Environmental Science - Final Exam Review

1 Final Review 1 Name _____ KEY _____ Date _____ Period _____ Environmental Science Final Exam Review 1. What is the environment? Name 4 things currently in your environment. The environment is all living and nonliving things that interact with humans. Your environment may include you, your family, your schoolwork, the atmosphere, etc. 2. What is the root cause of most Environmental concerns? The root cause of most Environmental concerns is the growing human population. 3. What is a perpetual resource? Give an example. A perpetual resource is one that cannot be affected by human use.

2 Examples include sunlight, wave energy, and wind power. 4. Label the following resources as renewable or nonrenewable: a. Solar Energy Renewable b. Petroleum Nonrenewable c. Aluminum Nonrenewable d. Wind Energy Renewable 5. What is a sustainable resource? Give an example. A sustainable resource is one that can be renewable if used up slower than it is created. An example is wood from trees. 6. What is a Tragedy of the Commons? How can those situations be avoided? A Tragedy of the Commons is the overuse of a common natural resource. Careful management of resources can keep resources from being used up.

3 7. In what locations of the world is solar energy most plentiful? In the US? Solar power is most plentiful near the equator and in the Southwest of the US. 8. Describe the process of : a. Reclamation The process of making usable land in an area that was previously mined. b. Fracking The extraction of natural gas by breaking rocks beneath Earth surface. 9. What is economic development? Give examples of two developed countries and two developing nations. Economic development is the improvement of life through economic advancement. The US, and Canada are developed, while most African and Southeast Asian countries are developing.

4 Final Review 2 10. What kinds of countries have the highest ecological footprint? Why do you think this is? Developed countries have the highest ecological footprint because they have the highest wealth and access to natural resources. 11. What is recycling? Which material is the most efficient to recycle? Recycling is the process of making waste into usable products. Aluminum is the most efficient recyclable material . 12. What is biodiversity? What is a population? Biodiversity is the measure of the number and kinds of species in an area. A population is a measure of the number of organisms of one species in an area.

5 13. List some benefits of biodiversity. Biodiversity creates stable ecosystems, more stable and diverse crops, medicine, and ecotourism. 14. Explain the difference between extinct, endangered, and threatened species. An extinct species has no remaining individuals, an endangered species needs immediate attention to avoid extinction, and threatened species has a declining population. 15. What has been the biggest cause of biodiversity loss? Describe some techniques for preserving biodiversity. The biggest cause of biodiversity loss is habitat destruction.

6 Techniques for preserving biodiversity include protecting habitats, preserving genetic material , and captive breeding, 16. What is an invasive species? Give an example of an invasive species and its effects on an ecosystem. An invasive species is not native to an area, but can eliminate endemic species. An example is the zebra mussel, which harms other aquatic life and clogs boats, reservoirs, etc. 17. What is a species? Use natural selection to explain how speciation arises. A species is a group of individuals that interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

7 Genetic diversity causes individuals to be born with different traits. According to natural selection, the traits that favor survival will be passed through to offspring. An isolated population will eventually form a new species with different traits. 18. How is the growth rate of a population calculated? Growth rate of a population is measured by subtracting the deaths of organisms from the births in a population. 19. What is a carrying capacity? The carrying capacity is the maximum number of organisms of a species that an ecosystem can support.

8 Final Review 3 20. Define the following, including an example of each: a. Divergent Evolution Species with similar ancestors develop different traits. An example is the beaks of Darwin s finches. b. Convergent Evolution Species with dissimilar ancestors develop similar traits. An example is the wings of a bird and a bee. c. Parallel Evolution Species with similar ancestors develop similar traits while isolated. An example is marsupial mammals compared to placental mammals. 21. Answer the questions based on the population pyramid diagram below: a.

9 Which population(s) appears to be declining? C b. Which population(s) indicate a developed country? B & C c. Which population is most likely a developing country? A 22. Fill in the table below with the correct type of symbiotic relationship: Type of Symbiosis Description Commensalism One organism benefits, but the other is neither helped nor harmed Parasitism One organism benefits and the other is harmed in some way Mutualism Relationship in which both organisms benefit Predation One organism consumes the other organism 23. Where do all ecosystems obtain energy from?

10 All ecosystems obtain energy from the sun. 24. What is an organism s trophic level? List trophic levels from the bottom up. An organism s trophic level is its rank in the feeding hierarchy. Trophic levels in order: primary producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary, etc. A B C Final Review 4 25. How much energy from the 2nd trophic level is available in the 3rd trophic level? How does this affect the size of populations at higher trophic levels? Only 10 % of the energy from the 2nd tropic level is available in the 3rd. As a result populations decrease at higher tropic levels.