AP Environmental Science Spring Midterm 2011 Study Guide
Chapters 1-16
Study:
Know INFORMATION about the following topics, NOT just the definition for your midterm.
Your Midterm will have:
The topics below will help you focus your studying:
Chapter 1: Intro to Environmental Science
Biotic vs. abiotic factors
Natural resources
Renewable vs. nonrenewable natural resources
Agricultural Revolution
Industrial revolution
Fossil fuels
Thomas Malthus
Garret Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons”
Ecological footprint
Easter Island and other environmental “collapses”
Scientific method
-experiment
-independent vs. dependent variab
-controlled experiment
-control
-data
Manipulated experiment
Natural experiments
Ecology
Peer Review
Sustainability
Figure 1.13
Figure 1.10
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Chapter 2: Foundations of Environmental Science
Know the transcendentalist writers
John Muir
Gifford Pinchot
Aldo Leopold
Environmental Justice
Navajo Uranium mines
Subsistence economy vs. capitalistic economy vs. centrally planned economy
Ecosystem services (know examples)
External cost of items (review www.storyofstuff.com)
Non-market values from nature
Chapter 3: Environmental Policy: Decision Making and Problem Solving
Water pathogens from Table 3.1
1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd waves of environmental policy
Homestead Act
Mineral Lands Act
Westward expansion
Rachel Carson
Cuyahoga River
NEPA
EPA
Subsidy (know examples)
Cap and Trade
Chapter 4: From Chemistry to Energy to Life
Isotopes
Chemical Structure of water (polar)
pH scale
Hydrocarbons
Lots of info in book about carbon
Kinetic vs. potential energy
First law of thermodynamics
Top 3 elements in the Earth’s crust
Second law of thermodynamics
Entropy
Autotrophs
Producers
Photosynthesis
Cellular respiration
chemosynthesis
Geothermal energy
Figure 4.16
Figure 4.17
Figure 4.7
Figure 4.5
Figure 4.1
Chapter 5: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Population Ecology
Zebra Mussels
Evolution and Natural selection
Mutations
Different kinds of selection
Artificial selection
Biodiversity
Population
Allopatric speciation
Sympatric speciation
Mass extinction events
Endemic
Communities
Ecosystem
Habitat
Niche
Specialist
Generalist
Population size
Population density
Types of population distribution
Types of survivorship curves
Immigration vs. emigration
Exponential growth vs. logistic growth (know types of curves they make
Biotic potential
Limiting factors
Carrying capacity
Density-dependent factors (know examples)
Density-independent factors (know examples)
K-selected vs. r-selected species
Ways people conserve biodiversity
Ecotourism
Figure 5.17
Figure 5.4
Figure 5.15
Figure 5.16
Figure 5.14
Figure 5.12
Figure 5.10
Figure 5.5
Figure 5.2
Review the Objectives on page 145
Chapter 6: Species Interactions and Community Ecology
Competition
Intraspecific vs. interspecific competition
Niche
Fundamental niche vs. realized niche
Resource partitioning
Predation and prey graphs
Symbiosis (know examples of each kind)
-predation
-mutualism
-commensalism
-ammensalism
Herbivory
Producers
Consumers
-primary, secondary, tertiary
Detritivores
Decomposers
Biomass pyramids
Trophic levels
Food web
Keystone species
Resistance
Resilience
Invasive species (know some examples)
Succession
Primary succession
-pioneer species
Secondary succession
Environmental degredation
Ecological restoration
Biomes
-use your Biome organizer to study the different biomes
Climitographs
Figure 6.28
Figure 6.12
Figure 6.13
Figure 6.11
Figure 6.5
Figure 6.2
Figure 6.10
Reviewing Objectives on page 179
Chapter 7: Environmental Systems and Ecosystem Ecology
Hypoxia
Causes of dead zone
Positive vs. negative feedback loops
Homeostasis
Emergent properties
Open vs. closed systems
Eutrophication
Lithosphere
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Ecotone
Landscape ecology
Gross vs. net primary production
Net primary productivity.
Carbon cycle
-largest reserves of carbon
-human impact
Phosphorus cycle
-largest reserves
-uses in the body
-human impact
Nitrogen cycle
-nitrogen fixation
-nitrification
-ammonification
-denitrificaiton
-Haber-Bosch process
-human impacts
Potential solutions to Eutrophication
hydrologic cycle
-evaporation
-transpiration
-precipitation
-runoff
-groundwater, aquifers
Sulfur cycle
-human impacts
-sources of sulfur
Rock Cycle
-igneous (know examples of each kind)
-magma/lava
-sedimatary rock
-lithification
-metamorphic rock
Plate techtonics
-divergent plate boundary
-convergent plate boundary
-subduction
-transform plate boundary
Geologic time scale
Volcanoes
Volcanic arc
Rim of Fire
Trenches
Core
Mantle
Crust
Figure 7.17
Figure 7.15
Figure 7.13
Figure 7.6
Figure 7.3
Figure 7.1
Chapter 8: Human Population
China ’s one child policy
Positive and Negative impacts of China’s policy
Current world population growth rate
Areas of greatest population density
IPAT model
Top 5 most populous nations and their populations
Age Structure diagrams—know how to read.
