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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDYGUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
abiotic - Answer-Pertaining to factors or things that are nonliving.
acid - Answer-Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water.
Also, a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.
A horizon - Answer-a soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The
A layer is formed of weathered rock, with some organic material; often referred to as
topsoil.
alkaline - Answer-a basic substance; chemically, a substance that absorbs hydrogen
ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water, a measure of the base
content of the water.
aquifer - Answer-an underground layer of porous rock, sand, or other material that
allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are
frequently tapped for wells.
arable - Answer-land that's fit to be cultivated.
asthenosphere - Answer-the part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.
atmosphere - Answer-the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body,
especially the one surrounding the Earth, which is retained by the celestial body's
gravitational field.
barrier island - Answer-a long, relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland-
built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from
erosion by surf and tidal surges.
biological weathering - Answer-any weathering that's caused by the activities of living
organisms.
biotic - Answer-living or derived from living things.
B horizon - Answer-a soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that
are leached out of the A horizon.
chemical weathering - Answer-the result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is
typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.
,C horizon - Answer-a soil horizon, horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that
have not undergone much weathering.
clay - Answer-the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in
diameter.
convection - Answer-the vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and
cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.
convection currents - Answer-air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to
atmospheric heating and cooling.
convergent boundary - Answer-a plate boundary where two plates are moving toward
each other.
coral reef - Answer-an erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of
compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium
and calcium carbonates.
Coriolis effect - Answer-The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the
deflection of an object moving above the Earth, rightward in the Northern Hemisphere,
and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.
crop rotation - Answer-the practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land - for
example, corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn.
delta - Answer-a usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.
divergent boundary - Answer-a plate boundary at which plates are moving away from
each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new
crust.
doldrums - Answer-a region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light
winds, or squalls.
drip irrigation - Answer-a method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally
drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.
earthquake - Answer-the result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the
Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a
transform boundary.
El Nino - Answer-a climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every
three to seven years, for a duration of about one year.
, erosion - Answer-the process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water.
Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser,
sandier, stonier texture.
estuary - Answer-the part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by
the tides.
fault - Answer-the place where two plates abut each other.
Green Revolution - Answer-the development and introduction of new varieties of
(mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries
since the 1960s.
greenhouse effect - Answer-the phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps
solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon
dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through, but
absorb heat radiated back from the Earth's surface.
Hadley cell - Answer-a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in
tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.
Headwaters - Answer-the water from which a river rises; a source.
Horizon - Answer-a layer of soil.
humus - Answer-the dark, crumbly, nutrient-rich material that results from the
decomposition of organic material.
hurricane (typhoon, cyclone) - Answer-a severe tropical cyclone originating in the
equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the
Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and
usually involving heavy rains.
inner core - Answer-the molten core of the Earth.
jet stream - Answer-a high-speed, meandering wind current, generally moving from a
westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of
15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles).
land degradation - Answer-when soil becomes water-logged and then dries out, and salt
forms a layer on its surface.
La Nina - Answer-a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South
America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other
weather patterns.
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