Sustainability Studies
Final Exam
Course Introduction
Sustainability Studies examines the interconnection between environmental, social, and economic systems to understand how to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. This course integrates concepts from ecology, policy, ethics, and social sciences to explore global challenges such as climate change, resource management, social equity, and economic development. Students will critically analyze sustainable solutions across diverse contexts, develop interdisciplinary problem-solving skills, and learn to evaluate the impacts of human activities on the planet to foster informed, responsible citizenship in a rapidly changing world.
Recommended Textbook
Living in the Environment 17th Edition by G.
Tyler Miller
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25 Chapters
2615 Verified Questions
2615 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Some of the world's countries are called low-income, __________-__________ countries, and include Congo, Haiti, Nigeria, and Nicaragua.
Answer: least-developed
Q2) While heavily dependent on the environment, we are not dependent for everything we need to stay alive and healthy.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Natural capital includes all of the following except A)solar energy
B)air
C)water
D)soil
E)nutrients
Answer: A
Q4) Old drink bottles that are collected, washed, and refilled are an example of ____________________.
Answer: reuse
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
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102 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) How is the concept of an environmental threshold or tipping point important in regards to global warming?
Answer: A tipping point is a level at which a critical mass has been reached that causes an event to occur, an event that may be irreversible.If humans cause the climate of the earth to warm beyond a certain level, it may be impossible to correct the situation, and the climate may be irreversibly altered for the worse.
Q2) Which of the following is the usual order of applying the scientific process to a problem?
A)hypothesis question observation experimentation conclusion analysis
B)hypothesis conclusion question observation experimentation analysis
C)observation hypothesis conclusion experimentation analysis question
D)observation question hypothesis experimentation analysis conclusion
E)hypothesis experimentation observation analysis question conclusion
Answer: D
Q3) Compounds are combinations of two or more different elements held together in ____________________ proportions.
Answer: fixed
Q4) Body fat of a human or other animal is a type of ____________________ energy.
Answer: potential
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do They
Work
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110 Verified Questions
110 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a type of consumer?
A)decomposer
B)producer
C)omnivore
D)carnivore
E)detritivore
Answer: B
Q2) Nitrogen is a major component of all of the following except A)proteins
B)nucleic acids
C)groundwater
D)ammonia
E)DNA
Answer: C
Q3) Human activities are altering both the __________ of energy flow and the __________ of nutrients within the carbon cycle.
Answer: rate cycling
Q4) Decomposers are mainly bacteria and ____________________. Answer: fungi
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Chapter 4: Biodiversity and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Amphibians are sensitive to changes in the environment and their decline suggests a decline in the environmental health of the earth.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ____________________ keystone species feed on and help regulate the populations of other species in an ecosystem.
Q3) Which of the following is true?
A)The higher the species richness, the lower productivity.
B)The higher the species richness, the lower the sustainability.
C)The lower the species richness, the more the productivity.
D)The lower the species richness, the more the sustainability.
E)The higher the species richness, the more the sustainability.
Q4) ____________________ is the alteration of an organism's genetic material, through adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA.
Q5) More plant species have been identified than any other group of organisms.
A)True
B)False
Q6) ____________________ diversity is the most obvious component of biodiversity.
Q7) Notice the region lettered C.What does that region represent?
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Chapter 5: Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following would exhibit primary succession?
A)a rock exposed by a retreating glacier
B)an abandoned farm
C)a clear-cut forest
D)newly flooded land
E)a recently burned forest
Q2) Considering the different types of interactions mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, what kind of relationship do you think we have with most of the natural world?
Q3) Choose the portion of the graph that represents the number of reindeer that exceeded the capacity of their environment.
Q4) A population's growth rate will increase as the population reaches its carrying capacity.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Using a small rodent, such as a field mouse, and a predator, such as a snake, explain how coevolution works.
Q6) Species that are bad-tasting, bad-smelling, toxic, or stinging-prey species advertise their characteristics using ____________________.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: The Human Population and Its Impact
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Sample Questions
Q1) The world's first national ______________ program began in India in 1952.
A)family planning
B)economic transition
C)literacy
D)sterilization
E)urbanization
Q2) The growth rate of the human population is 7 times higher in the developing world than in the developed world.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The replacement-level fertility rate is ____ for developed countries and ____ for developing countries.
