Environmental Science
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field that explores the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. This course examines the impact of human activities on natural systems, addressing key issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, and biodiversity loss. Through scientific analysis and critical thinking, students will investigate environmental problems, evaluate sustainable solutions, and gain an understanding of the policies and practices that promote environmental stewardship. The course combines theoretical concepts with real-world case studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to balance human needs with the health of our planet.
Recommended Textbook
Sustaining the Earth 11th Edition by G. Tyler Miller
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14 Chapters
1050 Verified Questions
1050 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements about less-developed countries is true?
A)They are highly industrialized.
B)They usually have enough food, water, and shelter.
C)The United States, Canada, and Japan are developing countries.
D)Their populations continue to grow at high rates.
E)Their populations are projected to decrease.
Answer: D
Q2) According to World Bank estimates, how many people live on less than US $1.25 per day?
A)200 million
B)400 million
C)900 million
D)2.4 billion
E)3.9 billion
Answer: C
Q3) Individuals can contribute to sustainability.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The portion of the earth that contains fossil fuels and soil chemicals is called the A)troposphere.
B)stratosphere.
C)lithosphere.
D)hydrosphere.
E)geosphere.
Answer: E
Q2) Gross primary productivity (GPP) is the rate at which
A)producers convert solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
B)producers use chemical energy through aerobic respiration.
C)producers manufacture chemical energy minus energy used through respiration.
D)chemical energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.
E)consumers use chemical energy through respiration.
Answer: A
Q3) The variation in a population is called _____________________.
Answer: genetic diversity
Q4) A possible explanation of what is observed in nature or the results of an experiment is called a scientific _____________________.
Answer: hypothesis
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Chapter 3: Biodiversity and Evolution
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Selective breeding is a method of artificial selection.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) What type of biome plays a critical role in the hydrologic cycle by storing ice and snow and covers about one-fourth of the earth's land surface?
A)forests
B)mountains
C)desert
D)grasslands
E)tundra
Answer: B
Q3) A desert is an area where
A)evaporation is slow.
B)average annual precipitation is low.
C)most vegetation consists of grass.
D)it never rains.
E)only cactus plants grow.
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Community Ecology, Population Ecology, and the Human Population
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) How do keystone species differ from indicator species?
Q2) Why is predation considered beneficial at the population level but harmful at the individual level?
Q3) An environmentally relevant benefit to protecting the world's sharks is to
A)support shark hunting.
B)provide pet food ingredients.
C)remove dead or dying fish from the ocean.
D)support movies that need sharks for props.
E)supply Asian countries with vital food resources.
Q4) A species whose role in an ecosystem is vital to the abundance of other species in an ecosystem is called a(n)
A)indicator species.
B)native species.
C)keystone species.
D)specialist species.
E)nonnative species.
Q5) Resource partitioning is one solution to the problems associated with ecological succession.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Habitat fragmentation occurs when a habitat is broken into smaller areas by a man-made activity such as road-building, logging, or urban development. Why is this a cause of ecological concern?
Q2) People who propose that wild species have an inherent right to exist generally believe that species have A)economic value.
B)genetic value.
C)intrinsic value.
D)utilitarian value.
E)ecological value.
Q3) The greatest threat to most species is A)the destruction of habitats.
B)water pollution.
C)parasites.
D)the buildup of toxic substances in food chains.
E)flooding.
Q4) A city park and a freshwater lake are examples of ____________________ that are vulnerable to non-native species and pollution.
Q5) How can harmful invasive species disrupt ecosystems? Provide an example.
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Chapter 6: Sustaining Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In general, marine biodiversity is greatest in
A)the Atlantic Ocean.
B)the Pacific Ocean.
C)the bottom region of the ocean.
D)moderate ocean depths.
E)the surface region of the ocean
Q2) Commercial forests grow exclusively Christmas trees.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What country contains the highest concentration of endangered animals?
A)Mexico
B)United States of America
C)Costa Rica
D)Trinidad and Tobago
E)Tanzania
Q4) List and define four types of ecological restoration. Why is restoration important?
Q5) Why are buffer zones important components of megareserves?
Q6) Discuss at least three difficulties associated with protecting marine fisheries.
Q7) How have marine reserves helped marine ecosystems?
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Chapter 7: Food, Soil, and Pest Management
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The term chronic 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)do not eat enough proteins and key nutrients.
E)eat too much protein.
Q2) What is a pheromone?
A)A new form of chemical insecticide waiting approval by the EPA
B)A strong herbicide
C)A species-specific chemical sex attractant
D)A chemical that travels in the bloodstream and controls an organism's growth and development
E)A safe, natural pesticide
Q3) In natural ecosystems, what types of organisms feed off pest species and control the pest populations?
A)prey
B)rodents
C)pesticides
D)natural enemies
E)insects
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Chapter 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the accompanying oxygen sag curve, choose the zone in which the water has recovered from oxygen-demanding wastes and heat.
