question

These three sectors account for 50% of all jobs worldwide.

answer

agriculture, forestry and fishing

question

Increasing global demands for energy is

answer

increasing political attention to oil production and global climate change.

question

Rachel Carson's impact on environmental policy change was aided by support from

answer

public opinion.

question

The current global human population in 2012 is more than

answer

7.1 billion and is growing at a rate of 1.2%.

question

The economic gap between developing and industrialized countries may best be narrowed by

answer

stabilizing population growth in developing countries.

question

In 2013 most species in the world go extinct because

answer

of loss of habitat.

question

Which one of the following is least appropriate to the field of environmental science? Scientists

answer

study X-ray emissions for evidence of black holes.

question

The greatest environmental problems of the 1950s mainly concerned

answer

widespread and easily detected water and air pollution.

question

All scientific investigations are initially founded upon

answer

good observations.

question

Examine the differences between the plant on the left and the plant on the right. Which of the following represents a scientifically acceptable hypothesis about these plants?

answer

The plant on the left is taller and has more roots and needles because it has a root-fungus symbiosis missing on the plant on the right.

question

What was the experimental variable in the above experiment?

answer

pesticide Z

question

Sustainable solutions should

answer

incorporate the concerns of economists, ecologists, and sociologists.

question

A disproportionately high placement of toxic waste sites in regions of the United States populated by minorities presents an issue of

answer

environmental racism.

question

Discriminatory trade practices that favor industrialized countries over developing countries are

answer

the number one issue at every meeting of the World Trade Organization.

question

Which of the following has been most negatively impacted by globalization?

answer

local cultures' religious and dietary traditions

question

Globalization is largely the result of

answer

worldwide electronic communication.

question

The lessons learned from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring reveal the importance of

answer

sustainability and stewardship.

question

Centrally planned and free-market economies both

answer

represent ideals not found in pure form in any country.

question

In the classical view of economic activity in this figure, we expect businesses to prosper when

answer

labor costs are low and household incomes rise.

question

The classical economic paradigm and the new ecological economic paradigm differ in the way that

answer

each views the land, either as a resource within the human economy (classical) or as something that encompasses the economy (ecological).

question

Natural capital includes ecosystem capital plus

answer

nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels.

question

Which of the following represents intangible capital?

answer

the library of the Smithsonian Institution

question

Unlike high-income countries, low-income countries rely most on their

answer

natural capital.

question

What would comprehensive environmental accounting add to the calculation of GDP?

answer

the depreciation of natural capital and reductions in ecosystem services

question

Examine the trends in the GDP and GPI. The GPI has remained fairly level because of

answer

the rising environmental and social costs of economic activity.

question

Which of the following best illustrates an intergenerational consideration?

answer

reducing the harvest of blue fin tuna to sustainable levels

question

Which of the following represents a market approach to environmental policy?

answer

using a cap-and-trade system to control the levels of carbon dioxide released into the air

question

In this figure, what level of pollution reduction comes at the highest cost?

answer

from 80-100% pollution reduction

question

As indicated in this figure, the most expensive period of pollution control is from years

answer

0-5 while the least expensive is in years 20-25.

question

The benefit to cost ratio of replacing chlorofluorocarbons in new cars turned out to be

answer

higher than predicted.

question

Shadow pricing is used to estimate the

answer

value of an endangered species of plant.

question

The Obama administration

answer

now encourages the development of renewable energy and reduction of carbon emissions.

question

As of 2012, it is clear that public opinion

answer

trusts the EPA much more than Congress to oversee the national environment.

question

Which of the following would most likely cause the greatest harm to wild Giant Panda populations in China?

answer

the introduction of beetles that eat bamboo

question

Compared to all of the organisms in a phylum, organisms that share the same family

answer

share a more recent common ancestor.

question

Within a community, species of

answer

bacteria, plants, animals, and fungi all interact.

question

Ecotones

answer

are transitional regions between ecosystems.

question

Which one of the following best illustrates an ecological landscape?

answer

a river flowing past fields and forests in Yellowstone National Park

question

Uncertain about the best way to keep his new lizard alive, Jerome places a heat lamp at one end of the long lizard cage. Over several days, Jerome notices that the lizard tends to sit in a certain place when the lamp is on. The lizard's selection of a particular place to stay represents its

answer

temperature optimum.

