Final Review Packet -- APES 2010-2011 UNIT 1 - Raleigh Charter ...

Final Review Packet -- APES 2010-2011
UNIT 1 – Introduction and History
1. What is the significance of the agricultural revolution in environmental history
2. What are the four major environmental eras of U.S. Environmental History Briefly describe each era.
3. How would you describe the environmental sentiment of each decade from the 1960’s to the 1990’s
4. What environmental disasters from the 1940’s through 1980’s focused attention on the environment
a. Oil disasters include…
b. Air pollution disasters include…
c. Toxic chemical disasters include…
d. Nuclear accidents include…
5. What is the tragedy of the commons What real life resources end up as “tragedies”
6. What are possible solutions to the tragedy of the commons
7. Describe methods of ocean fishing, including dredging, harpooning, longlining, trapping, trolling, gillnetting,
trawling, and purse seining.
UNIT 2 – Ecology
1. What are the two laws of thermodynamics, and which plays a greater role in trophic exchanges Explain.
2. What is synergy What are positive and negative feedback loops What effect do they have on systems
3. Why do energy pyramids always have the same general shape
4. What is the equation for photosynthesis What is the equation for respiration
5. Be able to calculate NPP, GPP, and respiration given light/dark bottle data (and know what they are!).
6. What is the difference between a population and a community
7. What are the characteristics of a good indicator species
8. What is a niche Be able to give multiple definitions for this term.
9. What is an ecotone Give an example.
10. How does the environment play a role in evolution
11. What is the competitive exclusion principle How does it relate to niches How does it relate to succession
12. What is the Rule of 70 Be able to use it to estimate doubling time or percent growth rate.
I. Understand these major CATEGORIES/CLASSIFICATIONS:
1. Biotic Factors vs. Abiotic Factors
2. R-selected species vs. K selected species
3. Exponential Growth vs. Logistic Growth
4. Fundamental Niche vs. Realized Niche
5. Generalist Species vs. Specialist Species
6. Competition, Mutualism, Commensalism, Predation, Parasitism, Herbivory, Amensalism
7. Ecological Roles—Carnivore, Herbivore, Primary Consumer, Detritovore, etc.
UNIT 3 – Ecosystems/Biomes/Biodiversity
1) List three direct causes of species extinction. What are the main underlying causes Describe as many specific causes
of species extinction as you can.
2) Primary vs. Secondary Succession and Facilitation vs. Inhibition vs. Tolerance in successional environments
3) What is the theory of island biogeography Explain how it might be a useful theory for species preservation in the
contemporary world.
4) Be able to list 5-10 ecosystem services. Be able to discuss why biodiversity is important, and in general terms, how it
can be measured and sustained.
5) What is the ESA What is CITES How does each protect endangered species
6) Review characteristics of grasslands, rainforests, tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forests, chaparral. Think in
particular about temperature, precipitation, and special adaptations for each.

UNIT 4 – Nutrient Cycling
1. Be able to draw, with reasonable detail, the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. You need to be able to name the
various processes in each.
2. Have a general sense of how phosphorous and sulfur cycle in the environment.
3. For all five cycles, know the largest reservoir.
4. In addition, some main ideas include carbon sources/sinks, human-caused influences, such as eutrophication within
the nitrogen and phosphorous cycles, combustion, wet/dry deposition.
UNIT 5 - Earth, Soil
1. What are the four eras of earth history What are the defining moments of each era
2. What is a mass extinction What is an adaptive radiation How are these two things related
3. What are the mechanical layers of the earth Why are these layers useful divisions of the earth for the study of plate
tectonics
4. What things do seafloor magnetic stripes tell us about plate movement around the mid-ocean ridge How
5. What are the three types of plate boundaries Where is new rock created Where is old rock destroyed
6. What is an igneous rock Metamorphic Sedimentary
7. What is the rock cycle KNOW all processes that change rock from one form to another! Be able to draw the entire
cycle and understand it.
8. What is soil What four things compose soil Why is soil important
9. What three factors control the formation of soil
10. What is physical weathering Chemical weathering
11. What is soil texture How is it measured What properties of soil are influenced by soil texture (The BEST way to
think about this is to compare a pure sand with a pure clay)
12. What is a loam Where does a loam fit on the soil texture triangle Why is loam special
13. How does pH influence soil
14. What is the difference between porosity and permeability
15. Where in the soil do plants get their nutrients
16. What is deep (subsurface/underground) mining What is surface mining What are the advantages and disadvantages
of each What is in-situ leaching
UNIT 6 – Water Basics
1. Where is the majority of the Earth’s water stored Where is the majority of freshwater stored How much is where
2. Be able to draw/explain the changes in a river as you move from the source zone to the floodplain.
3. How are lakes described by depth in the lake What two layers (and one transition layer) are part of a lake What are
the abiotic properties of each of these layers (nutrients, DO, temperature) How do these layers mix
4. What are the four life zones in a lake
5. What is a watershed How does a watershed relate to pollution
6. What are the two main life zones in the oceans Which one is more productive and why
7. What is an estuary What causes temperature and salinity variation in an estuary over time
8. Why are coral reefs important What organisms cooperate to form the coral structure
9. What is groundwater What is an aquifer What is an aquitard Which can contain water
10. What is a recharge zone How does the recharge zone play a role in aquifer pollution
11. What is the zone of aeration What is the zone of saturation What is the water table