Q2) Flowing rivers and streams can recover from degradable and non-degradable waste pollution by natural recovery processes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Natural flooding is caused mostly by
A)rapid melting of snow or heavy rainfall.
B)removal of vegetation.
C)destruction of wetlands.
D)thermal expansion of oceans.
E)dam or levee failure.
Q4) Marine life can recover from crude oil spills most rapidly in A)cold and calm waters.
B)warm waters with rapid currents.
C)cold waters with rapid currents.
D)warm and calm waters.
E)estuaries.
Q5) What are some risks and rewards of living on a floodplain?
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Chapter 9: Nonrenewable Energy Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) We know from the second law of thermodynamics that some of the high-quality energy in each step of processing is
A)wasted and degraded to lower-quality energy.
B)upgraded to higher-efficiency energy.
C)maintained at the same level of quality.
D)destroyed completely.
E)converted into renewable energy.
Q2) Which of the following are methods of handling end-of-life nuclear power plants?
A)immediate dismantling, building a physical barrier, and entombment
B)extending its life, detonation, and entombment
C)decomposition, building a physical barrier, and extending its life
D)building a physical barrier, extending its life, and detonation
E)extending its life, decomposition, and building a physical barrier
Q3) Which fossil fuel is the dirtiest to burn?
A)oil
B)natural gas
C)coal
D)wood
E)biomass
Q4) Which commercial energy source provides the most energy for the world?
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Chapter 10: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) One advantage of large-scale hydropower is that it
A)does not require government subsidies.
B)has a high net energy yield.
C)produces low methane emissions.
D)makes it easier for fish to migrate upstream.
E)does not alter aquatic ecosystems.
Q2) The earth's interior provides heat energy from nature in the form of ______________________ energy, which can be used without polluting the environment compared to traditional energy sources.
Q3) Photovoltaic solar cells work on cloudy days.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The most effective water heater is a(n)
A)gas water heater.
B)electric water tank.
C)roof-mounted solar hot water heater.
D)oil water heater.
E)propane water heater.
Q5) According to the accompanying diagram, what percentage of U.S. commercial energy is converted to a useful form or material?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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Sample Questions
Q1) Animal testing
A)extrapolates from low dose levels to high dose levels.
B)extrapolates from test animals to humans.
C)is noncontroversial.
D)usually involves low dose levels.
E)always involves high dose levels.
Q2) According to the accompanying diagram, how does the life expectancy for males with AIDS change? How does the life expectancy with AIDS compare between males and females?
Q3) 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?
Q4) Discuss the distinction between risk assessment and risk management.
Q5) Many AIDS patients are less vulnerable to tuberculosis infection because the immune system is already compromised.
A)True
B)False
Q6) DDT is banned in most countries but is still widely used for malaria control. A)True
B)False
13
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Chapter 12: Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone
Depletion
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Photochemical smog is worst in urban areas with 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.
Q2) Photochemical smog can most easily reduced by a drop in emissions of ____.
A)carbon monoxide
B)nitrous oxides
C)ozone emissions
D)water
E)PANs
Q3) ____________________ refers to the long-term average of weather patterns in a particular area.
Q4) We can ignore the temporary consequences of a warmer global climate because much of the recent warming is due to natural glacial and interglacial cycles.
A)True
B)False
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Q5) The atmospheric layer closest to earth's surface is the ____________________.
Chapter 13: Urbanization and Solid and Hazardous Waste
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Sample Questions
Q1) Phytoremediation
A)involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb pollutants from soil and water.
B)results in the production of high-level hazardous wastes.
C)involves a faster and more efficient approach to waste management
D)is accepted as the best method of dealing with hazardous wastes.
E)is currently in widespread use in large urban areas.
Q2) Bioremediation of hazardous waste uses ____ to detoxify hazardous waste.
A)charcoal filters
B)cement kilns
C)plants
D)bacteria and enzymes
E)combustion
Q3) What are the top four components of municipal solid waste that are buried in U.S. landfills, listed from highest to lowest?
A)paper, food waste, yard waste, and plastics
B)plastics, paper, yard waste, and food waste
C)paper, yard waste, food waste, and plastics
D)yard waste, paper, food waste, and plastics
E)plastics, food waste, yard waste, and paper
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Chapter 14: Economics, Politics, Worldviews, and Sustainability
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Sample Questions
Q1) The command and control approach to environmental regulation relies on A)innovation.
B)tax shifts.
C)cap-and-trade.
D)enforcing cleanup.
E)tradable resource-use permits.
Q2) Which of the following categories includes the others?
A)human capital
B)natural resources
C)economic resources
D)manufactured capital
E)energy resources
Q3) A constitutional democracy would have the most difficulty in responding to A)a threat of attack
B)the possibility of long-range global warming
C)an economic depression
D)a labor strike
E)a sharp increase in gasoline prices
Q4) Identify and describe three principles that can be used to guide environmental policy makers as they craft guidelines that minimize environmental harm.
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