Course Introduction
Environmental Studies
Textbook Exam Questions
Environmental Studies explores the complex interactions between humans and the natural environment, examining topics such as ecology, sustainability, resource management, pollution, and environmental policy. This course provides students with a multidisciplinary perspective, integrating insights from biology, geography, economics, and social sciences to understand environmental challenges and solutions. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students learn about global and local environmental issues, the impact of human activities on ecosystems, and the strategies required to promote environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Ecology 4th Edition by Michael Begon
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14 Chapters
702 Verified Questions
702 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Ecology and How to Do It
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Sample Questions
Q1) You work on a research project to test what happens to a species of fish as dissolved oxygen levels decrease.You find that the fish becomes lethargic because cells are deprived of the necessary oxygen levels they need.This is an example of what kind of scientific explanation?
A) Ultimate
B) Predictive
C) Proximate
D) None of the above
Answer: C
Q2) When one evaluates case studies in ecology,it is important to keep in mind:
A) Phenomenon occur at a variety of scales
B) Data and evidence can come from a variety of sources
C) Scientific evidence is necessary and statistics should be relied upon
D) None of the above
Answer: A,B,C,
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Chapter 2: Ecologys Evolutionary Backdrop
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which scientist devised an orderly system for naming different organisms?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Ernst Mayr
C) Carl Linnaeus
D) Alfred Russell Wallace
Answer: C
Q2) Which two scientists derived the theory of evolution by means of natural selection?
A) Ernst Haeckel
B) Charles Darwin
C) Alfred Russel Wallace
D) Carl Linnaeus
Answer: B,C
Q3) Human-caused global warming due to the greenhouse effect is ________ than postglacial warming.
A) Nearly 100 times faster
B) An event that only just started and appears to have a slightly greater effect
C) Nearly 500 times faster
D) Approximately 1000 times slower
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Physical Conditions and the Availability of Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Competition between individuals of the same species is which type of competition?
A) Interspecific competition
B) Intraspecific competition
C) Heterotrophic competition
D) Disruptive competition
Answer: B
Q2) If you wanted to eat something with a high C:N ratio,which of the following would you select?
A) A vegetarian salad
B) A piece of steak
C) A piece of fish
D) A stick of butter
Answer: A
Q3) Which type of organism feeds on already dead material?
A) Autotroph
B) Homotroph
C) Decomposer
D) Grazer
Answer: C
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Climate and the Worlds Biomes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Ferrel cells are found:
A) Between 30 and 90 degrees north
B) In the northern hemisphere
C) In the southern hemisphere
D) Between 30 and 90 degrees south
Q2) What factors are responsible for the formation of a rain shadow between 30 and 60 degree latitudes?
A) Westerlies that carry precipitation.
B) Mountain ranges that force moist air to rise.
C) Changes in temperature correlated with altitude.
D) Rain or snow being released on the west slope-facing side of a mountain and dry, warm air falling on the east slope-facing side of a mountain.
Q3) Which of the following accurately describes the tropical easterlies?
A) They always originate from the east
B) They always originate from the west
C) They occur between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south
D) They occur between 0 degrees north to 30 degrees north only
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6
Chapter 5: Birth, Death and Movement
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Q1) Which choice accurately defines what a genet is?
A) A genet is a single-celled zygote that has died
B) A genet is a term used to describe a module
C) A genet is a genetic individual that started as a single-celled zygote
D) A genet is a multicellular outgrowth from a module
Q2) If dN/dt = rN,then any increase in the population will be _______
A) Linear
B) Logistic
C) Exponential
D) S-shaped
Q3) When an individual male leaves a pack in search of its own territory,this is referred to as _________?
A) Migration
B) Dispersal
C) Exodus
D) None of the above
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Chapter 6: Interspecific Competition
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Sample Questions
Q1) The textbook states that determining the effects of interspecific competition can be very difficult to do,especially when it seems as if two species competitively coexist.Which of the following types of experiments would most likely allow you to confirm and determine the effects of interspecific competition between two closely related species in nature?
A) Removal study
B) Reciprocal transplant study
C) Laboratory observation study or a "glass bottle study"
D) Ecological survey study
Q2) Woodpeckers are known for their conspicuously loud pecking of trees,which is a necessary foraging behavior.Unlike many other birds,nearly all woodpeckers use the same foraging technique of pecking into the trunk of a tree to acquire food (often insects that inhabit the tree).Although woodpeckers use the same foraging technique,certain species prefer to forage at different heights in the same species of tree based on the size of the woodpecker species.Which of the following ecological terms best describes this practice?
A) Fundamental niche
B) Realized niche
C) Niche complementarity
D) Niche differentiation
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Predation, Grazing and Disease
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Q1) Mistletoe is a plant that grows on other plants and is best categorized as a
A) Symbiont
B) Predator
C) Parasitoid
D) Parasite
Q2) The following is a behavior that might be observed in a predator exhibiting optimal foraging: ________
A) Dropping high energy food from its diet
B) Dropping common food items from its diet
C) Leaving a patch of prey when encounter rates get low
D) Leaving a patch when prey densities remain constant
Q3) What is one reason that predators may no have a significant impact on prey populations as a whole?
A) Predator populations are usually less abundant than prey populations
B) Prey populations are usually less abundant than predator populations
C) Predators typically feed on individuals that currently make little to no reproductive contribution to the prey population
D) Predators typically feed on reproductively active females
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9
Chapter 8: Molecular and Evolutionary Ecology
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Q1) What is an example of a reason why an ecologist would employ a molecular marker?
