Stemscopes Exam Environmental Science 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary cause of acid rain?
- Carbon dioxide emissions
- Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions (Correct answer)
- Methane from livestock
- Water vapor in clouds
Correct answer: Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions
Acid rain is mainly caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released from burning fossil fuels, which react with water vapor to form acids.
Question 2: What is a food web?
- A single path of energy flow in an ecosystem
- A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem (Correct answer)
- A chart showing decomposer activity
- A map of producer locations
Correct answer: A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem
A food web shows the complex, interconnected feeding relationships among many organisms in an ecosystem.
Question 3: What does the term 'carrying capacity' mean?
- The maximum population an environment can sustainably support (Correct answer)
- The minimum number of species needed in an ecosystem
- The total biomass of an ecosystem
- The amount of food a predator can eat
Correct answer: The maximum population an environment can sustainably support
Carrying capacity is the largest population size that an environment can support given its available resources.
Question 4: Which layer of Earth's atmosphere protects living things from harmful UV radiation?
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere (ozone layer) (Correct answer)
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
Correct answer: Stratosphere (ozone layer)
The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Question 5: What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?
- Producers eat other organisms; consumers make food
- Producers make their own food; consumers eat other organisms (Correct answer)
- Both make food but in different ways
- There is no difference
Correct answer: Producers make their own food; consumers eat other organisms
Producers (like plants) make their own food through photosynthesis, while consumers obtain energy by eating other organisms.
Question 6: Which human activity most contributes to deforestation?
- Ecotourism
- Reforestation programs
- Clearing land for agriculture and logging (Correct answer)
- Planting wind farms
Correct answer: Clearing land for agriculture and logging
Deforestation is primarily driven by clearing forests for agricultural use and commercial logging.
Stemscopes Exam Environmental Science 2
What is the primary cause of acid rain?