Ch 1-8 Flashcards
(144 cards)
1
Q
The existence of liquid water on Earth is possible because
A
Earth is neither too close to nor too far from the Sun
2
Q
The term environment refers to
A
All aspects of our surroundings, whether natural, man-made, physical or social
3
Q
Which of the following factors best explains the high impact of humans on US land east of the Mississippi?
A
Abundant precipitation there
4
Q
Which of the following natural resources could be considered inexhaustible?
A
Sunlight
5
Q
Which of the following resources are considered non-renewable on the scale of human time (1-3 million years)?
A
Petroleum
6
Q
Of the following, which is not an ecosystem service?
A
Provision of natural gas from underground reservoirs
7
Q
The concept of the ecological footprint helps us understand that
A
The environmental impact of a society is best measured in per capita terms
8
Q
The term “overshoot” refers to
A
The difference between our drawdown of the planet’s resources and the planet’s biological capacity
9
Q
The use of pesticides in agriculture is a good example of the difficulty involved in environmental problems because
A
Although pesticides may increase crop yields, they may also have adverse effects such as elimination of non-target species
10
Q
What is a necessary condition for a scientific hypothesis to be confirmed?
A
It must be testable in some way
11
Q
In a natural experiment, the independent variables are
A
Approximately controlled by proper selection of analogous sites with different conditions
12
Q
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) today has no forests but scientists know that forests were there when humans colonized the island because
A
Sediment cores contain abundant pollen from palm trees
13
Q
The two principal competing hypotheses for what happened to the original settlers of Easter Island are
A
Either settlers eliminated each other in wars over scarce resources, or settlers were destroyed by a combination of enslavement and disease
14
Q
The timing of the settlement of Rapa Nui was established by
A
Carbon dating of charcoal in archaeological sites
15
Q
According to Wackernagel et al. 1999, sustainability is
A
Use of natural capital equal to or less than the planet’s carrying capacity
16
Q
According to Wackernagel et al. 1999, an ecological footprint is
A
The amount of biologically productive land required to replenish the total natural resources used by a nation
17
Q
The units of measurement of an ecological footprint, according to Wacernagel et al. 1999 are
A
Hectares per capita
18
Q
According to Wackernagel et al. 1999, built-up area (urban land) is equivalent to which of the following types of biologically productive area?
A
Arable land
19
Q
According to Wackernagel et al. 1999, Italy’s ecological deficit is supported by
A
The use of biologically productive area outside of the country
20
Q
The exponential growth of human population since about 1800 is attributable to
A
The Industrial Revolution
21
Q
A fundamental unit of material that exhibits unique chemical properties and cannot be further divided by chemical means is called an
A
Element
22
Q
The principle of mass conservation refers to
A
The theory that mass cannot be created or destroyed
23
Q
The smallest fundamental unit to display the chemical properties of an element is
A
An atom
24
Q
Different isotopes of an atom
A
Have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons
25
An ion of an atom
Has the same number of protons but a different number of electrons
26
For a soil to be described as basic, it must have
A higher concentration of OH- compared to H+ ions
27
Cesium 137 is a useful isotope for studies of marine radioactivity because
Events that add Cesium 137 to the ocean are easy to discern compared to background levels
28
Water is an effective solvent because
It is a dipolar molecule
29
The most abundant element in Earth's crust is
Oxygen
30
The first law of thermodynamics says that
Energy is always conserved
31
A material with high specific heat is
An effective reservoir for heat
32
Hydrocarbons are
Organic compounds that include the various types of fossil fuels
33
Burning fossil fuel produces a universal
Increase in entropy
34
The greenhouse effect relies on which of the following Earth processes?
Short-wave radiation by the sun is returned to the atmosphere as long-wave radiation
35
With respect to the amount of energy provided to the base of the food chain, the amount of energy recovered at progressively higher levels is
At least an order of magnitude lower than the energy in the next lower level
36
The 3 million year presence on Earth of our species is about what percent of Earth's history to date?
0.00066 (.066%)
37
In subduction zones, the characteristic motion of plates is
Convergent
38
The rigid deformational behavior of plates when subjected to stress is due primarily to
The fact that plates are relatively cold compared to Earth's interior
39
In general, earthquakes occur on or near plate boundaries
true
40
The most abundant igneous rock in Earth's crust is
Basalt
41
The motion of lithospheric plates is driven by
Convection in the mantle
42
Very explosive volcanic eruptions can be expected to have what effect on global climate?
Decrease global atmospheric temperatures
43
According to Steffen et al. (2007), the Anthropocene began around
1800, with the onset of industrialization
44
According to Steffen et al. (2007), the term Anthropocene is best defined as
A new geological epoch
45
According to Steffen et al. (2007), human impacts on the planet are best described by the term
Global change
46
According to Seffen et al. (2007), the biggest change in the global terrestrial nitrogen budget since 1890 has been
The increase in soil NH from fertilizer
47
What is the difference between a species and a population?