A)1.6; 1.9
B)2.5; 2.0
C)2.0; 2.5
D)2.1; 2.5
E)1.8; 2.1
Q4) Compare and contrast the efforts in India and China in regards to population control.
Q5) Between 1972 and 2009, China cut its birth rate _______________.
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Chapter 7: Climate and Biodiversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Deciduous forests are typically located at higher altitudes than coniferous forests.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Treeless, bitterly cold most of the year, winters are long and dark, low-growing plants, and permafrost are the characteristics of which of the following?
A)tall-grass prairie
B)tundra
C)short-grass prairie
D)temperate grassland
E)savanna
Q3) Desert ecosystems are fragile.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The term greenhouse effect describes
A)occupational diseases of florists
B)the trapping of heat energy by molecules in the atmosphere
C)the effect climate change has on the economy
D)the efforts of the White House to support environmental legislation
E)mutations in DNA from UV radiation
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Chapter 8: Aquatic Biodiversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Oysters, clams, and lobsters would be part of which of the following?
A)phytoplankton
B)zooplankton
C)nekton
D)benthos
E)decomposers
Q2) How much of the population of the United States lives at or near a coast?
A)more than 95%
B)more than 82%
C)more than 75%
D)more than 66%
E)more than 50%
Q3) What percentage of the world's photosynthetic activity is accomplished by phytoplankton in the euphotic zone?
A)70
B)60
C)50
D)40
E)30
Q4) Choose the zone of open water where photosynthesis can occur.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Sustaining Biodiversity: the Species Approach
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Sample Questions
Q1) The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, along with other studies, indicate humans have taken over and disturbed approximately how much of the land surface?
A)40%
B)50%
C)60%
D)70%
E)80%
Q2) Captive breeding programs in zoos
A)eliminate the need to preserve critical habitats
B)can be used for most species except mammals
C)require the captive population to number between 100 and 500
D)increase the genetic variability of species
E)are very unsuccessful
Q3) How many populations of polar bears remain scattered around the Arctic?
A)150
B)99
C)59
D)32
E)19
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: the Ecosystem Approach
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Sample Questions
Q1) Robert Costanza of the University of Vermont estimates the world's forests provide us with ecological services worth how much per year?
A)$4.7 trillion
B)$6.3 trillion
C)$11.9 trillion
D)$13.2 trillion
E)$15 trillion
Q2) More than _____ % of the wildlife habitats in the United States are provided by the country's forests.
Q3) Tropical forests in the Amazon basin and other South American countries are being cleared for all of the following except
A)tree plantations
B)cattle ranching
C)tropical hardwood lumber
D)soybean plantations
E)coffee and spices
Q4) Within _______________ we could eliminate the need to use trees to make paper.
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Q5) Since 1977, 50,000 members of the Green Belt Movement have planted and protected more than ____________________ trees.
Chapter 11: Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mitigation banking is supposed to accomplish what?
A)nothing
B)trading wetlands for forest lands
C)allowing development of wetland for a fee
D)requiring the restoration of all wetlands
E)allowing destruction of wetlands if an equal wetland is created elsewhere
Q2) Whales and humans are both air-breathing mammals and are generally understood to be intelligent.Whales have become iconic as a symbol of the relationship between humans and nature.Choose one of the following questions to answer.
a.Should the high regard many people have for whales give the whales a special status when it comes to being hunted? Explain.
b.Should the fact that whales are intelligent mammals play a role in deciding whether whales should be hunted? Explain.
c.Is it appropriate in the 21st Century to allow exceptions to bans on hunting for cultural and/or religious reasons? Explain.
Q3) The first step in protecting and sustaining the world's marine fisheries is to make the best possible estimates of their fish and shellfish ____________________.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Food, Soil, and Pest Management
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118 Verified Questions
118 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What percentage of the food products currently on U.S.supermarket shelves contains some form of genetically engineered food or ingredients?
A)60%
B)70%
C)80%
D)90%
E)100%
Q2) Industrialized livestock production generates 18% of the world's climate-changing greenhouse gases, more than all the world's cars, buses, and planes. Most of this comes from
A)pig manure
B)rotting livestock food
C)cattle belching
D)chicken manure
E)cattle flatulence
Q3) Genetically modified food does not have to be labeled.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Government programs that reduce ____________________ also improve food security.
