozone hole
40. According to the textbook, the best way to reduce sulfurous smog is:
a) scrubbers
b) coal gasification
c) conservation of fossil fuels
d) fluidized-bed combustion
e) improved education