AP Environmental Science & Ecology

Question 1

What is the primary driving force behind the water cycle?

Accepted Answer

Solar energy

Answer

Photosynthesis

Answer

Gravitational pull

Answer

Wind patterns

Question 2

Which biogeochemical cycle is most directly disrupted by burning fossil fuels?

Accepted Answer

Carbon cycle

Answer

Nitrogen cycle

Answer

Phosphorus cycle

Answer

Sulfur cycle

Question 3

In a food web, which organisms occupy the highest trophic level?

Accepted Answer

Tertiary consumers

Answer

Producers

Answer

Primary consumers

Answer

Secondary consumers

Question 4

Which of the following best describes a keystone species?

Accepted Answer

A species with a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem

Answer

The most abundant species in an ecosystem

Answer

A species found only in one geographic location

Answer

A species at the base of the food web

Question 5

What process converts atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) into forms that plants can absorb?

Accepted Answer

Nitrogen fixation

Answer

Denitrification

Answer

Decomposition

Answer

Photosynthesis

Question 6

The CITES international treaty primarily regulates which environmental concern?

Accepted Answer

Trade in endangered species

Answer

Greenhouse gas emissions

Answer

Ocean pollution

Answer

Tropical deforestation

Question 7

Which term describes the number of different species present in a defined geographic area?

Accepted Answer

Species richness

Answer

Genetic diversity

Answer

Ecosystem diversity

Answer

Biomass