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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAMQUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
ANSWERS
Biogeochemical Cycles - Answer-Phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon cycles
Phosphorus Cycle - Answer-The movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through
the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks.
Phosphate - Answer-PO4 3-
How does PO4- assimilate into the Biosphere in the Phosphorus Cycle? - Answer-
Through diffusion into the roots
How does PO4- get into the ground from organisms? - Answer-Through waste
decomposition
Lithosphere - Answer-A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the
crust.
Biosphere - Answer-part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or
atmosphere
Nitrogen Fixation - Answer-N2 converted to NO3 by nitrogen fixing bacteria which live in
the root nodules on legumes
Nitrate - Answer-NO3-
NO3 converted into N2 by... - Answer-de-nitrifying bacteria
How does NO3- go into the ground? - Answer-Waste decomposition
Human Impact on N and P cycle - Answer-Crops are harvested, soil becomes nutrient
depleted
Fertilizer used to replenish soil-> fertilizer runs off to waterways
Sewage-> leaks into waterways
Eutrophication - Answer-Fertilizer and sewage increases N and P in aquatic
ecosystems
1. Excess P and N in water
2. Algae Bloom (Red Tide)
3. Algae die quickly
4. Decomposer bacteria population explodes
,5. Bacteria use up DO
6. DEAD ZONE (fish die from lack of oxygen)
Effects of Eutrophication - Answer-High Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
Bacteria use of Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
Dead zones and kills fish
Solutions to Prevent/Remediate Eutrophication - Answer-Oxygenate Water with
Fountains
Riparian Buffers (streamside)
Keep livestock out of rivers
Remove algae and plants
"Best Management Practices" for fertilizer
Laws- buffer zones, taxes
Education- social media
Incentives - Answer-Grants, credits
Disincentives - Answer-Taxes
Nitrogen Cycle - Answer-The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to
living organisms, and back to the atmosphere
Main Abiotic Factors - Answer-temperature and precipitation
Other Abiotic Factors - Answer-Terrain, elevation, humidity, wind, clouds, air quality, UV
index
Desert - Answer-Hot temperature, low precipitation
Grassland (prairie) - Answer-Precipitation Medium, temperature high
Deciduous forests - Answer-Precipitation medium, temperature medium
Coniferous forests (Taiga) - Answer-Precipitation medium, temperature low
Tundra - Answer-Precipitation low, temperature low
Survival Curve - Answer-a curve on a graph showing the percentage of people or
animals alive at various ages
Answers if a specific species can live in an ecosystem?
Biome - Answer-A major regional ecosystem
Why are biomes distributed the way they are? - Answer-Temperature gradient is bc of
the EQUATOR
, Precipitation varies from east to west due to rain patterns, wind and ocean currents
Biotic Structure from Smallest to Greatest - Answer-Organism- living thing
Species- all organisms that can BREED and produce fertile offspring
Population-members of a species in a specific place
Community- a group of interacting populations
Habitat Vocab - Answer-Range- where a species lives
Habitat- type of environment a species lives in ex. desert
Niche- how a species lives within its habitat ex. feeding, breathing
Landscape- group of interacting ecosystems
Generalist Species - Answer-Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in
many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental
conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings
Specialist Species - Answer-Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able
to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other
environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.
Producers - Answer-Autotrophs
Take energy from the Sun to produce biomass through photosynthesis
H2O+CO2+SUNLIGHT-> C6H1206 (phytoplankton) +O2
Consumers - Answer-Heterotrophs
Obtain energy from feeding (respiration)
C6H1206+O2-> H2O +CO2+ENERGY
Food Chain - Answer-Trophic levels
Producer-> Primary consumer-> Secondary consumer and so on...
Decomposers - Answer-Bacteria, fungi, scavenger
Break down waste and dead stuff
Play a key role in the food web
Trophic Cascade - Answer-A series of changes in the population sizes of organisms at
different trophic levels in a food chain, occurring when predators at high trophic levels
indirectly promote populations of organisms at low trophic levels by keeping species at
intermediate trophic levels in check. May become apparent when a top predator is
eliminated from a system.
What happens when trophic level increases? - Answer-Heat is lost and waste is lost
second law of thermodynamics - Answer-In any energy transformation, some useful
energy is always lost
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