Ecology and Environmental Issues
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
This course explores the fundamental principles of ecology, focusing on the interactions between living organisms and their environments. Students will examine key ecological concepts such as energy flow, nutrient cycling, population dynamics, and ecosystem structure and function. The course also addresses current environmental issues, including habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and resource management. Through case studies and contemporary research, students gain insight into both local and global environmental challenges, and evaluate strategies for sustainable solutions that balance human needs with environmental stewardship.
Recommended Textbook
Sustaining the Earth 10th Edition by G. Tyler Miller
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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
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42453
Sample Questions
Q1) When a nonrenewable resource is completely exhausted,it is referred to as economically depleted.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The "tragedy of the commons" refers to lack of agricultural sustenance available for the common (poor)people in a country.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) All of the following are potentially renewable resources except A) groundwater.
B) trees in a forest.
C) fertile soil.
D) crude oil.
E) animals.
Answer: D
Q4) A resource such as water that is renewed continuously is called a(n)____________________.
Answer: renewable resource
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Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
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162 Verified Questions
162 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom equals to its
Answer: mass number
Q2) Scientists continually question the results and supporting data behind their hypotheses in a process known as ____________________.
Answer: peer review
Q3) The smallest unit of matter into which an element can be divided and still retain its chemical properties is a(n)____________________.
Answer: atom
Q4) All of the following are broad classes of rock except A) sedimentary.
B) igneous.
C) metamorphic.
D) crystalline.
E) none of these
Answer: D
Q5) ____________________ explains why we cannot "throw away" any pollution that we produce.
Answer: Truehe law of conservation of matter
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Chapter 3: Biodiversity and Evolution
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104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42455
Sample Questions
Q1) On the temperate-zone lake figure,choose the zone close to shore in which light reaches all the way to the bottom.
Answer: D
Q2) Genetic engineering involves making a modified gene,making a transgenic cell,and then growing a genetically-altered organism.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The ocean zone that covers the continental shelf is the A) estuary.
B) coastal zone.
C) littoral zone.
D) benthic zone.
E) abyssal zone.
Answer: B
Q4) ____________________ is determined by environmental factors including temperature,sunlight,dissolved oxygen,and available nutrients.
Answer: Aquatic biodiversity
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Chapter 4: Community Ecology, Population Ecology, and the Human Population
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117 Verified Questions
117 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following statements about human population growth are true except
A) When births plus immigration rates exceed death and emigration rates, the population increases.
B) The fertility rate in the US has declined since the early 1970's.
C) If every couple would bear children at the replacement-fertility rate, population growth would immediately halt.
D) India is projected to have the world's largest population within the next 40 years.
E) A country with a large proportion of its population under 15 years old, will experience large population growth unless death rates increase dramatically.
Q2) Which of the following would exhibit primary succession?
A) rock exposed by a retreating glacier
B) an abandoned farm
C) a forest that had been clear-cut
D) a newly created lake
E) forest that has been burned
Q3) What is the major ecological difference between generalist species and specialist species?
Q4) Which age-structure diagram represents a population expanding slowly?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____________________ preserve plant species,which is the only remaining means of maintaining long-term genetic progress.
Q2) An example of an international treaty or convention that helps to protect wild species from extinction is the ____________________ .
Q3) Habitat destruction,introduction of exotic species,and overexploitation can all lead to species ____________________.
Q4) The process of chemicals ingested in the lower trophic levels building up exponentially in the higher trophic levels is called
A) bioaccumulation.
B) fragmentation.
C) CITES.
D) invasion.
E) specialization.
Q5) ____________________ are those species that undergo numerical decline and are likely to become endangered unless precautionary steps are taken to reverse the cause of decline.
Q6) ____________________ is diminished by extinction.
Q7) List 4 ways we can protect wild species from human caused extinctions.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
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142 Verified Questions
142 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Undeveloped land can be protected from human degradation by designating them as wilderness areas. Make one argument in favor of and one argument against setting aside large wilderness areas.
Q2) According to E.O.Wilson,protecting the world's biodiverse ecosystems is best implemented by all of the following steps except
A) mapping the world's biodiversity and identifying and protecting biological hotspots.
B) protecting remaining old-growth forests.
C) restoration projects, including rivers and lakes.
D) prioritizing protection of the world's endangered megafauna.
E) making conservation affordable for people living near reserves.
Q3) Selective logging and strip cutting are not economically effective tools for forest management.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How have marine reserves helped marine ecosystems?
Q5) Forests that have grown in an area through secondary ecological succession after a human or natural disturbance are called ____________________.
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Chapter 7: Food,Soil,and Pest Management
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151 Verified Questions
151 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is false? Application of animal manure
A) improves soil structure.
B) stimulates the growth of soil bacteria and fungi.
C) has increased since farms have specialized in animal- or crop-farming operations.
D) has decreased with increased mechanization.
E) is a type of organic fertilization.
Q2) Only in extreme circumstances does desertification lead to what we call deserts. A)True
B)False
Q3) Name three problems associated with synthetic pesticide use in large scale agriculture.
Q4) All of the following are among the world's major cash crops grown on large monoculture plantations except A) bananas
B) coffee
C) guavas
D) palm oil
E) sugar cane
Q5) A(n)____________________ is the specific type of pesticide used to kill a rat.
