Which of the following is an example of an rselected species?
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYmost tropical rainforest trees
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYhumans
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYwhales
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYmost insects
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYelephants
We can say that the United States has ____ freshwater scarcity
stress.HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYno
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYvery little or minimal
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYaverage
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYspotty
e. widespreadHTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYIn nature, the waste outputs of one organism
become the nutrient inputs of another organism, so that all of the earth’s nutrients are
endlessly recycled. Applying this concept to industry and manufacturing is called ____.
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYbiomanufacturing
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYenvironmental sustainability
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYenvironmental economics
d. biomimicryHTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
e. ecoindustrializationHTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYBecause scientific theories are tentative
explanations, they should not be taken seriously.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
A fox catches and eats a mouse. In this interaction, the fox is the ____.
a. parasite
b. predator
c. prey
d. herbivore
e. mimic
Pollutant levels in cities are ____.
a. the same as in rural areas because of atmospheric mixing
b. generally lower than in suburbs
c. generally higher than in rural areas
d. rapidly increasing all around the world
e. rapidly decreasing all around the world
Water contracts when it freezes, making ice more dense than water.
a. True
b. False
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYWhat is a threat to 60% of the U.S. wildlife
refuges?
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYecotourism and hunting
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYinvasive species
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYhuman population growth
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYhabitat fragmentation
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYmining, oil drilling, and use of off–road
vehicles
The primary reason polar bear population are declining is because their fur keeps their
body temperature too warm in light of global warming trends.
a. True
b. False
What is the result of using a payasyouthrow approach in San Francisco, California,
USA?
a. The city lost 37 garbage pickup workers.
b. The city raised its taxes as a result of stringent recycling requirements.
c. The city recycled, composted, or reused 78% of its municipal solid waste (MSW).
d. The city created a severe littering problem.
e. The city became the most expensive place to live in the U.S.
Environmental science can be described as interdisciplinary because it
____.HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYallows for a rigorous study of the environment
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYincludes topics that are not explored in other
disciplines
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYoften assigns responsibility to causes of
environmental degradation
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYis rapidly evolving over time into a different
form of science
e. includes biology, chemistry, geology, social sciences, and the
humanitiesHTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
Environmental economists favor adjusting existing economic policies and tools to be
more environmentally beneficial.
a. True
b. False
Earth’s crust contains scarce and quickly depleting deposits of iron and aluminum ores.
a. True
b. False
The nuclear fuel cycle has a low net energy yield.
a. True
b. False
For every shark that injures or kills a person every year, we ____.
a. kill one shark to even the score
b. kill about 50,000 sharks, but mainly for food
c. kill about 1.2 million sharks
d. kill sharks in a ratio of 5:1 for humans deaths
e. hunt sharks but have been unable to kill any
Enough diapers are thrown away in the United States each year that, if linked end to
end, would reach to the moon and back approximately seven times.
a. True
b. False
Water temperature drops rapidly between the euphotic zone and the abyssal zone of the
ocean. This transition layer is called the ____.HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYthermocline
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYthermosphere
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYestuary
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYcontinental shelf decline
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYhydrocline
Tomorrow is forecast to be 10F warmer than today. This is an example of climate.
a. True
b. False
Epiphytes are parasitic plants that grow on trees.
a. True
b. False
A small orchid plant that is found only on a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean, just off
the coast of Florida, has been listed as an endangered species. Which agency was
responsible for listing this plant as endangered?HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYNational Marine Fisheries Service
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYU.S. Botanical Survey
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYInternational Commission on Rare Plants
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYConvention on International Trade in
Endangered Species
Newborn young would fall under which category of a population’s age structure?