question

On some islands, during the mating season, birds compete intensely for breeding sites. On these islands, these breeding sites represent a(n)

answer

limiting factor.

question

Which one of the following is a molecule but not a compound?

answer

O2

question

Most organisms use water in

answer

liquid form.

question

What two spheres are most visible in this photograph?

answer

hydrosphere and biosphere.

question

Which of the following best represents potential energy converted to kinetic energy?

answer

turning on a flashlight

question

An average person might consume 2,000 Kilocalories of food in one day. This is enough energy to heat up how many 2-liter bottles of liquid water from 0 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius (just reaching the boiling point of water, but not turning the water into steam)?

answer

10

question

Sometimes people say that plants make energy from the sun. However, plants make sugars using sunlight. Stating that plants make energy is actually

answer

a violation of the first law of thermodynamics.

question

Plants grow as new organic molecules are formed by plant cells. Most of the carbon in the newly created organic molecules of these plants ultimately came from

answer

carbon dioxide in the air.

question

When you exercise, you can feel your body getting warmer, perhaps even starting to sweat. Why does exercise make you warmer?

answer

Glucose oxidation speeds up during exercise to power muscular activities, and as a byproduct, extra heat is generated.

question

The Haber-Bosch process creates nitrogenous fertilizers by

answer

converting nitrogen gas and hydrogen to ammonia.

question

Which of the following statements is not true of the sulfur cycle?

answer

Unlike nitrogen and carbon, organisms do not require or contain sulfur.

question

Golden frog populations would be more likely to survive the current threats if

answer

their populations were more widely distributed across Central and South America.

question

Plants such as leafy spurge can double their population size every year in part because of their efficient production of large amounts of seeds. Populations that can double every year, such as leafy spurge,

answer

exhibit exponential growth as they spread to new regions.

question

Many strategies have been used to control leafy spurge, including the deliberate introduction of different species of flea beetles that feed on leafy spurge. Each flea beetle female may lay about 200 eggs in her only year of life. In places where flea beetle introductions have quickly established large populations that have grown and stabilized, the population growth of these beetles most likely looked like

answer

an S-shaped curve.

question

Flea beetles alone are unlikely to eliminate all of the leafy spurge in a region. Instead, the number of leafy spurge plants and the number of flea beetles in a particular community may stabilize. At this point, the leafy spurge and flea beetle populations

answer

are experiencing environmental resistance.

question

In logistic growth (an S-shaped curve), how does population growth change as the population nears its carrying capacity?

answer

Population growth decreases.

question

In general, K-strategists have a

answer

type I survivorship pattern, and r-strategists have a type III survivorship pattern.

question

A grasshopper population in a prairie is limited in large part by the number of birds in the region. Following a terrible storm that killed many of the birds, the grasshopper population exhibits exponential growth. This happens because the grasshoppers experienced

answer

a steady biotic potential but suddenly decreased environmental resistance.

question

A population of catfish in a muddy pond reaches its maximum size as the food supplies start to run low. Without any new sources of food, the catfish population remains steady. This population represents

answer

density-dependent logistic growth.

question

Which of the following is analogous to a mutualistic relationship?

answer

A basketball player is paid by a company to wear its particular brand of shoes.

question

The relationship between the dung beetles and the cattle is a type of

answer

mutualism.

question

Which one of the following illustrates interspecific competition?

answer

Caterpillars of two different species of moth are feeding on the same plant's leaves.

question

Which of the following represents a type of mutualism?

answer

A honeybee feeds on nectar at a flower on an orange tree and pollinates the flower.

question

The relationship between the moose and wolf populations on Isle Royale reveals

answer

top-down and bottom-up population regulation.

question

The population of elk in Yellowstone

answer

reflects top-down and bottom-up population regulation.

question

Which one of the following illustrates intraspecific competition?

answer

male red-winged blackbirds defending nesting sites from other males

question

The concept of biological fitness is based on two separate abilities. These are the ability to

answer

survive and reproduce.

question

The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker may have been found in deep woods of Missouri. Even though a few individuals may have survived, this may not be enough to avoid extinction of this species. What else must these few birds do to ensure the survival of the species?