A) To differentiate one individual of a species from another
B) To measure the amount of gene flow between populations of a species
C) To trace lineages of a species from generation to generation
D) To detect adaptive variation between populations of a species
Q2) What reasons explain why Myxomatosis virulence declined in European rabbits outside of their native range?
A) Myxoma evolved toward becoming benign
B) Myxoma virulence was selected against
C) Intermediate virulence was selected for
D) There was selection for increased transmissibility
Q3) Multiple regions of DNA that are used as markers would be referred to as what?
A) Loci
B) Alleles
C) Barcodes
D) Exons
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Chapter 9: From Populations to Communities
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Q1) If the numbers of a predatory Orca whale can determine the abundances of an abalone despite the fact that Orcas don't prey on abalone we would call that a/an
A) Indirect effect
B) Direct effect
C) Food web effect
D) Mesopredator effect
Q2) The ___________ of the abundances of individuals is the combination of the effects of all factors and processes that affect population density,whether density-dependent or not.
A) Regulation
B) Determination
C) Maintenance
D) Correlation
Q3) If all trophic levels are being controlled by the abundance of resources available to plants it would be called _____________.
A) Bottom up control.
B) Top down control
C) Trophic limitation
D) Producer limitation
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Chapter 10: Patterns in Species Richness
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Q1) You have counted the number of amphibians and reptiles in the same experimental 1 km by 1 km area over the last five years.You also have a control plot of the same size nearby that is part of your sampling each year.Every year you have reviewed your data to understand which species were common or rare,and whether equal numbers of individuals were counted in those categories.What your data show is that in the experimental plot more species become rare to encounter and a large percentage of species that you do encounter tends to be more common from year one to year five.However,this is not the case in the control plot,which shows no change from year one to year five.You now plan to plot these data for a presentation.You now plan to plot these data for a presentation.What will a graph of rank-abundance for the control and non-control plots look like?
A) It will show species rank on the x axis and relative abundance on the y axis. The trend lines for each will be flat.
B) The graph will show a flat trend line for the control plot and a steep trend line for the non-control plot.
C) There are not enough data to determine what the graph will look like.
D) The graph will show a very steep line in the experimental plot by the end of year five and a much less steep line for the control plot for all five years.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The Flux of Energy and Matter Through Ecosystems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following could be ways of expressing biomass?
A) Joules per square meter
B) Grams per square meter
C) Grams of carbon per square meter
D) None of the above
Q2) If you were doing an experiment using aquatic phytoplankton and you noticed an increase in the uptake of molybdenum,what might you predict will happen to the rate of nitrogen fixation?
A) The rate of nitrogen fixation could or would be increased
B) The rate of nitrogen fixation will not change; molybdenum has no role in nitrogen fixation
C) The rate of nitrogen fixation would be decreased
D) Nitrogen fixation will be stopped
Q3) Which of the following terms refers to the mass of organisms per unit area?
A) Gross primary productivity
B) Biomass
C) Standing crop
D) Carrying capacity
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Chapter 12: Global Biogeochemical Cycles and Their Alteration by Humans
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Q1) Prior to the Industrial Revolution,what was the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide,and what is the current level?
A) Below 265 ppm pre Industrial Revolution; 200 ppm in 2014
B) Below 200 ppm pre Industrial Revolution; 4,000 ppm in 2014
C) Below 265 pre Industrial Revolution; 398 ppm in 2014
D) Below 200 ppm pre Industrial Revolution; 30,000 ppm in 2014
Q2) Which factors most influence the sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide?
A) The nitrogen cycle being altered by human activities
B) The phosphorus cycle being altered by animals
C) The increased frequency of fires in the tundra biome
D) The loss of biodiversity
Q3) Acid rain that results from sulfur pollution can cause which of the following problems?
A) Eutrophication
B) Loss of fish from lakes
C) Dieback of forests
D) Declines of plant species richness
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Conservation Ecology
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Sample Questions
Q1) You have been researching a very small population of Tasmanian Devils.What uncertainties about this small population should be of extreme importance and interest to you when prioritizing your research?
A) The number of individuals born male or female
B) The number of individuals that die or reproduce in a given year
C) When the species evolved
D) The genetic diversity of individuals in the population
Q2) Which of the following are threats to biodiversity?
A) Invasive species
B) Habitat disruption
C) Overexploitation
D) Global environmental change
Q3) Which organization established globally recognized categories of protected areas?
A) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
B) The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
C) International Union for the Conservation of Nature
D) None of the above.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: The Ecology of Human Population Growth, Disease,
and Food Supply
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following are results of intensified agriculture?
A) Monoculture
B) Biomagnification
C) Increased disease transmission as a result of monoculture
D) A reduction in feedlots
Q2) What is one reason that global hunger persists?
A) Lack of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer
B) Inadequate global food production
C) Unequal distribution of food produced
D) Under consumption when food is available
Q3) How much has the average consumption of calories per day per person changed from the 1960s to present day?
A) From 2,360 calories per day to 2,940 calories per day
B) From 1,536 calories per day to 2,610 calories per day
C) From 3,610 calories per day to 2,940 calories per day
D) From 2,610 calories per day to 1,536 calories per day
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