Earth Systems Science Exam Practice
Tests
Course Introduction
Earth Systems Science is an interdisciplinary field that explores the interconnected processes and components that shape our planet, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and human activities. This course examines how these systems interact over time and space, driving natural phenomena such as climate change, weather patterns, plate tectonics, and biogeochemical cycles. Through an integrated approach, students gain an understanding of the dynamic and complex nature of Earths environment, the impact of humans on natural systems, and the scientific methods used to study global environmental change.
Recommended Textbook
Sustaining the Earth 10th Edition by G. Tyler Miller
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
14 Chapters
1846 Verified Questions
1846 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2132 Page 2
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42453
Sample Questions
Q1) How does environmentalism differ from environmental science or ecology?
Answer: Environmentalism is a social movement toward protecting earth's life systems that is practiced more in the political and ethical arenas whereas environmental science practiced in the science arena.
Q2) The per capita ecological footprint is the availability of productive land and usable water to support the population with no consideration for environmental impact.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) What does this graph say about the world's percentage of resource-use in developed countries?
Answer: Developed countries' populations use about 88% of the world's resources.
Q4) Environmental science is the same as environmentalism. A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q5) A chemical dumpsite would be an example of a ____________________ pollutant.
Answer: point source
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
162 Verified Questions
162 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42454
Sample Questions
Q1) Complex feeding patterns of consumers in an ecosystem are called
A) food webs.
B) food chains.
C) trophic levels.
D) pyramids of energy.
E) trophic chains.
Answer: A
Q2) The portion of the atmosphere where almost all of earth's weather occurs is called the
A) troposphere.
B) stratosphere.
C) biosphere.
D) hydrosphere.
E) ecosphere.
Answer: A
Q3) The place where a population or organism lives is called its ____________________.
Answer: habitat
Q4) ____________________ explains why a barrel of oil can be used only once as fuel.
Answer: Truehe second law of thermodynamics
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 4
Chapter 3: Biodiversity and Evolution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42455
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following describes where natural grassland would most likely be found?
A) where annual precipitation exceeds 45 inches
B) where drought and fire are very rare
C) in places that are suitable for forests
D) in the zone lying between forest and desert
E) where annual precipitation is less than 10 inches
Answer: D
Q2) An estuary is an important area because it is a partially enclosed area where seawater mixes with rivers and nutrient from watersheds.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Climate and vegetation vary with
A) latitude only.
B) longitude only.
C) altitude only.
D) latitude and altitude.
E) altitude and longitude.
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Community Ecology, Population Ecology, and the Human Population
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
117 Verified Questions
117 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42456
Sample Questions
Q1) A(n)____________________ is a species whose existence contributes dramatically to a diversity of life in a community.
Q2) A population crash occurs when
A) a population approaches its carrying capacity.
B) environmental resistance comes into play gradually.
C) resources are essentially unlimited.
D) a population overshoots the carrying capacity and environmental pressures and shortfalls begin to exert their effects.
E) the population growth rate slows.
Q3) On the population size as a function of time figure,choose the letter that represents limiting abiotic factors.
Q4) Limiting factors to the biotic potential of species include all but which one?
A) light
B) water
C) available space
D) nutrients
E) lifespan
Q5) On the exponential growth of reindeer figure,choose the portion of the graph that can also be called a "dieback."
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42457
Sample Questions
Q1) When a species has disappeared from the Earth,it is biologically extinct.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Higher temperatures and melting sea ice are a major concern for the habitats of polar bears and penguins only.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ____________________ includes collecting wild eggs laid by endangered bird species and then hatching them in zoos or research centers.
Q4) The species extinction rate is apparently
A) increasing rapidly.
B) always equal to the species formation rate.
C) about one species per year.
D) lower now than it has ever been.
E) decreasing steadily.
Q5) An example of a species' instrumental value is the ecological service it provides.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 7
Chapter 6: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
142 Verified Questions
142 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42458
Sample Questions
Q1) The difference between a nature reserve and a wilderness area is that people are allowed to visit nature reserves.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The National Wilderness Preservation System includes wild and scenic rivers. A)True
B)False
Q3) In what three ways did reintroducing the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park improve the park's ecosystem?
Q4) Building the dirt road in the area could be seen by some as a benefit.List three potential things that could be viewed as a benefit as a result of building the dirt road.
Q5) An emergency action plan to protect the world's most biodiverse areas from imminent threats of degradation and extinction refers to A) the vertebrate strategy.
B) biodiversity hotspots.
C) the Wilderness Act.
D) the Extinction Prevention Plan.
E) coastal areas and old-growth forests.
Page 8
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 7: Food,Soil,and Pest Management
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
151 Verified Questions
151 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42459
Sample Questions
Q1) The term malnutrition refers to people who
A) eat less than the basic minimum number of daily calories.
B) eat balanced meals.
C) eat too much.
D) don't eat the needed balance of nutrients.
E) eat too much protein.
Q2) A(n)____________________ program relies primarily on evaluation,rotation,and biological controls in order to prevent and manage pest infestation.
Q3) ____________________ is the movement of surface litter and topsoil.
Q4) Sustainable agriculture is characterized by all of the following except A) promoting monoculture.
B) lack of need of massive amounts of fossil fuels.
C) conserving and building topsoil.
D) increasing use of organic fertilizers.
E) lessening the use of genetically engineered crops.
Q5) List three ways in which governments can assist in providing food security.
Q6) People who are underfed and people who are overfed face similar health problems.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
Q7) List three ways in which individuals can assist in providing food security.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42460
Sample Questions
Q1) A major pollutant in the streams of developing nations is raw sewage.