UNIT 7 – Circulation
Atmosphere Basics
1. What are the main components (gases) of the atmosphere
2. How is the atmosphere divided into layers What are the four layers Where is the ozone layer Where is the most
mass
3. How is the atmosphere heated
Weather and Global Winds
4. What kind of weather would you expect in a low pressure center What about a high pressure center
5. How do we name winds
6. What is the Hadley cell Polar Cell Ferrel cell Why do these cells form
7. What is the “rain shadow” effect What causes it
Ocean Circulation
8. What type of water sinks
9. What is thermohaline circulation What is deep water formation Upwelling
El Niño and Amigos
10. What are “normal” conditions in the eastern equatorial Pacific Describe sea surface height, water temperature,
precipitation patterns, and nutrient level.
11. Define El Niño-Southern Oscillation. What are the effects of El Niño (think upwelling/fisheries/guano)
12. What is La Niña What are the effects of La Niña How does El Niño cause flooding in Southern California or a dry
spell in Alabama
13. Name two BIOTIC and ABIOTIC effects of an El Niño/La Niña.
Global Warmth and Global Warming
14. What causes the seasons Why are polar latitudes cooler than equatorial latitudes
15. What is UV radiation Longwave/IR radiation Which does the sun emit Which does the earth “emit”
16. What three main gases absorb incoming radiation What three main gases absorb outgoing radiation (+ others)
17. What is albedo How can albedo vary on the Earth’s surface
18. What is the “greenhouse effect” What are “greenhouse gases” Put in other terms, why isn’t the earth’s average
temperature -18ºC
19. What is “global warming” or more accurately, global climate destabilization
Ozone
20. What is stratospheric ozone depletion and how serious is this problem What types of chemicals cause ozone
depletion How do these chemicals cause such depletion
21. Explain how seasonal ozone thinning occurs each year over the earth’s poles
22. Why is it good to have ozone in the stratosphere, but bad to have it in the troposphere
UNIT 8 – Human Population
1) You should be able to calculate the natural rate of increase (R-value) from CBR and CDR (and
immigration/emigration). Know what they are, including units.
2) You should be able to calculate the natural rate of increase (R) or doubling time using the rule of 70. Be careful about
units.
3) What are the three basic types of population age structures Be able to interpret and analyze population age structures
(pyramids).
4) Why is replacement-level fertility a slightly higher number in LDC’s than MDC’s
5) Why is the world’s rate of growth slowing What do measures such as IMR, LE, TFR say about how a
country/population is doing
6) Why is there a time lag (“population momentum”) for ZPG

7) What are the four stages of demographic transition Briefly explain what is occurring during each stage, especially
specifics about growth rate and public health. Be able to analyze a graph of birth and death rates for demographic
transition.
8) What is an ecological footprint What contributes to the size of a person/city/nation’s footprint
9) Which nations have the largest ecological footprints Which nations have the smallest
10) What is the current world population The U.S. population China’s India’s
11) Describe briefly the (a) population age structure, (b) unique challenges, and (c) solutions to these challenges for:
a. INDIA b. KENYA c. JAPAN
12) Three specific examples of disease vectors and the diseases they transmit.
13) How might poverty harm the environment
UNIT 9 – Environmental Economics
1. Understand full-cost accounting, the difference between internal and external costs, and the concept of internalization
of costs.
2. Understand the general types of environmental regulations (command vs. market), and be able to develop a list of
economic methods/government incentives to improve environmental quality.
3. Know the difference between GDP and GNP, and understand their shortcomings (and know alternatives) in describing
the overall well-being of a country.
UNIT 10 – Resource Use and Abuse
1) What are the three top crops produced for human consumption (excluding sugar)
2) What is the difference between the green revolution and the agricultural revolution
3) What is the difference between monoculture and polyculture What are the pros and cons of each
4) Describe the benefits of each of the following sustainable agriculture methods: (a) conservation tillage, (b) terracing,
(c) contour farming, (d) intercropping, (e) agroforestry, and (f) crop rotation.
5) What are “green” fertilizer options (i.e. not inorganic chemical fertilizers)
6) Define the following agricultural problems: eutrophication, salinization, overgrazing, overcultivation, desertification.
7) How does erosion result in coarse soils with poor nutrient quality
8) What is the difference between malnutrition and undernutrition
9) What is IPM Explain.
10) What are the three R’s What are the differences between them Which is the best environmental option Which is
the best economic option
11) Be able to discuss low waste approaches/solutions, especially closed-loop solutions.
12) Be able to diagram a sanitary landfill and explain how it works.
13) Describe how incineration works. What are the pros and cons of using incineration as a waste disposal method
14) What is hazardous waste What is RCRA Be able to describe the pros and cons of EACH of the six methods we
discussed in class: surface waste lagoons, deep well injection, hazardous waste landfills, aboveground bunkers,
incineration and export.

