Environmental Studies
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the complex relationships between humans and the natural environment. The course explores ecological principles, environmental policies, sustainability practices, and the social, economic, and ethical impacts of environmental issues. Students engage with topics such as climate change, resource management, biodiversity, pollution, and environmental justice, developing the analytical skills needed to understand and address contemporary environmental challenges. Through a combination of theoretical learning and practical applications, the course prepares students to become informed citizens and effective stewards of the planet.
Recommended Textbook
Environmental Science 14th Edition by G. Tyler Miller
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17 Chapters
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
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Sample Questions
Q1) The three principles of sustainability are:
A) solar energy, biodiversity and perpetual energy
B) use of natural capital to support human economies
C) use of renewable resources, but no use of nonrenewable resources
D) solar energy, biodiversity and chemical cycling
E) biodiversity, use of perpetual resources and widespread reduction of use
Answer: D
Q2) China currently
A) has the second largest economy on the planet
B) is the world's largest producer of wind turbines, and is projected to soon be the largest producer of solar cells
C) is the second largest economy on the planet and is the world's largest producer and consumer of cars.
D) is the world's largest producer and consumer of cars, and is the largest producer of solar cells.
E) is the second largest economy on the planet, is the world's largest producer of wind turbines and cars, and is is projected to soon be the world's largest producer of solar cells.
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: Science, Matter, and Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which organic polymer consists of two or more monomers of simple sugars such as glucose?
A) Lipids
B) Proteins
C) nucleic acids
D) complex carbohydrates
E) nucleic acids and complex carbohydrates
Answer: D
Q2) Which list of items contains only ions?
A) CO<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>O, Na<sup>+</sup>, H<sup>-</sup>
B) Na<sup>+</sup>, H<sup>-</sup>, Pb, Hg
C) Pb, Hg, CO<sub>2</sub>,NaCl
D) Cl<sup>-</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>
E) NaCl, NO, CO, NaOH
Answer: D
Q3) ________________ ____________occurs when two isotopes of light elements are forced together at extremely high temperatures until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus.
Answer: nuclear fusion
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do They
Work
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Sample Questions
Q1) The innermost layer of the atmosphere is the A) Troposphere
B) Stratosphere
C) Hydrosphere
D) Geosphere
E) Lithosphere
Answer: A
Q2) Complex arrangements of feeding patterns in ecosystems are best described as A) food webs
B) food chains
C) trophic levels
D) pyramids of energy
E) trophic chains
Answer: A
Q3) The planet's NPP ultimately limits the number of _____________that can live on the earth..
Answer: consumers
Q4) On the generalized structure of the Earth figure, choose the letter of the layer that is composed of all of the Earth's ecosystems.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Biodiversity and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) If a species of frogs becomes threatened because they can only live in a narrow range of temperatures, they would be classified as a(n) ____________________.
Q2) Extinction results in the permanent loss of genetic diversity.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Cockroaches have a wide range of tolerance of environmental conditions. They are known as a specialist species.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following statements is true regarding keystone species?
A) Animals can be keystone species, but plants cannot.
B) Top predators can be keystone species, but other animals cannot.
C) Insects can never be keystone species because they are pests.
D) Some keystone species are more vulnerable to extinction than other species.
E) A species must have a very large population size in order to be a keystone species.
Q5) Current environmental conditions will dictate which traits are beneficial, and will ultimately drive evolution through the process of ____________________.
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Chapter 5: Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control
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Sample Questions
Q1) You are an evolutionary entomologist. You have observed beetles that can raise their abdomens and give off a defensive chemical that generally repels predators. You discover a new species of beetle that raises its abdomen in a threatening way similar to the first species, but no defensive chemical is given off. You are most likely to characterize this defensive strategy as a form of
A) Camouflage
B) chemical warfare
C) Mimicry
D) flight mechanism
E) warning coloration
Q2) An area in primary ecological succession would be a suitable habitat for a population of hardwoods because of the availability of resources.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Clearly explain the current view of succession in ecosystems.
Q4) As indicated in this image, when different species of warblers inhabit the same area, is food competition reduced?
Q5) There are ____________________ limits to population growth in nature.
Q6) Compare and contrast primary succession and secondary succession.
