ES 2 (INTRO TO ENVIRONEMTNAL SCIENCE) -- MIDTERM 1

ES 2 (INTRO TO ENVIRONEMTNAL SCIENCE) -- MIDTERM 1
Name:____________________________________________
Instructions: Use only a large, pink PAR-Score answer sheet to fill in
your answers for the following 25 multiple-choice questions. Be sure to
fill in your name and perm number.
1. A good definition of environmental science would include which of the following:
a) the study of what leads to environmental problems, and how they can be solved
b) a group of linked social and physical sciences
c) it attempts to explain how life is sustained
d) all of the above
2. If the scientific method is part of the solution to environmental problems, why do we need to clarify our
values in relation to the environment?
a) because science works best when theories and hypotheseis are value driven
b) because the problems we choose to research and the potential solutions that we choose to
implement are influenced by our values
c) because ecosystem values and ecosystem services help regulate global environmental systems
d) because we can never be objective anyways
3. Which of the following concepts best summarize the scientific method?
a) models, systems theory
b) values, models, hypothesis
c) hypothesis testing, based on scientific proof
d) hypothesis testing, works through disproof rather than proof
4. Where do the terms „population explosion‟ and „population bomb‟ come from? ie. what concept(s)
covered in class can be used to explain this phenomena?
a) environmental change can be anxiety producing, catastrophic population growth
b) exponential and super-exponential population growth
c) demographic transition model, death rate
d) catastrophic population growth, environmental degradation
5. Which of the following describes the situation with the greatest population growth rate?
a) decreasing crude birth rate and low life expectancy
b) demographic momentum
c) A high fertility rate and a low death rate
d) decreasing death rate and a high dependency ratio
6. Based on the four scenarios for where population growth meets carrying capacity presented in class,
which of the following theories and assumptions best describe the ‘slow learner’ graph?
a) We will adapt only after repeatedly making the same mistakes; the environment is resilient;
human society will parallel the dynamics of animal populations close to carrying capacity
b) Humans are creatures of habit, we will not adapt easily; environmental degradation is inevitable
c) Resource degradation will proceed to the point of environmental system failure; a population
crash will result from environmental degradation
d) We will adapt only after repeatedly making the same mistakes; the environment is not resilient;
population fluctuations will result from environmental system failure
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7. Based on the four scenarios for where population growth meets carrying capacity presented in class,
which of the following theories and assumptions best describe the ‘neo-malthusian’ graph?
a) Humans have the capacity to adapt to environmental change; nature is not resilient and will
„crash‟ if degraded; population crash will result from environmental degradation
b) Humans do not have the capacity to adapt to environmental change; resource degradation will
proceed to the point of environmental system failure; a population crash will result from
environmental degradation
c) Environmental restoration is possible; however, civilization will inevitably crash
d) We will adapt only after repeatedly making the same mistakes; environmental degradation is
inevitable; a population crash is inevitable
8. A columnar shaped population pyramid indicates a country that is
a) growing slowly or not at all
b) growing rapidly
c) experiencing high immigration rates
d) composed mainly of older age classes
9. Country A is in Stage 1 of demographic transition, while country B is in Stage 2. Net migration is equal
in both countries. Which of the following is true about the population growth of these two countries?
a) population growth rate of country A is higher than that of country B
b) population growth rate of country B is higher than that of country A
c) the population of both countries is not changing
d) it depends on the total fertility rates in each country
10. In lecture, we discussed ways in which “population growth is the underlying environmental problem”
can be considered an incomplete statement. Which of the following concepts best summarizes other
factors to include?
a) industrialization, poverty issues, third world development
b) conservation and development, biogeochemical cycling
c) environmental systems, biodiversity, value systems
d) Population distribution, consumption rates, technology
11. Which of the following social and economic factors mediate a population‟s environmental impact?
a) Accessibility
b) Institutions
c) Economic development and urbanization
d) All of the above
12. Which of the following best describes a fundamental Classification of Rocks in the rock cycle?
a) Stratified Rock, Unstratified Rock
b) Granite, Sandstone, Marble
c) Laccolith, Batholith, Plutonic Form
d) Sedimentary Rock, Igneous Rock, Metamorphic Rock
13. What is most likely to happen when a piece of oceanic crust and a piece of continental crust converge?
a) Lateral movement along a transform fault boundary.
b) Subduction of denser oceanic crust under continental crust, and mountain formation due to
folding of the plates.
c) Formation of new plate material, and propagation of the plate tectonic process and the rock
cycle.
d) A linear group of islands paralleling the fault boundary.
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14. What are the four pathways of biogeochemcial cycling mentioned in lecture?
a) Atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere
b) they are in the biosphere and the human sphere
c) Atmosphere, climate, vegetation, biology
d) Biosphere, physical, mediated, change
15. An agricultural system that has been poorly managed for over 30 years now has soils that are nitrogen
depleted, which has led to a decline in crop yields. The low levels of soil nitrogen is an example of:
a) Nitrogen assimilation
b) A geologic factor
c) Nitrogen volatility
d) A limiting factor
16. The carbon cycle is mediated primarily by ___________ processes, whereas the hydrologic cycle is
mediated primarily by __________ processes.
a) biological, physical
b) atmospheric, geologic
c) change, weather
d) human, environmental
17. As discussed in class, algal blooms in lakes and ponds are associated with which of the major
biogeochmeical cycles?
a) The hydrologic cycle
b) The phosphorous cycle
c) The biologic cycle
d) The nitrogen cycle
18. Which of the following describes the fundamental characteristic of ecosystems?
a) structure, function, process, change
b) Openness, structure, functionality
c) Terrestrial, aquatic, geomorphic
d) Energy, biotite, flows
19. A population of 1000 grasshoppers living on the shores of a pond consumes 3,300 kg of grass per year;
this population of grasshoppers supports 20 frogs in the pond. This is an example of:
a) loss of energy as it flows through the ecosystem
b) frogs are the keystone species (or ecosystem regulators) in this system
c) a trophic gain in energy
d) bioaccumulation
20. A forest fire is an example of which of the following:
a) ecosystem disturbance, release of thermal energy
b) thermal flows, vegetation
c) ecosystem disturbance, eolian effect
d) soil stabilization, water erosion
21. How can we differentiate between Net Primary Productivity [------] and Biomass [------]?
a) Surplus energy after plant respiration; plant matter remaining after herbivory
b) Photosynthesis; respiration
c) Energy dissipation; plant growth
d) Photosynthesis and plant respiration; vegetative composition
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22. Which of the following constitute functions performed by consumer populations?
a) Grazing and herbivory
b) Biodiversity
c) Seed dispersal
d) All of the above
23. What would happen if decomposers were not a major component of ecosystems?
a) The excess CO 2 would increase the rate of global warming
b) The increased organic matter would deplete nutrients from the soil
c) 1 and 2 consumer populations would increase
d) Dead plant material would continue to accumulate indefinitely
24. What is the largest spatial scale at which vegetation types can be classified based on climate?
a) Ecosystem
b) Order
c) Biome
d) Habitat
25. Why is it that vegetation and growth forms can be found in zones that are strikingly similar in both
elevational and latitudinal gradients?
a) Plants are respond to changes in temperature and moisture in a similar manner, even in
geographically distinct areas
b) It is natural for life zones to be segregated
c) The biome is a supracontinental classification system
d) There is no similarity between vegetative growth forms on elevational and latitudinal gradients
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