AP Environmental Science (All Units)
Questions & Answers
Ecology - answer The study of how living things interact with each other and their
environment.
Biosphere - answer Parts of the earth's air, water, and soil where life is found.
Ecosystem - answer A community of different species interacting with one another
and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.
Community - answer The population of different species living in a particular place,
and potentially interacting with each other.
Population - answer A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular
place.
Organism - answer An individual, living thing.
What are the three types of symbiotic relationship? - answer Mutualism.
Commensalism.
Parasitism.
Mutualism - answer A relationship between two species in which both species
benefit.
Commensalism - answer A relationship between two organisms in which one
organism benefits and the other is unaffected.
Parasitism - answer A relationship between two organisms of different species where
one benefits and the other is harmed.
Niche - answer An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its
living.
(Ex. Preferred habitat, position in the food web, mating, and eating behaviors).
Resource Partitioning - answer When species avoid competition by dividing the use
of resources.
Terrestrial Biomes - answer Tropical forest.
Savanna.
Desert.
Chaparral.
,Temperate Grassland.
Temperate Deciduous Forest.
Coniferous Forest.
Tundra.
Polar ice.
Tropical Rainforest - answer Biggest land biodiversity.
Occurs near the equator.
Plenty of light at the canopy.
Little light on the forest floor.
Plants: mosses, vines, bromeliads, orchids, etc.
Animals: monkeys, birds, snakes, amphibians, etc.
Polar Ice - answer A terrestrial biome that includes regions of extremely cold
temperature and low precipitation.
Half the year= 24 hours light.
Half the year= 24 hours dark.
Little to no rainfall.
Below freezing temperatures year-round.
Plants: no plant life.
Animals: penguins and polar bears.
Savanna - answer Warm climate with alternating wet and dry seasons.
Grassland.
Plants: Scattered trees.
Animals: zebras, kangaroos, lions, cheetahs, and hyenas.
Desert - answer An extremely dry area.
Alternates between hot days and cold nights.
Little to no rainfall.
Animals and plants have evolved to need little water or to store water.
Plants: Scattered shrubs and cacti.
Animals: Camels, lizards, and snakes.
Coniferous Forest - answer Cone-bearing evergreen trees.
Also known as the Taiga.
Long cold winters with heavy rainfalls.
Plants: Pines, spruce, fir trees.
Animals: Moose, elk, hares, wolves, and bears.
Temperate Deciduous Forest - answer Trees drop their leaves annually.
Cold winters, hot summers.
Tree leaves change color during the autumn months.
Plants: Maples, oak, beeches, and hickory.
Animals: Deer, squirrels, foxes, and bears.
,Chaparral - answer Dense evergreen shrubs.
Rainy winters, dry summers.
Adopted to survive periodic bush fires.
Plants: Poison oak, chamise.
Animals: Deer, rodents, lizards, snakes.
Temperate Grassland - answer Deep nutrient-rich soil.
Cold winters.
Also known as Prairies.
Seasonal droughts, occasional fires.
Grazing animals such as bison.
Plants: different grasses like buffalo grass, purple needlegrass.
Animals: Coyotes, snakes, lizards, and insects.
Tundra - answer A vast treeless plain in the arctic regions.
Cold temperatures, long winters, high winds.
Contains permafrost (permanently frozen subsoil).
Short summer season.
Plants: No large plants due to permafrost just mosses, lichens, and grasses.
Animals: Caribou, snowy owl, arctic hare.
Canopy - answer Dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rainforest trees.
Understory - answer A layer of shorter plants grows in the shady area below the
canopy.
World's Largest Forests - answer Largest non-polar desert on earth is the Sahara
Desert in North Africa.
Largest in the United States: The Great Basin Desert.
Predator-Prey Relationship - answer The predator is an organism that eats another
organism the prey.
Climate - answer The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of
time.
Climate Zones - answer Due to the spherical shape heat's earth's surface unevenly.
Near the equator, receives direct sunlight = Tropic Zones.
Least direct sunlight = Polar Zones.
Between tropic and polar zone = Temperate Zone.
Microclimate - answer The climate within a small area differs significantly from the
climate of the surrounding area.
Biomes - answer Are characterized by the communities of plants, animals, and other
organisms that are adopted to its climate and other abiotic factors.
, Why are ecosystem services are important? - answer Pollination.
Clean water.
Seed Dispersal.
Soil Fertility.
Decomposition of Organic Waste.
Pest Control.
Flood Control.
Climate Regulation.
Cycling of nutrients.
Aquatic Biomes - answer Fresh Waters:
Streams.
Rivers.
Ponds.
Lakes.
Wet Lands.
Marine:
Open Ocean.
Shorelines.
Estuaries.
Coral Reef (biggest aquatic biodiversity).
Kelp Forest.
(Largest ocean on earth is the Pacific ocean).
Freshwater Ecosystem - answer Flowing Water: Rivers.
Standing Water: Lakes, ponds.
Flowing Water From Largest to Smallest - answer Rivers, Streams, Creeks, Brooks.
How Do Rivers Change? - answer Rivers flow downhill from source to mouth.
Near the source, water is cold, low on nutrients, and clear.
Far from source, water is warmer, fun on nutrients, looks dirty.
Algae is the producer in most river food chains.
Down Stream - answer The river becomes wider and deeper.
Water is warmer and murkier (dirty, gloomy).
More phytoplankton (think of photosynthesis) and other organisms.
Marches and other wetlands are common.
Photic Zone - answer Photic = Light, Sun.
Shallow water close to shore and the upper zone of water away from shore make up the
photic zone where light is available for photosynthesis.
Freshwater Wetlands - answer Swamp: Support woody plants and trees.
