1
The United Nations projects that world population will level off somewhere between how many billion people by the year 2150?
A. 10 and 14 billion
B. 3 and 5 billion
C. 5 and 8 billion
D. 8 and 12 billion
E. 4 and 6 billion
D. 8 and 12 billion
What was one effect of the exposure of tufa towers due to the lowering of Mono Lake's water level?
A. increased population of flies and shrimp
B. reduction in alkaline dust storms
C. accelerated growth of algae population
D. easier prey access for birds
E. decrease in bird population
D. Easier prey access for birds
How does a positive feedback loop differ from a negative feedback loop?
A. It has no effect on the system variable
B. It maintains the system variable at a constant level
C. It catches a continuous decrease in the variable
D. It brings the system back to a starting point
E. It continuously moves the system variable away from the stable point
E. It continuously moves the system variable away from the stable point
How did the withdrawal of water by Los Angeles from Mono Lake tributaries impact the lake system?
A. increased lake level
B. dropped lake level by forty feet in forty years
C. no impact on the lake system
D. decreased evaporation
E. decreased salt concentration
B. Dropped lake level by 40 feet in 40 years
Over what period have global temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane fluctuated frequently?
A. past 10 million years
B. past 10,000 years
C. past 160,000 years
D. past 100 years
E. past 1 million years
C. Past 160,000 years
The first step in the scientific method is to ____
A. Report findings
B. Generate a hypothesis
C. Observe the natural world
D. replicate the experiment
E. Conduct experiments
C. Observe the natural world
What type of system is the Earth with respect to matter?
A. Isolated
B. Dynamic
C. Open
D. Sealed
E. Closed
E. Closed
What was the primary cause of decline in bird population in Mono Lake?
A. Increase in alkaline dust storms
B. Over-predation of flies and shrimp
C. Reduction in water level
D. Accelerated growth of algae population
E. Reduction in water level and increase in alkaline
B. Over-predation of flies and shrimp
What is the primary human activity responsible for producing carbon dioxide?
A. combustion of fossil fuels
B.industrial manufacturing
C. agriculture
D. deforestation
E. mining
A. Combustion of fossil fuels
In agriculture, what does the term intensity refer to?
A. Amount of food grown per unit of land
B. Amount of water used
C. Number of crops grown
D. Number of pesticides applied
E. Diversity of crops grown
A. Amount of food grown per unit of land
Historically, ecologists considered ecosystems that had exhibited no temporal trend between ecosystem inputs and outputs to be in _____
A. Symbiosis
B. Steady State
C. Equilibrium
D. Disarray
E. Redox
B. Steady State
What is the primary factor contributing to the increase in salt concentration in Mono Lake?
A. increase in outflow
B. decrease in evaporation
C. continual input of salts from tributaries combined with evaporation
D. absence of sodium in the tributaries
E. decrease in salt input from tributaries
C. Continual input of salts from tributaries combined with evaporation
What does a negative feedback loop typically do to a system variable?
A. Keeps it continuously moving away from the stable point.
B. Causes a continuous increase in the variable.
C. Increases the variability of the variable.
D. Maintains it at a constant level.
E. Brings it back to a starting point
E. Brings it back to a starting point
In population dynamics, what happens when a population exceeds its carrying capacity?
A. The environment expands to accommodate the population
B. The population stabilizes
C. The birth rate decreases
D. The population experiences overshoot
E. The population crashes
E. The population crashes
What is the estimated "background" rate of mammal extinctions per 10,000 species per one hundred years?
A. 200
B. 0.2
C. 20
D. 10
E. 2E. 2
Which human developmental stage is particularly sensitive to lead exposure?
A. teenagers
B.adolescence
C. fetuses and children
D. adulthood
E. elderly
Fetuses and children
In the context of system analysis, a flux represents _____
A. change in the pool of resources
B Balance
C. inputs
D. rate of flow
E. OutputsA. Change in the pool of resources
si What type of feedback loop is described when a gambler continues to bet more money as they lose?
A. Circular feedback loop
B. Stable feedback loop
C. Positive feedback loop
D. Balanced feedback loop
E. Negative feedback loop
C. Positive feedback loop
What is the definition of environment?
A . the weather patterns in a specific region
B the study of human impacts on natural systems
C. the conditions and factors surrounding an organism, including living and nonliving elements
D. the sum total of all human activities on Earth
E. the area immediately surrounding an organism or person
C. The conditions and factors surrounding an organism, including living and nonliving elements
What term describes the phenomenon where a population exceeds its carrying capacity, leading to a subsequent dramatic decline?
A. Population growth
B. Carrying capacity
C. Overpopulation
D. Overshoot
E. Population equilibrium
D. Overshoot
Since 1975, technological improvements have increased the fuel efficiency of most cars in the United States from an average of _____ miles per gallon to more than _____ miles per gallon by 2021.
A. thirteen; thirty
B. eight; twenty-two
C. twenty; fifty
D. eighteen; forty
E. five; twenty
A. Thirteen; thirty
What is the overshoot in the context of system dynamics?
A. experiencing a delay in signal transmission
B. exceeding the stable set point of a system
C.maintaining a stable set point
D. achieving equilibrium in a system
E. responding quickly to signals
B. Exceeding the stable set point of a system
Lead was historically used extensively, despite its toxic effects, because it....
A. Strengthens structural materials
B. Is resistant to heat
C. Enhances soil fertility
D. Improves water quality
E. Is soft and malleable
E. is soft and malleable
What can a mean residence time be calculated?
A. when the system is experiencing rapid changes
B. when the system is accumulating material
C. when the system is unaffected by external factors
D. when the system is in steady state
E. when the system is losing material
D. When the system is in steady state
What is the significance of the human component in environmental systems?
A. It indicates that humans are unaffected by environmental changes.
B. It proves that human societal structures have no role in environmental science.
C. It suggests that environmental systems are a recent human invention.
D. It underscores how human activities intersect with and impact environmental systems.
E. It shows that environmental systems are primarily natural and exclude human influence.
D. It underscores how human activities intersect with and impact environmental systems.