Page 14
Q5) How many kilograms of grain does it take to produce one kilogram of beef?
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Chapter 13: Water Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Saudi Arabia gets 70% of its drinking water from
A)deep aquifers
B)water imports
C)dammed rivers
D)desalinization
E)lakes
Q2) Unless depletion of aquifers is slowed, an increasing number of the world's people will have to live on water from the oceans.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not a way to reduce water waste in industry and homes?
A)use water-thrifty native plants in lawns
B)using gray water to irrigate lawns and nonedible plants
C)raising the cost of water in water-short areas
D)condensing water vapor from indoor air
E)recycling water for use in industry
Q4) Experts suggest that, worldwide, ____________________ of the water people use is wasted through evaporation, leaks, and other losses.
Q5) Flooded land destroys forests or cropland and displaces people.
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Chapter 14: Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Recycling aluminum beverage cans and scrap aluminum produces ____ percent less air pollution than mining and processing aluminum ore.
A)75
B)80
C)85
D)90
E)95
Q2) In the United States, the mining industry releases almost ____________________ of all toxic emissions.
Q3) Which of the following is associated more with surface mining than subsurface mining?
A)It is more dangerous.
B)It is more expensive.
C)It produces less waste material.
D)It disturbs more land.
E)It causes subsidence.
Q4) The most commonly used nonmetallic minerals are sand and gravel.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Nonrenewable Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nuclear power has a low net energy yield.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Currently, oil has a high net energy ratio because
A)It is found in small deposits.
B)It is found in stable countries.
C)It comes from cheap-to-extract deposits.
D)It comes from inaccessible places.
E)It does not take much money to get it.
Q3) The worst nuclear power accident in the United States occurred in 1979 in what state?
A)New York
B)Connecticut
C)Pennsylvania
D)California
E)Washington
Q4) Almost one-fourth of the world's crude oil is controlled by states that sponsor or condone terrorism.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which country is already mass producing the Build Your Dreams plug-in hybrid automobile?
A)China
B)Japan
C)South Korea
D)Russia
E)United States
Q2) Ways to save energy in transportation includes all of the following, except
A)gasoline taxes
B)switching from electrified rail systems to diesel powered systems
C)tax breaks on fuel efficient automobiles
D)encourage bicycle use by building bike lanes along highways and city streets
E)building accessible mass transit systems
Q3) ____________________ can be used in stationary applications like generating electricity or heating buildings, and for powering vehicles, buses, and trains.
Q4) By the end of this century solar cells will be the world's number one source of electricity according to the chief engineer for General Electric.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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Sample Questions
Q1) Teratogens are chemicals that cause cancer.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Teratogens
A)are fatal to humans in low doses
B)cause birth defects
C)are harmful because they are irritating to skin or lungs
D)cause infections
E)cause allergic reactions
Q3) Specialized cells, tissues, and organs that secrete hormones are part of the
A)digestive system
B)endocrine system
C)excretory system
D)circulatory system
E)immune system
Q4) People with AIDS are 30 to 50 times more likely to develop active tuberculosis.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Most people have a greater fear of things over which we do not have
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Chapter 18: Air Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) A French study found that ____________________ attacks increased by about 30% on smoggy days.
Q2) The chemical that causes most people in developed countries the most difficulty is
A)chloroform
B)formaldehyde
C)carbon monoxide
D)asbestos
E)sulfur dioxide
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the factors that increase outdoor air pollution?
A)buildings slow wind speed and reduce dilution of pollutants
B)hills and mountains reduce the flow of air in valleys
C)high temperatures promote formation of photochemical smog
D)movement of over the oceans encounter salty sea spray
E)temperature inversions form over cities surrounded by mountains
Q4) Air pollutants only come from human-made sources.
A)True
B)False
Q5) On the figure above, choose the letter that represents the wet acid deposition.
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Chapter 19: Climate Disruption and Ozone Depletion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Climate models predict that global warming will be most severe in which regions?
A)Australia
B)North America
C)Polar regions
D)Africa
E)Euro-Asia
Q2) Current levels of climate disruption account for the premature deaths of 300,000 people each year.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The minimum period of time for measuring climate, rather than weather, is which of the following?
