Exam 1 version B

Best answers are marked in Green.

 

1) Please answer correctly, as it will be graded.  The subject of this course is _______.
A) Horticulture and Landscaping
B) Environmental Science
C) Advanced Biometrics
D) Chemical Thermodynamics
 

2) Approximately how old is the planet Earth?
A) 55 billion years
B) 21 billion years
C) 5 billion years
D) 1 billion years
 

3) The concept of "carrying capacity" refers to:
A) Maximum number of individuals of a single species that can be sustained by an environment without reducing the environment's ability to sustain the same number of individuals in the future.
B) Amount of environmental degradation that a particular ecosystem can support without losing its capacity to regenerate.
C) Maximum number of individuals of different species that can be sustained by an environment without reducing the environment's ability to sustain the same number of individuals in the future.
D) Number of offspring a woman can bear in her life.
 

4) Thomas Malthus, an English economist and demographer, claims that if we don’t stop human population growth:
A) the planet will increase its CO₂ levels above 800 ppm.
B) technological advancements driven by free market principles will protect us from problems that arise.
C) war, epidemics, and famine will take over the planet.
D) He believes that the human population is not increasing at a dangerous rate.
 

5) Of the following, where would primary succession take place?
A) temperate grassland
B) temperate forest
C) fresh lava rock
D) boreal forest
 

6) The relative abundance of different species in a particular area is known as the __________.
A) species relativity
B) species delineation
C) species index
D) species evenness
 

7) _______ in the earth's mantle cause the movement of tectonic plates.
A) Convection currents
B) Corialis currents
C) Radiation
D) Collision of air masses
 

8) Chronic patchiness is found in which ecosystem?
A) Tropical rainforest
B) Temperate rainforest
C) Desert
D) Chaparral
 

9) The geologic cycle consists of the:
A) tectonic, rock and biogeochemical cycles.
B) tectonic, limnic, and biogeochemical cycles.
C) hydrologic, rock, and biogeochemical cycles.
D) tectonic, hydrologic, rock, and biogeochemical cycles. 
 

10) The first major increase in human population occurred during the ________?
A) industrial revolution
B) rise of agriculture
C) early period of hunters and gatherers
D) World War I
 

11) Maximum potential lifetime (longevity) is determined by _______.
A) health
B) wealth
C) genetics
D) geographic location
 

12) An organism's ecological niche is:
A) the set of environmental conditions within which a species is able to persist.
B) the temperature range in which an organism occurs when there is no competition from other organisms.
C) the temperature range in which an organism occurs when there is competition from other organisms.
D) the point at which the organisms resource needs overlap causing competition between organisms.
 

13) Metamorphic rock can form from:
A) sedimentary rocks exposed to heat, pressure or chemically active fluids.
B) molten material such as lava, which are broken down by physical and chemical weathering.
C) accumulation of weathered material in depositional basins.
D) sedimentary rocks broken down by physical and chemical weathering.
 

 

 

14) What is a watershed?
A) A large pit used as a reservoir.
B) A man-made structure used for capturing rainwater.
C) An area of land where rainfall flows out through the same stream.
D) Any metal structure used for storing water.
 

15) Biological evolution ________.
A) can move forwards and backwards
B) is always an effect of migration
C) can result in new species
D) is always beneficial to the species
 

16) Soils have _______ quantities of chemical elements, but elements in living tissues are ________ to other organisms.
A) lower, less available
B) higher, less available
C) lower, more available
D) higher, more available
 

17) The founder of the Yale School of Forestry and the first head of the U.S. Forest Service was __________, also generally considered to be the father of modern professional forestry.
A) John Muir
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Gifford Pinchot
 

18) Four processes lead to evolution; they are:
A) mutation, natural selection, migration, and genetic drift.
B) mutation, artificial selection, migration, and genetic acceptance.
C) migration, natural selection, mitigation, and genetic drift.
D) mutation, artificial selection, immigration, and genetic drift.
 

19) The different types of habitats in a given unit area is a measure of _________.
A) divergent evolution
B) habitat diversity
C) species diversity
D) genetic drift
 

20) What makes an ecological island different from other areas?
A) It can only support up to a dozen species.
B) Most species of fish cannot survive around the territory of an ecological island.
C) It is biologically isolated, so species living there cannot mix with other populations of the same species.
D) These islands have constant ecological interactions with larger landmasses.
 

