Ecology & Populations
A school of tuna swims tightly together in the open ocean to confuse sharks. What type of population distribution pattern does this behavior create?
Clumped distribution
In a marine ecosystem, a sea otter acts as a major control factor. If it is completely removed, the sea urchin population explodes and destroys the entire kelp forest. What is the sea otter classified as?
A keystone species (Accept: apex consumer/predator)
Under extreme pressure and heat deep within Earth's crust, a block of limestone changes into marble without ever fully melting. What rock class is this?
Metamorphic rock
Acid rain slowly carving out vast, winding tunnels and caverns beneath a landscape of limestone is an example of what general process?
Chemical Weathering
Greenhouse gases are essential for keeping Earth warm enough for life, but human emissions cause global warming by doing what to infrared heat?
Trapping it and radiating/reflecting it back down toward Earth's surface.
Wild orchards grow deep in the rainforest wherever wind happens to drop a seed, with no predictable pattern between trees. Name this distribution type.
Random dispersion
In a meadow, a cricket eats grass, a spider eats the cricket, a lizard eats the spider, and a snake eats the lizard. What trophic level does the lizard occupy?
Tertiary consumer
A geologist finds a dark volcanic rock full of holes that formed when gas bubbles were trapped as surface lava cooled instantly in the open air. This rock is what?
Igneous Rock
Tree roots grow into a tiny hairline fracture in a granite slab, slowly forcing the crack wider over decades until the rock splits. What is this called?
Physical Weathering
Which atmospheric layer contains the ozone layer, which protects our skin by absorbing harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays?
Stratosphere
Non-living environmental factors, such as the acidity of a river or the temperature of a forest floor, are scientifically known as what?
Abiotic factors
Organisms like fungi and bacteria chemically secrete enzymes to dissolve dead organic matter at a microscopic level. What category of heterotroph are they?
Decomposers
Two different crystals have completely different shapes and hardness levels, but a lab test proves they are made of identical elements. Why are they physically different?
They have different internal crystal structures (or different atomic arrangements)
Which specific soil horizon sits at the very bottom of a soil profile and is made of unweathered, solid bedrock?
R Horizon / Parent Material
What happens to the air pressure as a weather balloon climbs from sea level up to the top of a high mountain?
It decreases steadily (the air molecules spread further apart).
An orchid grows high on a tree branch to reach sunlight, but the tree's thick bark is completely unaffected by it. What type of symbiotic relationship is this?
Commensalism
If a severe multi-year drought hits a region, why will a highly biodiverse ecosystem handle the stress better than an ecosystem with low biodiversity?
It has a wider variety of species, meaning some are naturally drought-resistant and will keep the ecosystem functioning.
Why does smelting—the process of melting down ore to isolate pure metal—pose a major threat to air quality?
It releases high amounts of toxic gases and primary air pollutants
Why do modern farmers plant cover crops, like rye or clover, on their fields during the cold winter months when they cannot sell them?
To hold the topsoil in place with their roots and prevent wind and water erosion.
Ground-level ozone isn't shot straight out of a car tailpipe; instead, tailpipe gases must react with sunlight in the air to create it. This makes it what type of pollutant?
A secondary pollutant
When a new species enters an ecosystem with zero natural predators or diseases to hold it back, its initial growth pattern will look like what?
Exponential growth (or a J-curve)
If you are using the Simpson’s Index formula to compare two parks, a final value closest to 0 tells you the park has a high level of what?
Biodiversity (or Species Evenness)
During the 1849 Gold Rush, miners used pan-filtering and long wooden "sluice boxes" to wash heavy gold flakes out of loose river gravel and stream beds. What type of mining method is this?
Placer Mining
If a soil sample is tested and found to contain 33% sand, 33% silt, and 33% clay, what texture class does it belong to on the soil triangle?
Clay loam
Explain why a thermal inversion layer acts like a physical lid that makes urban air pollution significantly more dangerous for citizens.
A layer of warm air traps a colder layer of air close to the ground, preventing smog and car exhaust from rising and dispersing.