A)2 weeks
B)6 months
C)1 year
D)10 years
E)30 years
Q4) We are currently at an atmospheric concentration of carbon of 389 ppm.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Water Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Mississippi river was photographed in 1969 burning while flowing through a city.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Oil leaks into the world's oceans from industry and cities have dropped by almost 90%.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to a 2007 government study, tens of thousands of ____________________ in 43 states are leaking
Q4) Over the 21 century, scientists expect to find many millions of ____ to become a major global health problem.
A)people
B)carcinogens
C)solar panels
D)leaking underground storage tanks
E)leaking solid waste landfills
Q5) Oxygen depleted zones form around the world, occurring mostly in ____________________ waters and in landlocked seas.
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Chapter 21: Solid and Hazardous Waste
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most analysts call for using ____________________ a variety of strategies for both waste reduction and waste management.
Q2) ____________________ utilizes bacteria and enzymes instead of plants to filter or destroy hazardous substances.
Q3) From an environmental standpoint, the first two Rs, ____________________ and ____________________, are better alternatives because they are input or prevention approaches.
Q4) Hazardous waste includes radioactive wastes which will have to be stored safely for as long as
A)15,000 years
B)50,000 years
C)100,000 years
D)240,000 years
E)1,000,000 years
Q5) The U.S.has passed laws to facilitate the cleanup of abandoned, contaminated industrial sites, known as ____________________.
Q6) Choose the letter that represents photostabilization.
Q7) ____________________ is the combined solid waste produced by homes and workplaces.
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Chapter 22: Cities and Sustainability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is false?
A)The shift in poverty is moving rapidly from the city to the country.
B)Developing countries are currently urbanizing faster than developed countries.
C)Urbanization varies throughout the world but is increasing everywhere.
D)The general population growth also contributes to urban growth.
E)The shift in poverty is moving rapidly from the country to the city.
Q2) Most of the world's cities have huge ecological footprints and are not self-sustaining systems.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Automobile accidents have killed more Americans than all wars in the country's history.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The major means of transportation for citizens of Curitiba, Brazil, is
A)walking
B)biking
C)mass transit
D)alternative fuel vehicles
E)personal motor vehicles
Page 24
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Chapter 23: Economics, Environment, and Sustainability
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Sample Questions
Q1) The point at which the supplier's price matches what buyers are willing to pay for some quantity of a good or service is called
A)demand curve
B)market price equilibrium point
C)supply curve
D)price line
E)market cost
Q2) A free-market system operating without government interference requires that sellers
A)not coerce or mislead sellers or competitors
B)provide all the goods and services possible
C)not include all their indirect costs in the prices
D)increase profits by pushing others out of business
E)use all resources to their fullest
Q3) Neoclassical, ecological, and environmental economists all believe there has to be a balance between economic growth and environmental preservation.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What was the approximate percent change in the GPI between 1990 and 2000?
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Chapter 24: Politics, Environment, and Sustainability
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Q1) Shifting to more equitable and environmentally sustainable global and national societies will require all of the following except
A)Sustainable forestry
B)Increased water resource use
C)Sustainable energy use
D)Educating the public about the need
E)Slowing projected climate change
Q2) The story of Diane Wilson reminds us of one very important point, which is...
A)chemical companies may release water pollutants
B)challenging one or more major companies is easier than you expect
C)you really need to be someone important to succeed in challenging polluters
D)in environmental issues, individuals matter
E)correcting an environmental problem doesn't take long
Q3) Between 2002 and 2009 the U.S.Congress has expanded the extraction of mineral, timber, and fossil fuel resources from public lands.
A)True
B)False
Q4) At a fundamental level, all politics is ____________________.
Q5) The exact role played by a government is determined by its
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Chapter 25: Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Having a sense of connectedness with nature is not all that important to dealing with environmental problems.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the ethical guidelines for living more sustainably?
A)Do not degrade or deplete the earth's natural capital.
B)Help maintain the earth's capacity for self-repair.
C)Do not waste matter and energy resources.
D)Avoid climate-changing activities.
E)Encourage more technological answers to problems.
Q3) Which of the following is based on a belief that the less government interference the better?
A)no-problem school
B)free-market school
C)spaceship-earth school
D)stewardship
E)ecocentrism
Q4) The stewardship worldview holds that as we use natural capital we are ______________ from future generations.
27
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