a. postreproductive stage
b. preroproductive stage
c. reproductive stage
d. nonreproductive stage
e. parareproductive stage
In many parts of the world, renewable forests are shrinking and topsoil is eroding. This
fact is evidence that ____.HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYall forms of technology increase environmental
impacts
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYaffluence has no impact on the health of the
environment
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYpoint sources of pollution are easy to identify
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYthe market prices of goods include the harmful
environmental costs of producing them
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYwe are living unsustainably
Under what regulation are hazardous waste permit holders must use a cradletograve
system?
a. The Superfund Act
b. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
c. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
d. The Toxic Release Inventory Act
e. The Clean Air Act
Life on earth depends on the ____ of ____ energy from the
sun.HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYcycling; highquality
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYoneway flow; highquality
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYcycling; lowquality
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYoneway flow; lowquality
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYoneway flow; ultraviolet
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYWhich of the following demonstrates primary
ecological succession?
a. cooled volcanic lava
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYan abandoned farm
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYa forest that has been clearcut
d. newly flooded land
e. a forest that has been burned
What is the international problem regarding mining on the ocean floor?
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITY
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYpirates and thievery
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYextreme water depth
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYrights to minerals
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYwho is responsible for the clean up
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYwho will pay what taxes
Death rates are very high during the preindustrial stage of demographic transitions.
a. True
b. False
Over time, the extensive addition of water through irrigation practices can actually lead
to desertification.
a. True
b. False
Complex networks of interconnected food chains in ecosystems are best described as
____.
a. food webs
b. nutrient cycling
c. trophic levels
d. pyramids of energy
e. trophic chains
HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYThe deepest zone of the sea, which is dark and
very cold, is called the ____.
a. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYeuphotic zone
b. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYabyssal zone
c. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYbathyal zone
d. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYcoastal zone
e. HTMLENTITY#8203HTMLENTITYpelagic zone
In a truly ____________________ economic system, the market prices of goods and
services would include all of their direct and indirect costs associated with
environmental degradation.
A(n) ____________________ is the probability of suffering harm from a hazard that
can cause injury, disease, death, economic loss, or damage.
Thus far, the biologic mining method called ____________________ is economically
feasible only with lowgrade ores for which conventional mining methods are too
expensive.
Explain the benefits of using perennial plants rather than annual plants for food crops.
In the accompanying chart showing temperature for the past 900,000 years, describe the
natural phenomena that may have caused the temperature fluctuations shown.
Discuss the major issues associated with freshwater resources in the United States.
Human activities can greatly accelerate the rate at which nutrients and organic
substances enter aquatic ecosystems from their surrounding watersheds in a process
called _________________________.
A way to greatly reduce topsoil erosion is to eliminate or minimize the plowing and
tilling of topsoil, leaving crop residues on the ground, using special machines in a
process called ____________________.
Designing a municipal waste processing facility to simulate the processes that nature
employs to handle waste from wild animals is an example of an approach called
____________________.
What accounts for the overall environmental impact of the United States relative to
China?
A habitat that is isolated by roads, agriculture, or urban development is called a(n)
____________________.
Describe two ecosystem or economic services provided by wetlands.
Michael Pollan, in his landmark book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, investigates and
discusses the practices of meat production in modern, industrialized agriculture in the
United States. After his extensive study, he writes that he believes hunting for meat may
be the more humane and wise choice. He cites the fact that game animals at least live
their lives in a free, uncaged environment, compared with beef cattle that spend much
of their lives confined in feedlots, standing in manure and eating grain they are not
designed to digest. Additionally, the game animal typically has a relatively quick and
painless death.
Discuss this issue. Include in your discussion aspects of feedlots, energy consumed in
meat production, and the relative impacts of farming versus hunting on biodiversity.
Specialized traits or behaviors that allow a reduction of interspecific competition
through species specialization in resource use, allow for
_________________________.
The term ____________________ describes a wide range of problems, including
anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorders that might be resulting from a lack of
contact with nature.
Scientists are humans and thus are not totally free of bias about their own results and
hypotheses.
____________________ produces fewer pollutants than burning coal, but is
significantly more expensive and produces radioactive wastes.