Exam1.1A, October 19, 2008

 

The best answers are highlighted in RED

 1)  The subject of this course is _______ (answer correctly as it will be graded).
A. Environmental Science
B. Chemical Thermodynamics
C. Variable isotomering
D. Underwater basket weaving

2)  In the last 50 years, soil degradation has affected about __________% of the worldÕs agricultural lands.
A. 25
B. 42
C. 67
D. 85

3)  In the next decade, poorer nations will have the __________ population growth rates.
A. Most variable
B. Most invariable
C. Lowest
D. Highest

4)  Which of the following best describes the scientific method?
A. Collect data, formulate and test hypothesis, interpret data, draw conclusions
B. Make observations, formulate hypothesis, collect and interpret data, draw conclusions
C. Formulate and test hypothesis, make observations, collect and interpret data, draw conclusions
D. Make observations, collect and interpret data, formulate hypothesis, draw conclusions

5)  A ___________ is an explanation that is supported by a vast amount of scientific data and is generally accepted by a majority of experts in a given field.
A. Proposition
B. Theory
C. Hypothesis
D. Supposition

6)  Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, heralded the movement of modern environmentalism.  The book addressed the threat of __________ to humans as well as other species.
A. global warming
B. soil erosion
C. wetland draining for development and agriculture
D. pollutants and toxic chemicals

7)  More than __________ humans lack access to clean water or adequate sanitation.
A. 100,000
B. 1 million
C. 1 billion
D. 3 billion

8)  Which of the following statements about the United States is true?
A. It produces about 50% of all toxic wastes.
B. It has about 15% of the worldÕs total population.
C. It consumes about 10% of all oil.
D. It has an average per capita income of $15,000.

9)  Algal blooms occur in __________ ecosystems and are linked to excess __________ inputs from human activities.
A. Aquatic; phosphate
 B. Terrestrial; nitrate
 C. Aquatic; sulfate
 D. Terrestrial; phosphate

10)  The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy:
A. Can be transferred or transformed but never created or destroyed under normal circumstances
 B. Can be created, but never destroyed
 C. Is gained whenever it is created
 D. In a natural system goes from a state of disorder to a state of order under normal circumstances

11)  A group of organisms interacting in an area comprises a(n):
A. Ecosystem
 B. Species
 C. Food web
 D. Biological community

12)  Recycling is considered to be in what place among the 3 "Rs"?
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
D. Fourth

13)  __________ is a type of protein that is central to chemical reactions in a cell.
A. Enzyme
 B. Starch
 C. DNA
 D. Glucose

14)  Protozoa and bacteria are examples of:
A. Photosynthetic organisms
 B. Fungi
 C. Living molecules
 D. Single-celled organisms

15)  Two examples of an acidic solution are:
A. Ammonia and lemon juice
 B. Wine and lye
 C. Human blood and ammonia
 D. Vinegar and lemon juice

16)  The three main components that are used in the process of photosynthesis are:
A. Water, CO2, and solar energy
 B. Sugar, water, and solar energy
 C. Nitrogen, CO2, and solar energy
 D. Water, CO2, and nitrogen

17)  The giant panda, which feeds exclusively on giant bamboo, is an example of a(n) _______.
A. Opportunist
B. Commensalist
C. Generalist
D. Specialist

18)  _______ and _______ are capable of producing their own food.
A. Photosynthetic plants, carnivores
B. Photosynthetic plants, algae
C. Decomposers, detritovores
D. Decomposers, algae

19)   Which of the following factors can result in selective pressure on a population?
A. Photosynthesis
B. Lack of disease
C. Luck
D. sunlight

20)  The graph of a positive exponential growth curve resembles _______.
A. the letter S
B. the letter C
C. the letter J
D. the letter U

21)  Which of the following is not a predator?
A. Herbivore
B. Carnivore
C. Omnivore
D. Detritovore

22)  The potential of a population to grow, if nothing limits its expansion, is referred to as _______.
A. Cyclic potential
B. Biotic potential
C. Overshoot potential
D. Logistic potential

23)  _______ is a symbiotic relationship in which both members of the partnership benefit.
A. Interdependence
B. Endemism
C. Mutualism
D. Commensalism

24)  Competition among species for the same resource within a single habitat can be reduced by a process called _______.
A. Divergent evolution
B. Coevolution
C. Partitioning
D. Environmental resistance

25)  According to the writings of _______, human populations inevitably outstrip their food supply and eventually collapse into starvation, crime, and misery.
A. Karl Marx
B. Justus von Liebig
C. Thomas Malthus
D. Victor Shelfor

26)  A sustained drop in birth rates is usually preceded by a drop in infant and child mortality.
A. True
B. False

27)  According to a report from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the UW ranks_________ in sustainability with a grade of ____.
A. #1, A
B. #8, A-
C. #23, C-
D. #47, D+

28)  Which of the following factors may cause a decrease in the desire of women of richer countries to have children?
A. Socioeconomic status
B. Education
C. Cost of child raising
D. All of the above

29)  In most tribal or traditional societies, the average woman gives birth to 10 or 11 children over the course of her lifetime.
A. True
B. False

30)  _______ encompasses vital statistics about people, such as births, deaths, and population size.
A. Taxonomy
B. Demography
C. Genealogy
D. Entomology

31)  At current growth rates, world population will double in about ________ years.
A. 20
B. 54
C. 72
D. 82

32)  If immigration were stopped, the United States and Canada would have nearly stable populations.
A. True
B. False

33)  _______ are widely used diagrams that display temperature and precipitation for locations in different biomes.
A. Mercator projections
B. Climagraphs
C. Meteorological maps
D. GIS maps

34)  Freshwater ecosystems vary widely because they are greatly influenced by the immediately surrounding terrestrial ecosystems.
A. True
B. False

35)  _______ occur where rainfall is abundant and temperatures are warm to hot year-round.
A. Cloud forests
B. Tropical rainforests
C. Temperate rainforests
D. Boreal forests

36)  Which of the following statements is false?
A. Preserving an endangered speciesÕ habitat is a sure way to prevent the extinction of that species.
B. Roads are problematic because some species will not cross them.
C. Diseases have thus far prevented humans from dominating the tropical rainforest biome.
D. About half of all original wetlands in the U.S. have been drained over the past 250 years.

37)  _______ is the reduction of habitat into smaller and more scattered patches.
A. Parceling
B. Apportionment
C. Fragmentation
D. Subdivision

38)  Deserts occur at approximately which north and south latitudes?
A. 15 degrees
B. 30 degrees
C. 45 degrees
D. 60 degrees

39)  Which of the following statements is not consistent with the theory of island biogeography?
A. Species diversity is a balance between colonization and extinction rates.
B. Large islands near a mainland tend to have fewer terrestrial species than small, far islands.
C. An island far from a mainland has a lower rate of colonization than a nearer island.
D. Habitat fragments can be viewed as islands within a larger landscape.

40)  _______ are sometimes called the nurseries of ocean systems.
A. Barrier islands
B. Estuaries
C. Littoral zones
D. Fens