Species are individuals which can interbreed; populations are groups of a species that live in a particular area
48
Natural selection is a process which
Favors the inheritance of genetic traits best suited to a particular environment
49
Magmatic hotspots are
Stationary loci of magmatism that may originate deep in the mantle
50
Rapid development of soil on the Hawaiian islands is attributable to
The combination of high topographic relief, warm and wet climate, and basaltic rock type
51
Evolution of a high diversity of insects and birds in Hawaii is attributable to the fact that
Colonization of the islands was favored for animals that can fly
52
DNA sequencing distinguishes species by
Idenitfying differences in the patterns of nitrogenous bases in an organism's DNA
53
Based on the work of Dr. Heather Lerner, it would be reasonable to assume that hot spot magmatism
Encouraged speciation among Hawaiian honeycreepers
54
Paleontologists have determined that the average lifespan of a species is
1-10 million years
55
The vast majority of all species that have existed on Earth
Are extinct
56
The number of major mass extinctions recorded in the fossil record is
5
57
Endemic species are those that
Exist within a highly limited geographical range
58
The study of the relationship between living and non-living components of a system is best described as
Ecosystem ecology
59
The difference between a habitat and a niche is
A habitat is an organism's environment; a niche is an organism's acitivity
60
The number of individuals present at a particular time is called
Population size
61
The combination of limiting factors that affect population size is the
Carrying capacity
62
The biotic potential of a species refers to its
Reproductive strategy
63
According to Elizabeth Kolbert, Georges Cuvier is the father of the theory of
Extinction
64
According to Elizabeth Kolbert's article, Georges Cuvier thought that ancient species discovered from fossil remains
Had disappeared due to some kind of natural catastrophe
65
According to Elizabeth Kolbert, the American mastodon disappeared during
The Pleistocene megafauna extinction
66
The increasing age of the Hawaiian Islands from southeast to northwest suggests that the Pacific plate is travelling in what direction?
Northwest
67
Zebra mussels are a species native to
Large bodies of fresh water in western Asia and eastern Europe
68
Zebra mussels survive by
Predation
69
The abundance of Zebra mussels has provided a benefit to
Benthic organisms
70
In aquatic ecosystems like the Great Lakes, zooplankton occupy which trophic position?
Primary consumers
71
The principal controls on the character of a biome are
Temperature and precipitation
72
The relationship between humans and bacteria which live in their guts is
Mutualism
73
When two species compete for the same resource, the result is
Negative for both species
74
A keystone species has
A high impact on its ecosystem, disproportionate to population size
75
A species' fundamental niche is
The maximum theoretical use it can make of an ecosystem
76
An autotroph survives by
Making its own food
77
Generally speaking, the higher the trophic level, the
Fewer the number of organisms occupying that level
78
The difference between a food web and a food chain is
A food chain shows energy flows in a single direction; a food web shows energy flows in multiple directions
79
The eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 gave scientists an opportunity to observe
Primary succession
80
The most effective method for control of invasive species is
Preventing the introduction of invaders to a community
81
A biome which experiences relatively constant temperatures and precipitation throughout the year is
Tropical rain forest
82
According to Pace et al. (2010)
The biomass of certain zooplankton returned to pre-invasion levels between 2005 and 2008
83
According to Pace et al. (2010), the efficacy of Zebra mussel water filtration rates is most influenced by
The percentage of large mussels in the population
84
According to Pace et al. (2010), which of the following organisms did not show recovery?
Claderocans
85
According to Pace et al. (2010), Zebra mussels eat their young
true
86
According to Pace et al. (2010), Zebra mussel population density during recovery years was
The same as in post-invasion years
87
The boundaries of an ecosystem are
Arbitrary, but must distinguish it spatially from its surroundings
88
Ecosystems can exchange with their surroundings
Mass and energy
89
Restoration of oyster populations in Chesapeake Bay is dependent upon
Raising oyster beds to a sufficient height off the bay bottom
90
In an ecosystem,
Mass is recycled; energy has unidirectional flow
91
Estuarine dead zones are difficult to eradicate because
Surface water is prevented from mixing with deep water by stratification of the water column
92
Compared to nitrogen, the annual flux of phosphorus into Chesapeake Bay is about
One order of magnitude smaller
93
The net primary productivity of estaurine ecosystems is just about the same as that of
Tropical seasonal forest
94
Phosphorus is a limiting factor in the primary productivity of
Lakes
95
The largest reservoir of water on Earth is
Oceans
96
The largest reservoir for carbon on Earth is
Sedimentary rock
97
Climate change is causing ocean acidification because
Increased atmospheric CO2 causes increased concentrations of H2CO3 in the ocean
98
The Haber-Bosch process is dependent upon which of the following gaseous reactants?
Hydrogen
99
The least expensive method for reducing N and P pollution, in $/lb. is
Oyster aquaculture
100
According to Vitousek et al. (1997), nitrogen is a key element affecting which kind of ecosystem?