Total fertility rates in different parts of the world
Replacement fertility
Natural rate of population change
Demographic transition model
-preindustrial stage
-transitional stage
-industrial stage
-post-industrial stage
Population Momentum
Women’s empowerment and influence on population growth
Affluence
HIV/AIDS and impact on population growth and patterns
-demographic fatigue
What two things determine the quality of life?
Affluenza
Population math (review packet and problems and know how to solve)
Figure 8.18
Figure 8.17
Figure 8.15
Figure 8.14
Figure 8.13
Figure 8.11
Figure 8.9
Figure 8.10
Figure 8.8
Figure 8.5
Figure 8.6
Figure 8.3
Reviewing objectives on pages 240-241
Chapter 9: Soil and Agriculture
Cropland vs. rangeland
Where is soil degredation the worst?
Arable land
Soil
Traditional agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Intensive traditional agriculture
Industrialized agriculture
Monoculture
Plantation agriculture
Parent material
Bedrock
Weathering
Swidden agriculture
Plowpan
Why is tropical rainforest soil poor?
Erosion and deposition
-water erosion
-splash
-rill
-gully
-sheet
-wind erosion
Soil horizons
O, A,E, B, C, R
Soil color
Soil Texture
-clay
-sand
-silt
-loam
Chemical tests of soil
-pH
-nitrogen
-phosphate
-potassium
Physical tests of soil
-soil sieves
-porosity
-permeability
-drainage rate
-soil composition
Desertification
Salinization
-causes
-problems
-prevention
Dust bowl
Soil Conservation Service
Ways to protect soil
-crop rotation
-Contour farming
-intercropping
-terracing
-shelterbelts
-reduced tillage
Fertilizer
-inorganic
-organic
Fertilizer health risks
Eutrophication
Overgrazing
Fire suppression and rangeland degredation
Forestry’s impact on soil
Conservation reserve program of 1985
Crops found in different parts of the world
Top American crops.
Figure 9.21
Figure 9.19
Figure 9.20
Figure 9.15
Table 9.2
Figure 9.11
Figure 9.12
Figure 9.9
Figure 9.7
Figure 9.5
Reviewing objects on page 271
Chapter 10: Agriculture, Biotechnology, and the Future of Food
GM corn in Mexico
1 st green revolution-facts and positive/negative impacts
Modern green revolution
Food Security
What percentage of the world is malnourished or hungry?
Kwashiorkor
Marasmus
Pest
Pesticide treadmill
Pollinators—examples and their importance
Pesticides
-insecticide
-herbicides
-fungicides
Resistance to pesticides
Biocontrol
-examples
-drawbacks
Pollinators
-examples
-importance to agriculture
Colony Collapse Disorders
Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis)
Integrated pest management (IPM)
Genetically modified organisms (GM)
-benefits
-uses
-impacts
-potential probjems
Examples of GM food
-Bt crops
-Starlink corn
-Round-up ready crops
-Flvr Savr Tomato
Recombinant DNA
Precautionary principle
Transgenic organisms
Issues with GM foods
Positives of GM food
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Problems with monoculture
Seed banks
Feedlots
-factory farms
-problems and pollution
Meat consumption
-rates
-energy use
-food requirements
-water use
Aquaculture
-benefits
-negative impacts
Sustainable agriculture
Low-input agriculture
Aquaculture problems and potential solutions
Organic agriculture
-environmental benefits
-provisions
-why better for soil
Locally grown foods
Community-supported agriculture (CSA)
USDA
Figure 10.22
Figure 10.21
Figure 10.20
Figure 10.14
figure 10.12
figure 10.7
Chapter 11: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Benefits of biodiversity
Types of biodiversity
-genetic diversity
-Species diversity
-ecosystem diversity
How do we measure biodiversity?
Which types of species have the most biodiversity?
Latitudinal gradient
Extirpation
Largest mass extinction
Dinosaur mass extinction
Famous species extinctions
Red list
Causes of biodiversity loss
-habitat loss #1
-invasive species
-pollution
-overharvesting
-climate change
Famous invasive species
Biological indicators and example
Why are amphibians declining?
Benefits of Biodiversity (In order words, why save species?)
Ecosystem stability
Ecosystem resilience
Environmental engineers
Conservation biology
Equilibrium theory of Island Biogeography
Habitat fragmentation
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Captive breeding
Umbrella species
Flagship species
CITES
Biodiversity hot spots
Endemic
Biophilia
Characteristics of species that lead to extinction
Ways to save species
Figure 11.18
Figure 11.16
Figure 11.8
Figure 11.6
Figure 11.3
Figure 11.4
Figure 11.1
Reviewing objectives on page 339
Chapter 12: Resource Management, Forestry, Land Use, and Protected Areas
Old growth forest—who has most?
Resource management
What natural resources do we manage?
Who has most metal reserves
Maximum sustainable yield
Forestry
Ecological benefits of forests
Economic benefits of forests
Deforestation stats
What happens to water cycle when forest turns into urban development?
Where is there rapid deforestation?
U.S. Forest service
-national forest system
Gifford Pinchot
Where does most timber harvesting take place?