answer

maintain a viable breeding colony

question

The different Galápagos finch species

answer

evolved from a single ancestral species that flew to the Galápagos Islands.

question

Introduced alien species that cause the most harm are those that

answer

become invasive.

question

The species shown in photo (a) has

answer

become invasive and threatens the species in photo (b).

question

Volcanoes are triggered by

answer

movement of tectonic plates.

question

Biomes characterize regions with similar types of

answer

vegetation and climatic conditions.

question

In general,

answer

food chains are interconnected to form food webs.

question

A large oak tree with its abundant leaves glimmering in the sun on an early fall morning represents

answer

an autotrophic producer.

question

Hydrothermal vent communities are unusual because

answer

a producer exists without sunlight.

question

In this unusual ecosystem,

answer

there is no photosynthesis.

question

A raccoon spends its week eating raspberries, grain, eggs, and grasshoppers. Raccoons are therefore

answer

omnivores.

question

Examine the food web described by this figure. Which of the following organisms is at the highest trophic level?

answer

beluga whale

question

In the fall, Rose bought some fresh apple cider without preservatives sold by the local orchard. After several weeks stored in the refrigerator, Rose noticed the taste of alcohol in the cider. Friends later told her that she had accidentally made hard cider. Rose wondered how this could happen, and then her friends explained. After some time, natural yeast in her cider

answer

broke glucose down into alcohol by aerobic respiration.

question

Anaerobic respiration

answer

occurs without oxygen and may produce methane gas.

question

In general, biomes at higher latitudes are most like

answer

biomes at higher altitudes.

question

Biomes with precipitation between 10-60 inches per year and seasonal temperature at lower elevations are commonly

answer

grasslands.

question

Which biome is characterized by permafrost?

answer

tundra

question

The changes in this field, from grasses to shrubs to trees, represent

answer

ecological succession.

question

The mosses changed the environment enough to permit grasses to grow in a process called

answer

facilitation.

question

This region of Iceland once was covered with forests. However, humans logged the trees and grazed sheep on the logged regions, preventing natural regeneration. This situation, in which one ecosystem has now been converted to another, represents

answer

a tipping point for this ecosystem.

question

Which one of the following contributes the most to global climate change?

answer

the use of natural gas to heat homes

question

As we consider the pressing demands of a growing human population, ecosystem services must be

answer

given proper economic value and not taken for granted.

question

The best ecosystem management requires

answer

good stewardship and sustainability.

question

Which of the following groups would represent the primary stakeholders in this dispute?

answer

the native people

question

The best way to sustainably manage natural environments is to

answer

The best way to sustainably manage natural environments is to

question

Species are most likely to be conserved by humans if they have

answer

instrumental value.

question

Off the northern Atlantic coast, cod populations were severely depleted by the 1990s. Biologists that successfully argued for fishing bans on cod to let the cod populations recover argued for the

answer

instrumental value of cod.

question

Plants that can best resist a variety of environmental challenges are most likely

answer

wild plants with high degrees of variation.

question

Which of the following represents the greatest conservation of the genetic bank?

answer

the MSB and Svalbard seed banks storing seeds of thousands of plants from around the world

question

The search is on as the evidence from ethnobotany reveals the genetic potential of wild plants to produce chemicals of medical significance. The scientists exploring the medicinal use of plants by indigenous peoples throughout the world are engaged in

answer

bioprospecting.

question

Ecotourism throughout the world relies upon

answer

a widespread public interest in exploring and maintaining natural environments.

question

The ability of scientists to understand the natural relationships between organisms and their environments depends upon the

answer

availability and preservation of undisturbed regions in the world.

question

The acronym HIPPO identifies the five major factors contributing to extinction today. These are

answer

habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, population growth, and overexploitation.

question

In the southeastern United States, the red fire ant is

answer

an invasive species that has caused a decline in biodiversity.

question

Which one of the following is not a major source of invasive species in the world?

answer

escape from zoos and animal parks

question

A shrimp farm in Thailand results in

answer

specific gains to the shrimp farmer.

question

The harvest of organisms is more likely to be sustainable if organisms are captured

answer

after they have had a chance to reproduce.