A)True
B)False
Q2) On the major irrigation systems figure,choose the system that is fairly efficient and uses pumps to spray water on a crop
Q3) The leading nonpoint source of water pollution is
A) municipal landfills.
B) runoff from city streets and storm sewers.
C) agriculture.
D) industrial wastes.
E) leaks from offshore oil wells.
Q4) The most effective and least costly means of dealing with water pollution is ____________________.
Q5) On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure,choose the zone in which the breakdown of degradable wastes by bacteria starts to deplete the dissolved oxygen.
Q6) On the groundwater system figure,choose the letter that represents an area that replenishes an aquifer by precipitation.
Q7) List three major classes of major water pollutants and their sources.
Page 10
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: Nonrenewable Energy Resources
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42461
Sample Questions
Q1) ____________________ has hundreds of different types of hydrocarbons that must be separated in order to be used.
Q2) Currently,spent fuel rods used to power nuclear reactors are
A) stored on site outside of the reactor in steel-lined casks or water-filled pools.
B) sent to a national repository.
C) placed in metal drums and dumped deep in the ocean.
D) loaded into rockets and shot into space.
E) treated chemically to speed up the progression of half lives.
Q3) Noncommercial energy would include all of the following except
A) gathering fuelwood.
B) using a solar cooker.
C) gathering dung.
D) extracting oil.
E) installing a windmill.
Q4) The major types of coal vary in the amount of heat,carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide released per unit mass when they are burned.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42462
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following best illustrates an example of a life cycle cost?
A) The economic and environmental costs to produce, use and dispose of a refrigerator
B) The costs to water systems of making a watch
C) The retail and disposal price of a new car
D) The net cost to build a bicycle
E) The cost of component parts charged to clients by industry to make a computer
Q2) In shifting to a more sustainable energy future,discuss different ways that you as an individual can influence energy use.Provide examples.
Q3) ____ of the commercial energy used in the United States is wasted.
A) None
B) Very little
C) Some
D) Most E) All
Q4) Our Earth's interior provides heat energy from nature called ____________________ that can be used without polluting the environment.
Q5) ____________________ is an example of a source of geothermal energy.
Q6) ____________________ is based on energy and money saving building designs.
Page 12
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42463
Sample Questions
Q1) Although infectious diseases have decreased,human health is still threatened by pesticide-resistant insects and bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Malaria cannot be transmitted by blood transfusions or by sharing needles.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Resistance to bacterial infections are increasing due to all but
A) antibiotic overuse in people and livestock.
B) use of antibacterial soaps.
C) bacterial reproduction and natural selection.
D) medical substitutes for antibiotics in the marketplace.
E) overuse of prescribed antibiotics by doctors.
Q4) Reducing the amount of human input can decrease the risks associated with a system's reliability. Why is this so? Why is this not always the best solution?
Q5) Name three human systems vulnerable to chemical effects.Then,for each of the three systems,provide two examples of human ailments and the causative chemicals.
Q6) System reliability (%)= ____________________ x ____________________
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone
Depletion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42464
Sample Questions
Q1) ____________________ is the long term average of weather patterns in a particular area.
Q2) Photochemical smog is characteristic of urban areas with many vehicles and a climate that is
A) cool, wet, and cloudy.
B) cool, dry, and sunny.
C) warm, dry, and sunny.
D) warm, wet, and cloudy.
E) warm, wet, and sunny.
Q3) In the troposphere,99% of the clean,dry air consists of
A) hydrogen and oxygen.
B) nitrogen and oxygen.
C) hydrogen and methane.
D) carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
E) helium and hydrogen.
Q4) Pollutants indoors can build up to much higher concentrations than outdoors.
A)True
B)False
Page 14
Q5) ____________________ are manmade compounds that have been widely used as refrigerants and in spray propellants and foam blowing.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 13: Urbanization and Solid and Hazardous Waste
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
189 Verified Questions
189 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42465
Sample Questions
Q1) Worldwide,there are 18 megacities or megalopolises with more than 10 million people.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most cities are unsustainable because of ____________________ resource inputs and ____________________ waste and pollution outputs.
Q3) ____________________ involves copy or adapting natural systems in human systems to help surmount environmental challenges.
Q4) In order of decreasing priority by the U.S.National Academy of Sciences,discuss ways to implement integrated hazardous waste management.
Q5) According to the National Geophysics Data Center,the five cities in order of highest to lowest population in 2010 are:
A) Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York City, Mumbai
B) Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Mexico City, New York
C) Mumbai, Mexico City, Los Angles, New York City, Tokyo
D) Mexico City, Tokyo, Mumbai, Los Angles, New York City
E) New York City, Tokyo, Mumbai, Los Angles, Mexico City
Q6) The two types are recycling are ____________________ and ____________________.
Page 15
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 14: Economics, Politics, Worldviews, and Sustainability
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
141 Verified Questions
141 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42466
Sample Questions
Q1) Neoclassical economists believe that a trickle-down economy
A) creates more jobs.
B) reduces the amount of pollution generated by corporations.
C) reduces tax revenues.
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers
Q2) A(n)____________________ consists of environmental laws,rules,and regulations developed,implemented,and enforced by one or more government agencies.
Q3) National recreation areas are part of A) the National Park System.
B) the National Wilderness Preservation System.
C) National Wildlife Refuges.
D) National Resource lands.
E) none of these answers
Q4) Selling services rather than products is beneficial because A) resource use is decreased. B) waste is decreased.
C) materials are recycled.
D) pollution is decreased.
E) all of these answers
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16