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Chapter 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution
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147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) On the major irrigation systems figure,choose the system that is fairly efficient and uses pumps to spray water on a crop
Q2) Global water shortages could result in all except
A) water conflicts and water wars.
B) negotiations and agreements.
C) increased water prices.
D) increased dam building and irrigation projects.
E) hydrological poverty.
Q3) Which of the following statements about lakes is true?
A) Stratified layers of lakes are characterized by vertical mixing.
B) Pollutants dilute better in lakes than in rivers and streams.
C) Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination.
D) Lakes are flushed more easily than streams.
E) All of these statements are true.
Q4) Which of the following is not a strategy for using water more sustainably?
A) Lower water prices
B) Decrease government subsidies for supplying water
C) Protect forests, wetlands, and other natural systems that store water
D) Slow population growth
E) Increase government subsidies for reducing water waste
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Nonrenewable Energy Resources
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nuclear fusion
A) using deuterium and tritium isotopes requires extremely high temperatures.
B) occurs when two isotopes of an element are forced together releasing large amounts of energy.
C) does not yet produce commercial energy.
D) does not require bomb-grade materials.
E) all of these answers.
Q2) The United States wastes almost none of its energy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Bitumen is
A) a type of coal.
B) a deep shale oil deposit.
C) a high-sulfur heavy oil.
D) an octane-raising gasoline additive.
E) a type of natural gas.
Q4) Petroleum and natural gas are the largest sources of energy for industrialized society.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Provide one example of an environmental cost and one environmental benefit associated with using geothermal energy,solar energy,wind power,and hydro power.
Q2) ____________________ absorbs the sun's heat and stores it (in a structure)without the use of fans or pumps.
Q3) To reduce energy waste,we must
A) increase energy consumption.
B) improve energy efficiency.
C) switch from fossil fuels.
D) use only solar technologies.
E) lower energy efficiency.
Q4) Fermenting and distilling plant sugars creates which biofuel?
A) ethanol
B) methane
C) propane
D) gasahol
E) butane
Q5) ____________________ use hydrogen gas as fuel to produce electricity.
Q6) ____________________ is based on energy and money saving building designs.
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Q7) ____________________ is an example of a source of geothermal energy.
Chapter 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a developing country,you are most likely to fear health threats from A) car accidents.
B) cancer.
C) diabetes.
D) unsanitary drinking water.
E) obesity.
Q2) Malaria
A) can be prevented by a vaccine.
B) is caused by a parasite transmitted in mosquito bites.
C) is most prominent in colder climates.
D) control is easy to implement with antimalarial drugs.
E) can only be prevented by spraying mosquitoes with DDT.
Q3) The study of the pattern of a disease in a population is called A) pathology.
B) oncology.
C) epidemiology.
D) ecology.
E) bacteriology.
Q4) Lung damage developed from years of cigarette smoking is an example of a(n)____________________ toxic effect.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone
Depletion
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148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Over geologic time the earth's climate has been changed by
A) the sun's energy output.
B) large meteoric impacts.
C) earth's orbit around the sun.
D) all of these answers.
E) none of these answers.
Q2) All cloud types decrease warming of the lower atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements is false?
A) The formation of the ozone layer enabled life on land to evolve.
B) CFCs are odorless and stable.
C) CFCs are nonflammable, nontoxic, and noncorrosive.
D) Fluorine atoms are most responsible for the breakdown of ozone to molecular oxygen.
E) CFCs are cheap to produce.
Q4) Rising sea levels,increasing cloud cover,and air pollution will decrease climate change.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Urbanization and Solid and Hazardous Waste
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189 Verified Questions
189 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compost can be applied to A) eroded hillsides.
B) over-grazed areas.
C) roadway medians.
D) gardens.
E) all of these answers
Q2) What are the four stages of population shift from rural to urban areas in the United States of America over the last 200 years?
Q3) Critics of recycling are most likely to claim that
A) it isn't worth the effort.
B) there is no solid-waste problem.
C) incineration is the safest and most efficient way to dispose of solid wastes.
D) it doesn't make sense to recycle if it costs more than sending wastes to a landfill or an incinerator.
E) none of these answers
Q4) Describe how the three principles of sustainability can be applied to create a successful ecocity.
Q5) Japan embraces resource exchange,and most of the country's municipal solid waste is sent to ____________________ to produce steam.
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Chapter 14: Economics, Politics, Worldviews, and Sustainability
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141 Verified Questions
141 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/42466
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a characteristic of green taxes?
A) Taxes on pollution or use of resources would replace income or payroll taxes.
B) Taxes would be levied on a per-unit basis of pollution produced or resources used.
C) Taxes would discourage environmental degradation and encourage jobs, income and innovation.
D) Taxes would decrease on a company that produced more jobs.
E) all of these are characteristics of green taxes
Q2) Economic growth of most developed countries focuses on A) controlling human population size and resource use so Earth's carrying capacity is not exceeded.
B) internalizing external costs.
C) maximizing the flow of matter and energy resources.
D) social and environmental indicators of quality of life.
E) minimizing the flow of matter and energy resources.
Q3) ____________________ defines what a person believes is right and wrong in their behavior toward the environment.
Q4) The goods and services produced by the Earth's natural processes that support all life are called ____________________.
Page 16
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