 

21) What is the "e" in e-waste?
A) environmental
B) energy
C) element
D) electronic
 

22) Which of the following issues is not part of the “three simple facts” proposed by Thomas Malthus about human population problems?
A) Immigration from developing countries to other developed countries will foster population growth.
B) Food is necessary for people to survive.
C) Passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state.
D) The power of population growth is greater than the power of Earth to produce subsistence.
 

23) What is a message to be learned from the population of whooping cranes?
A) If a species is rare, its population will always remain rare.
B) Not all rare species are in danger of extinction.
C) Large populations should be controlled.
D) Rare species are destined for extinction.
 

24) ______ are communities of organisms, including the community’s local nonliving environment, in which matter (i.e. chemical elements) cycles and energy flows.
A) Biomes
B) Ecosystems
C) Families
D) Biosphere
 

25) How fast do tectonic plates move?
A) Between 0 and 1 foot a year.
B) Between 5 and 10 feet a year.
C) Between 10 and 50 feet a year.
D) Between 50 and 100 feet a year.
 

26) Photosynthesis generally ___________.
A) converts glucose into energy and water
B) requires the combustion of carbon
C) produces carbon dioxide and oxygen gas
D) yields glucose and oxygen gas
 

27) _________ is one of the "Big Six" elements necessary as the building blocks of life.
A) Fluorine
B) Calcium
C) Lead
D) Sulfur
 

 

 

 

 

 

28) At Fort Valley Experimental Forest, why was the Ponderosa pine forest in trouble?
A) The forest was prevented from ever having a fire disturbance as part of its growth process.
B) Trees would only grow on the west side of the forest due to soil erosion.
C) There were several months of drought.
D) Insects were eating away at young trees, so they weren’t able to grow to their full potential.
 

29) After which event would secondary succession occur?
A) lava flow
B) forest fire
C) volcanic island
D) glacial retreat
 

30) What does the principle of "environmental unity" say?
A) Everything affects everything else.
B) Humans are the fundamental environmental unit in nature.
C) Nature cannot be separated from humans.
D) Nonhuman life is connected with nature in more ways than human life does.
 

31) Two species that compete for the same life resources and have exactly the same requirements ________.
A) will always come to equilibrium by sharing resources.
B) breed with each other
C) cannot coexist in exactly the same habitat
D) can share the same habitat.
 

32) How many species of birds native to the United States have been infected with the West Nile virus?
A) 25
B) 400
C) 100
D) 5000
 

33) When one species affects another species that, in turn, affects a third species, it is called:
A) random access effect.
B) community-level effect.
C) global effect.
D) ecosystem level effect.
 

34) Sea otters feed on sea urchins and sea urchins feed on kelp, if there are fewer sea otters, there will be ________ kelp.
A) more
B) the same amount
C) less
D) There is not enough information to answer the question.
 

 

 

35) Which of the following is BEST considered the underlying cause of environmental issues?
A) Overfishing
B) Seawater level rising
C) Desertification
D) Human population growth
 

36) The concept of _______ leads to _______ and ________.
A) sustainable society, sustainable economy, sustainable development.
B) sustainability, human population growth, recycling.
C) climate change, sustainable society, sustainable development.
D) Earth's carrying capacity, sustainable society, climate change.
 

37) What does "biota" refer to?
A) All living things within a given area.
B) All living things plus all non-living things within a given area.
C) All non-living things within a given area.
D) An alternative to the Gaia hypothesis.
 

38) The organisms that are classified as primary consumers are the __________.
A) detritivores
B) omnivores
C) carnivores
D) herbivores
 

39) Which of the following statements defines “population”?
A) A group of individuals of different species living in the same area.
B) All individuals that are capable of interbreeding.
C) A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area and sharing genetic information.
D) A group of individuals of different species sharing genetic information.
 

40) What can cause a population to continue to increase after a crash in resources and subsequent reduced fertilization rate?
A) existing pregnancy
B) increase in disease
C) government intervention
D) increase in medicine