question

In general, as income levels rise, dependence on wild income

answer

deceases and consumptive use decreases.

question

The application of the precautionary principle to a commercial fishery whose primary catch species is in decline would result in

answer

a total allowable catch below the best estimate of the maximum sustainable yield.

question

The Santa Cruz River in Arizona has suffered from depletion from irrigation withdrawal for decades, and now natural and social scientists are asking stakeholders to

answer

help develop a user policy by identifying the river's services of major economic importance.

question

When completed, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will

answer

redirect much of the water flow southward.

question

The most productive systems on land are

answer

forests.

question

Which of the following lumber harvesting strategies will most likely produce erosion problems?

answer

clear-cutting

question

Even-aged and uneven-aged management are used in

answer

silviculture.

question

The greatest human impacts on ocean ecosystems are concentrated

answer

in the northern hemisphere.

question

The most promising solution to the global problem of depleted cod populations is to

answer

apply the principles used in the management of Pacific halibut.

question

The most ecologically sustainable meat with the lowest environmental impact would be

answer

open ocean aquaculture of fish or mollusks that feed on phytoplankton.

question

In addition to global climate change, humans are negatively impacting coral reefs by

answer

destructive harvesting of fish for food or pets.

question

The value of many natural ecosystem services is most apparent as

answer

we appreciate the damages and economic loss that result from the disruption of these ecosystems.

question

We can expect that as mangroves continue to be destroyed worldwide,

answer

coastal erosion will increase.

question

You want to have the best outdoor experience possible, experiencing life in the least disturbed ecosystems in the United States. The best place to visit would be a

answer

wilderness area.

question

Which of the following is the greatest current threat to forests in the United States?

answer

fires

question

Agricultural pollution in the Everglades Restoration Plan will be controlled by

answer

using manmade wetlands to remove agricultural nutrients before they enter the Everglades sheet flow.

question

The Neolithic Revolution is most clearly seen in human culture today in our use of

answer

modern agriculture to raise food crops.

question

The rerouting of the Mississippi to increase the efficiency of movements of steamboats and barges was the result of the

answer

Industrial Revolution.

question

Which problem today is primarily the result of the Industrial Revolution?

answer

extensive air and water pollution

question

At the mouth of the Mississippi River, large concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus flow into the Gulf of Mexico, causing nutrient overloading, algal blooms, and extremely low levels of oxygen. Which revolutions are most responsible for this problem?

answer

Green Revolution and Industrial Revolution

question

An isolated village of about 1,000 people in a developing nation may be hunting and raising only enough crops to feed themselves. Such a village may have fewer than half their children surviving to adulthood. This struggling village primarily reflects the result of which revolution?

answer

Neolithic Revolution

question

This photograph best represents the results of which three revolutions?

answer

Neolithic Revolution, Industrial Revolution, and Green Revolution

question

The greatest human population increases over the next few decades is expected to occur in

answer

Africa.

question

Although people living in the highest-density populations in urban areas generally live long, healthy lives, global overpopulation remains a problem because

answer

environmental impacts are not always experienced where resources are consumed.

question

The amount of land and ocean needed to provide the resources for one person and absorb his/her wastes defines the

answer

environmental footprint.

question

The GINI index assesses

answer

the relative economic disparity within nations.

question

Using the GINI index, more than any other high-income country, the United States has

answer

the lowest life expectancies, more people in prison, and more children in poverty.

question

This figure reveals a drop in growth rate that occurs about 20 years before the number of persons added per year declined. This 20-year lag represents:

answer

a drop in the number of people reaching reproductive age.

question

In this figure, the width of each bar includes a measure of the

answer

mortality within the age group.

question

Which of the following will slow the rate of global population increases?

answer

delaying the age of first reproduction

question

Projections of future world population do not typically include

answer

migration.

question

The age structure of the country in this figure reflects

answer

a fertility rate that has declined.

question

To maintain steady total populations in future decades, most European countries will need to

answer

accept more immigrants.

question

In most developed countries, an epidemiologic transition

answer

was followed by a fertility transition resulting in a demographic transition.

question

Which of the following demonstrates the best application of justice and good stewardship?

answer

Restrictions on the use of fossil fuels should be proportional to the carbon footprint.