Even-aged stands of trees vs. uneven-aged stands of trees
Plantation forests
Clear-cutting
Seed-tree/shelterwood system
Selection system
Criticism of the U.S Forest service
New forestry
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. wildlife refuges
National Park Service (NPS)
National Parks
Wilderness areas
Why are fires good for forests (and chaparral)?
Fire-climax ecosystems (depend on fire for reproduction and regeneration)
What happens when fires are suppressed for decades?
Prescribed/controlled burns
Salvage logging
Sustainable forestry certification
Subsidies for farming-positives and negatives
Swamp Lands Acts
Problems with grazing on US public lands
Homestead Act
Benefits of parks and reserves
Monumentalism
First national park
National parks
Antiquities Act of 1906
National Monuments
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wilderness Act of 1964
Wise-use movement
State Parks
Land trusts
Nature Conservancy
International parks and reserves
-paper parks
-world heritage sites
-transboundary parks
Biosphere reserves
UNESCO
SLOSS dilemma
Wildlife corridors
Figure 12.19
Figure 12.11
Figure 12.8
Figure 12.7
Figure 12.6
Figure 12.4
Figure 12.3
Figure 12.2
Chapter 13: Urbanization and Creating Livable Cities
Urbanization
Suburbs
Rural
Top 3 most populous cities
Sprawl
-problems with sprawl
City planning
Types of zones
Smart growth
New urbanism – definition and features
Mass transit options
City parks
Benefits of cities
Resource sinks
U.S. population patterns
Positive aspects of cities for environment
Negative aspects of cities for environment
Light and noise pollution
Heat islands
Table 13.1 (top 3)
Table 13.2
Figure 13.10
Chapter 14: Toxicology
Bioaccumulation:
Biomagnification:
synergism:
What does LD50 mean? Know the two different types of graphs for LD-50.
Why was Rachel Carson’s book important?
What do endocrine disruptors do to the human body? What problems can they cause?
Mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, and neurotoxins:
Toxic Substances Control Act:
Know the following chemicals-what are they used for and what problems do they cause in humans:
FIFRA:
Causes of death in developed vs. undeveloped countries:
Why are aquatic animals such as fish or frogs such good indicators of pollution?
Stockholm Convention:
Know your disease chart
What is a vector?
Review kwashiorkor and marasmus from chapter 9
Cryptosporidium in Milwaukee, 1993
EPA:
OSHA:
EPA’s acceptable risk:
Mining (found in notes/binder, not in the textbook)
Types of Mining (Open pit, subsurface, Dredging, etc.)
Which type of mining is least environmentally harmful?
Highest risk activities
SMCRA:
Reclamation:
General Mining Law of 1872:
Ways Mining affects the Environment:
Primary water contamination from mining:
UNCLOS
Chapter 15: Freshwater
Know the different water quality tests—what they measure, how they are used.
Use your textbook or Water Quality Lab to study.
What is an aquifer? Where is the largest? What are current issues/problems surrounding aquifers?
Where do we get our water in SCV from? Know the path of the water.
What are some of the ecological problems with aqueducts?
What are the characteristics of eutrophic and oligotrophic lakes?
What part of the world has the lowest water per capita?
What are the benefits and problems with dams?
Where is the world’s largest dam? What are the issues surrounding this dam?
What are the benefits for dam removal?
Where are desalination plants in the world? What do they do?
Know ways to reduce agriculture, industrial and residential water use.
Know the difference between point-source and non-point source pollution:
How many people in the world do not have access to clean water? Where are they in the world?
What is sediment pollution?
What is thermal pollution?
Where does pollution come from in groundwater? Why is it especially harmful?
What is a floodplain? Why are floodplains good for agriculture?
What is gray water?
What problems can happen to the environment and also people if there is too much nitrate in the water?
How do we get rid of sewage?
Know the stages of water treatment from your notes:
Know the stages of wastewater treatment: (page 459) and your notes:
What are septic tanks?
What is a sinkhole? What problems can result from sinkholes?
Know the provisions of the Clean Water Act
In what ways does animal waste harm water quality?
Chapter 16: Oceans
Be able to describe the following Ecosystems: characteristics, locations, and threats to their existence
Know and understand the pictures on page 469.
Know what a pycnocline and thermocline are.
What causes variation in salinity in the ocean?
Know the zones of the ocean and lakes
What is upwelling? Why is it important?
What is downwelling?
Where is most of the life in the ocean? Why?
What drives currents?
What is the gulf stream?
What do we mine for in the ocean? What problems can it cause?
How is overfishing impacting the ocean?
What is by-catch?
What modern fishing methods contribute to large levels of by-catch?
How could we apply Maximum Sustainable Yield to fisheries?
What are marine reserves? Where are they located? Do they work? How?
What is a red tide? What problems does it cause?
Where does the oil pollution in our ocean come from?
Describe the methods of cleaning up oil pollution
.
What was the Exxon Valdez disaster?
What is the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990?
What benefits do wetlands provide-environmentally and economically? How have they been harmed?
How do wetlands help in wastewater treatment?
What would cause variation in temperature and salinity in an estuary?