All the above
| Freshwater, Marine, Terrestrial
101
According to Vitousek et al. (1997), humans have had what effect on the terrestrial nitrogen cycle?
Doubled the nitrogen flux
102
According to Vitousek et al. (1997), combustion of fossil fuel causes which compound to increase in the atmosphere?
NO
103
According to Vitousek et al. (1997), nitrogen has what relationship with the "missing sink" in the global carbon cycle?
Is probably making some terrestrial ecosystems more effective at storing carbon
104
According to Vitousek et al. (1997), increased nitrogen flux causes loss of biodiversity because
Species adapted to low fixed N conditions die out
105
The reforestation of Costa Rica is significant because it demonstrates
That it is possible to evaluate the importance of healthy ecosystems
106
Scientific studies have shown that monetary payments to landholders in exchange for not clearing forest land were
Probably unnecessary, in view of decreasing deforestation prior to establishment of the payment program
107
In Costa Rica, forest preservation produced which ecosystem services that benefitted people outside of the country?
Biodiversity and carbon storage
108
The idea that ethics vary amongst cultures is described by the term
Ethical relativism
109
Which of the following environmental movements is based on the ethical principle that the natural world has inherent value?
Preservation
110
In economics, externalities are
Both of the above
(Costs imposed upon people without their agreement to pay)
(Benefits conferred upon people without their agreement to pay)
111
In Adam Smith’s formulation, the “invisible hand” was
The benefits conferred upon society by the pursuit of individual self-interest
112
In Neoclassical economics, the more of a specific good is produced
The higher its marginal cost
113
Neoclassical economics is based on the idea of completely free markets. Free markets
Are an ideal but don’t actually exist
114
Cassandrans and Cornucopians differ in their worldviews in that
Cassandrans believe there are finite limits to Earth’s ability to support life
115
Costanza et al. (1997) analyzed data to evaluate the annual contribution of ecosystem services to the world economy. Their study showed this contribution to be
More than global GNP
116
Biodiversity was not among the ecosystem services evaluated by Costanza et al. (1997) because
There was no data available on which to base an evaluation
117
The concept of discounting in making economic forecasts involves
Valuing the future cost of goods and services at a lower rate than today’s
118
The Stern Report to the British government predicted that baseline climate change would have what effect on global GDP by the year 2200?
Decrease GDP by about 5%
119
Projections of population based on status quo environmental policies worldwide show what trend between now and 2100?
Rapid growth followed by sharp decline
120
Contingent valuation evaluates ecosystem services based on
Surveys asking people what they would be willing to pay for them
121
The GDP employs full cost accounting
False
122
Sustainable development is
A global movement based on meshing environmental, economic and social goals of nations
123
According to your text, the labeling of many bottled waters is an example of
Corporate “greenwashing”
124
The Happy Planet Index suggests that
Increases in ecological footprints are strongly correlated with increases in well-being, but only for nations whose ecological footprints are small to begin with
125
Shale is a
Fine grained sedimentary rock
126
The Marcellus shale was made from sediments derived from the erosion of which mountains?
The Acadian
127
The preservation of organic carbon in black shales like the Marcellus depends upon a depositional environment which is poor in which element?
Oxygen
128
Contamination of shallow aquifers by methane associated with hydrofracking operations
most likely occurred because of
Migration of the methane from leaks in well casings at shallow depths
129
Data from Considine et al. (2012) showing that environmental violations from Pennsylvania
drilling operations decreased even though the number of wells increased was discredited
because
The research was not peerreviewed
130
Hydraulic facturing (hydrofracking) is
Exempt from several major federal environmental laws
131
US Government environmental policy is formulated and managed exclusively by the
Environmental Protection Agency
False
132
. Garret Hardin’s 1968 essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” suggests that when a
community is in possession of a common good, that good will inevitably be
Competitively exploited for personal benefit by individuals in the community
133
The term "vested interests" describes
Standing to gain financially by a change in public policy
134
The primary federal law pertaining to the disposal of solid and hazardous waste is
The comprehensive environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
135
The Kyoto Protocol is an example of
International conventional law
136
Costbenefit analyses of command and control regulation, conducted by the Office of
Management and Budget, have repeatedly shown that
Benefits of regulation exceed costs
137
Between 2002 and 2008, the highest level of US government subsidies were provided to
which of the following sources of energy?
Corn ethanol
138
Mining companies in the US extract $500M-$1B in minerals from public lands. In return,
the companies are required to pay what amount in royalties to the US government?
Zero
139
The permit trading program for SO2 established by the US government in 1994
demonstrates that
Permit trading is effective in reducing emissions below the mandated cap
140
Governmental policy must be guided by scientific data
False
141
A "regulatory taking" is
A regulation issued by an administrative agency which is considered to interfere with an
individual's property rights
142
So long as any potentially hazardous compound in fracking fluid comprises less that
0.01% of the total by weight, it does not present a public health risk.
False
143
The World Trade Organization is
An international group dedicated to the promotion of free trade
144
Green taxes are
Taxes assessed on environmentally harmful activities
