NRES quizzes – Flashcards
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The ecological changes in an abandoned pasture represent
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secondary succession
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The scientific peer-review process ensures that
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scientific studies have proper design and methods and are free from bias.
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A large oak tree with its abundant leaves glimmering in the sun on an early fall morning represents
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an autotrophic producer.
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The cultural and aesthetic value of a forest to indigenous people represents its
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cultural service
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Which one of the following best represents the relationship between cellular respiration and photosynthesis?
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Complimentary because one produces chemical energy in the form of glucose while the other releases energy from glucose
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In logistic growth (an S-shaped curve), how does the population growth rate change as the population nears its carrying capacity?
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Population growth rate decreases.
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Some drugs, such as taxol and Tamiflu that are currently used with great success to treat cancer and viral infections
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are derived from wild plants
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All scientific investigations are initially founded upon
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good observations
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Which one of the following statements about the carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen cycles is true?
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Phosphorus has no atmospheric component.
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The pollination of a tomato flower by honeybees best illustrates
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mutualism
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Using the IPAT or ImPACT formula, which of the following would most likely reduce the environmental impact of a society?
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greater use of birth control by most members of a society
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Which of the following human traits are typical of K-strategists?
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parental care of long duration
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Which problem today is primarily the result of the Industrial Revolution?
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extensive air and water pollution
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A country that has undergone a full demographic transition has
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a lower birth rate, a lower death rate, and undergone industrialization.
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The region of Kerala in India demonstrates that improvements in health care and longevity are correlated with
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reductions in total fertility rates and a high literacy rate.
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The Neolithic Revolution is most clearly seen in human culture today in our use of
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modern agriculture to raise food crops.
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Which revolution may have the greatest impact on the future quality of life for people on Earth?
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Environmental Revolution
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Countries caught in the poverty-population trap have experienced
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the benefits of modern medicine but not the benefits of economic development
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Which one of the following best illustrates a situation most likely to reduce extreme poverty?
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Children of the poorest families attend school without any cost, including school lunches.
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If you only had one million dollars to spend on a population of 10,000 people in a village in a developing country, which of the following would have the greatest impact on their health?
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creation of a reliable source of clean water and proper sewage systems
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In a food chain consisting of toxic soil, toxic grasses, rabbits that eat the toxic grass, and hawks that eat the rabbits, the highest concentration of toxins would occur in the
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tissues of hawks
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Subsistence farming
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is the traditional agriculture practices by humans 12,000 years ago.
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Bt crops
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are genetically modified plants that incorporate the gene for producing a potent bacterially produced insecticide.
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Which of the following would be classified as "soil constraints"?
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poor drainage, salinity, and high levels of aluminum
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Adding humus in a garden will most likely
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increase the nutrients of the soil and the water-holding capacity
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Today, which of the following regions relies most on the importation of food?
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Asia and Africa
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Pesticide resistant insects develop from the widespread use of insecticides because
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over many generations, the naturally resistant pests survive and increase in number
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The industrial revolution resulted in many changes to farms in the United States. This revolution
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increased the efficiency of farming resulting in fewer, but larger farms
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In the United States, chances are that you have consumed some processed food that includes bioengineered plants
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almost every day
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Compaction of soil in a garden harms plants by
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decreasing aeration, decreasing infiltration, and increasing runoff
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Water in the oceans may become freshwater that is available to humans through the processes of
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evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
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Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because
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their formation is so slow
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The largest reserves of freshwater on Earth are found in
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polar ice caps and glaciers
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The process of fracking involves
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using high-pressure fluids to fracture gas-rich shale deposits far underground
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The most cleanly burning fossil fuel available that produces the least pollutants is
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natural gas, usually found in deposits associated with oil.
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Which of the following involves blue water?
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Percolation of water through soil
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Fossil fuels represent
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a large amount of Paleozoic and Mesozoic biomass buried anaerobically millions of years ago.
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Hadley cells at the equator consist of
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rising, moist air that produces precipitation and rain forests, and falling, dry air associated with deserts.
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These are all arguments opposing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, except
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The project would increase the amount of oil being shipped from Canada by freight trains.
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The greatest threats to groundwater supplies are
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groundwater pollution and depletion.
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Radioactive wastes consist of
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the direct and indirect products of fission
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The fastest-growing energy technology in the world is illustrated by
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solar collecting panels on rooftops
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Compared to the use of fossil fuels, wind energy
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produces no exhaust pollutants and contributes little to global climate change
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Loss of part of the Earth's cryosphere will exert a positive radiative forcing effect on climate change because
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the overall albedo of the planet will be decreased.
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Which one of the following has been declining globally over the past several decades?
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pH of the world's oceans
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Nuclear power plants in use today rely on
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fission reactions to generate heat to boil water
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Scientists use proxies to study climate in order to measure
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climates hundreds and thousands of years ago
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What event occurred in 1986 that caused a general public shift in interest in nuclear energy?
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The Chernobyl nuclear accident
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When corn is used to produce ethanol for fuel, the process also generates
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livestock feed and corn oil
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You have two X-rays taken, and the time of exposure was limited. According the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency, your radiation exposure for the X-rays was
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minimal, but does pose a slight health risk