question

The social and economic changes in Thailand over the past 50 years have

answer

slowed population growth significantly.

question

Countries that have completed the demographic transition typically have

answer

good use of technology and high per capita income.

question

The most recent Cairo population conference in 1994 found widespread agreement that the greatest way to help developing countries was to

answer

limit their population growth.

question

Why is the green line lower in Latin America than it is in Sub-Saharan Africa?

answer

Latin American communities have better use of modern medicine.

question

The 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development found that the greatest threats to the health of the environment were

answer

poverty, development, and population growth.

question

In general, as a country goes through the demographic transition, it experiences a

answer

falling dependency ratio that increases the demographic dividend.

question

In general, fertility rates

answer

decrease as per capita income increases.

question

A study is conducted to understand how some developing countries have made social and economic progress. Which of the following would be a surprising finding in such a study?

answer

decreased support of education

question

In general, which of the following would best help to reduce extreme poverty?

answer

programs specifically targeted to bring the poorest nations into the development process

question

The Millennium Development Goals focus on

answer

ending extreme poverty and hunger all over the world.

question

Which of the following affects the greatest number of people in the developing world?

answer

inadequate sanitation

question

The region of Kerala in India demonstrates that improvements in health care and longevity are correlated with

answer

reductions in total fertility rates and a high literacy rate.

question

One major effort in developing countries is illustrated in the photo above. This is an effort to

answer

increase the number of girls in schools.

question

What are the expected results of sending at least 50% of children in a developing country to secondary schools?

answer

healthier children, less poverty and decreased fertility

question

Unlike developed countries, children in developing countries often die from

answer

common ailments such as diarrhea.

question

Compared to a person in a developed country, a person in a developing country is about eight times more likely to die from

answer

communicable diseases.

question

With billions of dollars already spent to fight AIDS and the need for much more money, which of the following represents the best strategy to fight AIDS in the world?

answer

increase preventive measures to slow new infections, especially changes in sexual behavior

question

You are a newly appointed advisor in a government project to help move a developing country forward economically. With limited financial resources and staffing, which of the following would be your highest priority?

answer

help the government promote family planning throughout the country

question

Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA are

answer

international agencies that provide broadly based family planning services in developing nations.

question

Microlending has

answer

produced million of loans, primarily to women, in more than 40 countries.

question

The largest reserves of fresh water on Earth are found in

answer

polar ice caps and glaciers.

question

Which of the following are processes that generally reverse each other?

answer

evaporation and precipitation

question

Which of the following contributes the most as a greenhouse gas?

answer

water vapor levels in the air

question

Increasing the kinetic energy of liquid water enough to permit water molecules to break completely away from each other occurs as

answer

steam forms.

question

In the figure, blue water is represented by

answer

rain.

question

Water is naturally purified by

answer

evaporation and condensation.

question

In the western United States, we expect that rain shadows most frequently occur on

answer

the leeward, east side of mountain ranges.

question

Which of the following situations is most likely to have the lowest infiltration-runoff ratio?

answer

a paved parking lot

question

About 99% of all liquid fresh water on Earth is found in

answer

underground aquifers.

question

Gutters and storm sewers in a city are most concerned with the

answer

surface runoff loop.

question

Wetlands store and release water most like which component of the water cycle?

answer

groundwater reservoirs

question

If a plowed farm field was restored to natural prairie, we would expect that

answer

erosion of the soil would decrease.

question

How has converting forests to mostly paved urban areas changed the streams and rivers in the affected watersheds?

answer

Infiltration shifts to runoff.

question

Regions where humans produce high levels of aerosols and dust will most likely experience

answer

less rainfall, reduced solar radiation to the Earth's surface, and cooler temperatures.

question

Oceanographers are studying the thermohaline currents to determine

answer

whether global climate change may slow or alter their path.

question

The greatest worldwide use of water is for

answer

irrigation.

question

Which of the following would cause a rising water table?

answer

increased precipitation

question

As world populations increase

answer

the greatest increases in water demands will occur in the developing world.

question

The single greatest threat to irrigated agriculture is

answer

groundwater depletion.

question

Agricultural fields that must be irrigated to sustain a crop will eventually

answer

accumulate toxic levels of salts from evaporation.