UNIT 11 - TOXICOLOGY
1. Explain this statement: “The dose makes the poison.” Are all individuals in a population equally sensitive to the same
dose
2. Define the terms DOSE and RESPONSE. Which of these is the independent variable in a toxicological study Which
is the dependent variable What does a dose-response curve show How can you determine LD-50 and LC-50 from a
graph
3. What is the difference between LC-50/LD-50 values and threshold values
4. What are the three main pathways that toxicants can enter your body Describe a situation where each of these intake
pathways would be the primary means of exposure.
5. What is the difference between hydrophilic and lipophilic/hydrophobic chemicals
6. Compare and contrast bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
7. How do chemical interactions affect the toxicity of a substance
8. Define the following terms: teratogen, carcinogen, mutagen, endocrine disruptor.
9. List at least three possible fates for a chemical. Is a chemical ever really gone
10. What is cancer What are possible risk factors for developing cancer
11. What is the endocrine system What is a hormone How do endocrine disruptors work
UNIT 12 – Water Resources and Pollution
1) List at least THREE PROS and THREE CONS of dam construction.
2) Know the locations and brief descriptions of each of the following: Glen Canyon, California Water Project, Aswan
High Dam, Aral Sea water transfer, Three Gorges Dam, James Bay, Ogallala Aquifer.
3) Why are floodplains important
4) What is DO BOD Describe.
5) What is an oxygen sag curve Where would you expect to see an oxygen sag curve in nature
6) What is cultural eutrophication Describe the process IN DETAIL!!! What nutrients are involved in cultural
eutrophication
7) Why is heat classified as a type of water pollutant
8) How is water cleaned at a water treatment plant Be able to describe the process in detail.
9) How is wastewater cleaned at a wastewater treatment plant Be able to describe the process in detail. Divide the
process into primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment.
10) Where is BOD highest relative to a wastewater effluent pipe Where is DO level highest
UNIT 13 - Energy
1. Know the main reserves of the four fossil fuels, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
2. Understand how nuclear energy works to generate electricity. Know what is meant by “half-life” and how to use it in
calculations.
3. Be familiar with various alternative energy sources, how they work and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
4. Understand the concept of net energy, particularly as it concerns transitioning to lower supplies of the big three fossil
fuels and alternative energy sources, particularly corn ethanol.
5. Why would burning biodiesel fuel have a different impact on atmospheric CO 2 concentrations than does burning
fossil fuels (What does it mean to be carbon-neutral)
6. Be ready for math problems with energy concepts!
7. Know efficiencies for 5-6 familiar “energy conversion devices” (light bulbs, cars, power plants, etc.)

UNIT 14 – Air Pollution (+ Laws)
1) Explain, chemically, how each of the following primary pollutants are produced in the combustion process:
a. Nitric oxide
c. Carbon dioxide
b. Carbon monoxide
d. Sulfur dioxide
2) What is the difference between mobile and stationary pollution Between primary and secondary pollutants
3) Explain, chemically, how tropospheric ozone is produced.
4) Explain, chemically, how nitric acid and sulfuric acid deposition is formed in the atmosphere.
5) What is the difference between industrial-air smog and photochemical smog
6) How do carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone concentration vary with time in an urban area
7) What is acid deposition What are the different types of acid deposition What are the effects of acid deposition Be
able to list at least four specific effects of acid deposition.
8) What are some indoor air pollutants Is indoor air pollution regulated the same way as outdoor air pollution Explain.
9) Explain how noise can be pollution.
10) Explain the “urban heat island” effect.
11) What are NAAQS What law governs their establishment
12) Be familiar with the four main types of control equipment used on industrial sources.
13) Explain what a temperature inversion is, and how it relates to air pollution.
14) Review the laws on the handout from class
15) Be familiar with the following indoor air pollutants:
a. Radon
c. Carbon Monoxide
b. Asbestos
d. Nitrogen Oxides
e. Formaldehyde
f. Cigarette Smoke