AP Environmental Science & Ecology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Agricultural runoff carrying excess nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers most directly causes which environmental problem?
- Thermal pollution
- Eutrophication (Correct answer)
- Acid deposition
- Photochemical smog
Correct answer: Eutrophication
Excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff trigger eutrophication, leading to algal blooms and subsequent oxygen depletion in water bodies.
Question 2: Biomagnification refers to which of the following processes?
- The increase in a population's size over time
- The increasing concentration of toxins at higher trophic levels (Correct answer)
- The growth of organisms in response to light availability
- The expansion of invasive species into new habitats
Correct answer: The increasing concentration of toxins at higher trophic levels
Biomagnification is the process by which persistent toxins like DDT become increasingly concentrated in organisms at successively higher trophic levels.
Question 3: Which of the following is considered a primary air pollutant directly emitted from vehicle exhaust?
- Ozone (O3)
- Sulfuric acid
- Carbon monoxide (CO) (Correct answer)
- Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)
Correct answer: Carbon monoxide (CO)
Carbon monoxide is emitted directly from vehicle exhaust (primary pollutant), while ozone and PAN form through subsequent atmospheric reactions (secondary pollutants).
Question 4: Acid rain is defined as precipitation with a pH value:
- Greater than 7.0
- Exactly 5.6
- Below 5.6 (Correct answer)
- Between 6.0 and 7.0
Correct answer: Below 5.6
Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6 due to dissolved CO2; acid rain is defined as precipitation with a pH below 5.6, caused by dissolved SO2 and NOx from combustion.
Question 5: Which of the following best illustrates a point source of water pollution?
- Runoff from a cornfield after heavy rain
- A municipal wastewater discharge pipe (Correct answer)
- Suburban lawn fertilizer entering a stream
- Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen oxides
Correct answer: A municipal wastewater discharge pipe
Point source pollution originates from a single, identifiable location such as a discharge pipe; non-point sources like agricultural runoff are spread across large areas.
Question 6: The primary indoor source of radon gas exposure in homes is:
- Burning natural gas for heating
- Radioactive building materials like concrete blocks
- Uranium-containing soil and rock beneath the building (Correct answer)
- Proximity to nuclear power plants
Correct answer: Uranium-containing soil and rock beneath the building
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps into buildings through foundations from uranium-bearing soil and bedrock below.
Question 7: Which U.S. federal law establishes national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for outdoor air pollutants?
- The Clean Water Act
- The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- The Clean Air Act (Correct answer)
- The National Environmental Policy Act
Correct answer: The Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act, significantly expanded in 1970 and 1990, authorizes the EPA to set NAAQS and regulate emissions from stationary and mobile pollution sources.
AP Environmental Science & Ecology 2
Agricultural runoff carrying excess nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers most directly causes which environmental problem?