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Chapter 6: The Human Population and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on resource use per person, the United States is more overpopulated than China.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Women possess ____ of the world's land.
A) less than 2%
B) 10%
C) 25%
D) 50%
E) 75%
Q3) Technological advances have allowed humans to avoid the pressure of ____________________.
Q4) The declining economic health of cities often reduces services to their residents: water, electricity, open spaces, timely garbage collection, etc.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the term demographic momentum and provide a real-life example.
Q6) You live in a village where street parking and driveways are forbidden and the community has no single-family homes. You may be living in__________________.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Climate and Biodiversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following microclimate effects is incorrectly described?
A) The leeward sides of high mountains tend to show relatively dry conditions.
B) Oceans and lakes modify temperature extremes.
C) Mountains interrupt the flow of prevailing winds.
D) Cities tend to have lower temperatures and higher wind speeds than the surrounding countryside.
E) The windward sides of high mountains tend to show relatively wet conditions.
Q2) On the temperate-zone lake figure, choose the zone primarily inhabited by invertebrates, such as decomposers, which can live in the low oxygen.
Q3) Crater Lake in Oregon is an example of a lake depression caused by
A) displacement of the Earth's crust
B) glaciation
C) intentional digging by man to create a reservoir
D) volcanic activity
E) a meteor strike millions of years ago
Q4) The earth would be a cold and mostly lifeless planet without the natural
Q5) The three types of deserts are _____________, _______________, and
Page 9
Q6) Briefly describe how mountains can offset global warming.
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Chapter 8: Sustaining Biodiversity: the Species Approach
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____________________ is the best way to reduce threats from invasive species.
Q2) sea turtle
A)low reproductive rate
B)specialized niche
C)narrow distribution
D)feeds at a high trophic level
E)rare
F)fixed migratory pattern
G)commercially valuable
H)large territory
Q3) The two groups with the largest percentage of endangered species are the ____________ and the _____________.
Q4) The traveling biologist decides to contribute money to the two developing countries that seems to be doing the most for its threatened bird species, based on the percentage of land area that is set aside for conservation. What two countries will be recipients of her donations?
Q5) Gene banks, zoos, and aquariums are sanctuaries being used to protect wild species.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Sustaining Biodiversity: the Ecosystem Approach
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Sample Questions
Q1) Fairly diverse second- and third-growth forests now exist in all parts of the United States except the
A) East
B) West
C) North
D) South
E) Northeast
Q2) Which common problem of U.S. cities is now a problem in United States national parks?
A) homeless people
B) lack of funding for schools
C) air pollution
D) high crime rates
E) alcoholism
Q3) Recycling paper and buying recycled paper products is one way you can help to sustain terrestrial biodiversity.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain both the positive and negative aspect of the Smokey the Bear educational campaign.
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Chapter 10: Food, Soil, and Pest Management
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following can lead to desertification?
A) conservation tillage
B) severe and prolonged drought
C) crop rotation
D) polyculture farming
E) terraced crop arrangements
Q2) A pheromone is
A) a new form of chemical insecticide awaiting approval by FIFRA
B) a strong herbicide
C) a species-specific chemical sex attractant
D) a bloodstream chemical that controls an organism's growth and development
E) a safe, natural pesticide
Q3) Killing wild predators is an example of a(n) ______________problem caused by industrialized food production.
A) biodiversity loss
B) soil
C) human health
D) air pollution
E) water
Q4) Clearly explain the relationship between irrigation and salinization of soils.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Water Resources and Water Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Benefits of floods include all of the following except
A) provision of productive farmland
B) refilling of wetlands
C) recharging of groundwater
D) filling up of soil air spaces to prevent oxidation of nutrients
E) supporting biodiversity
Q2) Floods and droughts are
A) strictly natural disasters
B) influenced by human activities
C) decreased by increases in human population
D) independent of human activity
E) always predictable and cyclic
Q3) About _________% of the garbage in the huge rotating masses of plastic and other trash in the Pacific Ocean comes from land.
Q4) A water resource that would be categorized as nonrenewable would be
A) water vapor in the atmosphere
B) Precipitation
C) surface water in lakes and streams
D) confined aquifers
E) Snowpack
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is false?
A) Market prices clearly reflect dwindling mineral supplies.
B) High prices would encourage recycling and reuse.