question

Some people have thought that a big solution to water shortages in the southwestern United States is to create a large canal between the Great Lakes and the southwest. Why is this suggestion probably not sustainable?

answer

It could deplete water levels in the Great Lakes.

question

In the figure, the location of deserts in the northern and southern regions of Africa are best explained by understanding

answer

Hadley cells.

question

The wind patterns indicated by arrows in the figure are primarily the result of

answer

Earth's rotation.

question

Which one of the following soil horizons is least likely to be interacting directly with living organisms?

answer

C horizon

question

Which of the following farming practices would be expected to produce the least nutrient leaching, and thus contribute most to soil sustainability?

answer

no plowing, no irrigation, and the use of organic fertilizers

question

At a county fair, the winner of the best garden vegetable competition is asked how she grows such wonderful produce consistently. Wanting not to reveal all of her secrets, she says she uses composted materials. What this gardener is using is

answer

decomposed organic matter called humus.

question

The sustainability of agricultural practices

answer

decreases if the soil is degraded by erosion or salination.

question

Global satellite imagery of land on Earth over the past 20 years reveals

answer

a net decline in the overall quality of cropland.

question

You construct a home in a hilly forested region in Wisconsin. Which of the following would most likely result in the least amount of soil erosion from the surrounding forested hillsides?

answer

leave most of the forested region alone, in its natural state, and plant a few ornamental trees

question

The strips of farmland in this region are used to

answer

reduce water erosion.

question

Which one of the following would cause the greatest soil erosion to a forested hillside?

answer

cutting down and removing all of the trees

question

Irrigation can result in the salinization of soils because

answer

salts are deposited on the soil surface as water evaporates.

question

NGOs such as COSECHA in Central America

answer

work with village landowners in the roles of \"farmer experimenters\" to develop local sustainable agricultural techniques.

question

Subsistence farming

answer

is the traditional agriculture practiced by humans 12,000 years ago.

question

The industrial revolution has greatly impacted global agriculture such that

answer

agricultural productivity has more than doubled.

question

The industrial revolution has led to an increased reliance on fossil fuels to

answer

power farm machinery and to produce fertilizers and pesticides.

question

In the lower 48 states of the United States, the pressure to convert new land into crop production has

answer

decreased, and the use of erosion-prone land has been reduced.

question

The high price of food on the global market is closely related to

answer

the increased use of fertilizers and the rising cost of fossil fuels to produce fertilizers.

question

The method of farming illustrated in this photograph best represents

answer

subsistence farming.

question

The goals of biotechnology currently include

answer

growing crops that are more resistant to drought and disease.

question

In the past 50 years, the global production and availability of grains has

answer

remained at about 70 days, but importation is still required by most of the developing regions.

question

The graph in this figure suggests that

answer

eating less meat will make more grain available for human consumption.

question

Sustainable agriculture in the long term will require

answer

decreasing the use of fossil fuels and synthetic fertilizers.

question

Suffering the impact of swarms of locusts, a farmer uses an airplane to spray an insecticide over 1,500 acres of his corn field. This farmer is trying to address this pest problem by using

answer

a chemical treatment.

question

Pesticide resistance against one pesticide

answer

can become resistance to many if many are used.

question

In the processes of biomagnification and bioaccumulation described in the figure,

answer

the pesticide has to be non-biodegradable (persistent) for the processes to occur.

question

Pesticide exposure has been shown to cause diseases of the

answer

endocrine and immune systems.

question

The pesticides that also function as endocrine disruptors cause disease by

answer

mimicking the effects of estrogenic hormones.

question

In any food web, biomagnification will result in the highest concentrations of toxins in the

answer

highest trophic level.

question

Colony collapse disorder

answer

is thought to be caused by a combination of pesticides, pathogens, hive pests or other synergistic toxic chemicals.

question

Using a broad spectrum chemical pesticide would be counterproductive if you were relying on

answer

natural enemies control.

question

To meet current USDA organic food standards, 100% organic certified foods may be

answer

meat, grains, or vegetables.

question

Indonesia has become a model for other rice growing nations because

answer

they switched from heavy pesticide spraying to IPM with help from the FAO.

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