C) Low mineral prices are caused by failure to include the external costs of mining.
D) Low prices encourage waste and faster depletion.
E) Two of these choices are false.
Q2) Which of the following is true of the current materials revolution that is occurring?
A) New materials are being created that act as ideal replacements for many materials.
B) Nanotechnology is likely to be a large component of the materials revolution.
C) Many new materials are more efficient and cost-effective than their counterparts.
D) The production and use of many new materials are far less environmentally damaging.
E) All of these answers are true.
Q3) Draw the flow chart that explains the life cycle of a metal resource.
Q4) A volcano is created when ____________________ rises in a plume through the lithosphere.
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Chapter 13: Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following can be used for cooling a house in warm weather except
A) foil sheets under the floor
B) breezes from open windows
C) window overhangs or awnings
D) superinsulation and high-efficiency windows
E) a light colored reflective roof
Q2) Briefly describe how a cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) functions.
Q3) Tar sand processing requires large amounts of ________and also requires preliminary forest _______________.
A) water, thinning
B) electricity, clear cutting
C) fossil fuels, thinning
D) fossil fuels, controlled burning
E) water, clear cutting
Q4) Coal supplies ____ of the electricity generated in the United States.
A) 54%
B) 34%
C) 44%
D) 24%
E) 84%
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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Sample Questions
Q1) After poverty and gender, the greatest risks people face are mainly from lifestyle choices.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the major types of hazard?
A) biological hazards
B) cultural hazards
C) lifestyle choices
D) chemical hazards
E) All of these answers.
Q3) PCBs-methyl mercury, arsenic, and lead-are all examples of ____________________.
Q4) DDT
A)essentially nontoxic
B)slightly toxic
C)moderately toxic
D)very toxic
E)extremely toxic
F)supertoxic
Q5) Nitrites used in food processing and wine production can act as a mutagen and cause ____________________.
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Chapter 15: Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone
Depletion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following are health problems that can be caused by ozone?
A) skin cancer
B) reduced resistance to colds and pneumonia
C) nervous system disorders
D) Mutations
E) stomach cancer
Q2) Which of the following would make a greater contribution to rising sea levels?
A) melting sea ice
B) melting land-based ice
C) increased levels of precipitation in some areas
D) increased levels of atmospheric water vapor
E) increased levels of global evaporation and transpiration
Q3) Industrial smog used to be a serious problem in many urban areas but is now rarely a problem in most developed countries. It is still a problem in industrialized areas of
A) China, India, and Brazil
B) India, China, and the Ukraine
C) Ukraine, Spain, and Portugal
D) Southeast Asia, China, and India
E) Brazil, China, and Russia
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Chapter 16: Solid and Hazardous Waste
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which area is a methane gas recovery well?
Q2) Hazardous or toxic waste is waste that A) threatens human health or the environment
B) is dangerously corrosive
C) is dangerously chemically reactive
D) all of these
E) none of these answers
Q3) Compare and contrast the First Priority and the Last Priority in an integrated waste management plan.
Q4) Composting and source-separation recycling are both effective in reducing waste.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Which of the following statements is correct?
A) We should view hazardous wastes as wasted resources.
B) We should view solid wastes as materials we should not be producing in the first place.
C) We should view solid wastes and hazardous wastes as being the same thing.
D) We should view hazardous wastes as something we should not be producing in the first place.
E) None of these answers are correct.
18
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Chapter 17: Environmental Economics, Politics, and Worldviews
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Sample Questions
Q1) Proponents of a tax shift that transfers taxes from income and wealth to pollution and environmental degradation point out that:
A) It should be enacted immediately in order to do any good.
B) It should only apply to developed countries.
C) It should include tax breaks.
D) In some cases both pollution and income/wealth should be taxed.
E) It should be phased in over 10 to 20 years.
Q2) Full-cost pricing
A) would improve human health
B) reduces the final cost of goods
C) is very popular with manufacturers
D) would make the market price higher than the true cost of a product or service
E) all of these answers
Q3) In recent years, most major U.S. federal environmental laws and regulations have been ____________________.
Q4) The humility principle advises us to be humble in the face of natural systems.
A)True
B)False
Q5) List seven things you can do to influence environmental policy.
Q6) Taxes that discourage pollution are called ____________________. Page 19
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