Most Missed Questions on Midterms 1 and 2

12. Environmental sustainability implies:

The actions of humans directly impact the wellbeing of the natural environment
Future generations will have the resources necessary for quality of life
A shared global responsibility for conservation practices
The environment can function indefinitely without going into a decline from the stresses
imposed by human society on natural systems
e)
all of these
a)
b)
c)
d)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

20. Which of the following people is incorrectly matched with their environmental voice?
Wallace Stegner: Wilderness Essay
Rachel Carson: Silent Spring
Paul Ehrlich: The Population Bomb
Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac
John Audubon: On Walden's Pond

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

33. A scientist who studies a single group of animals that all belong to the same species is called
a
naturalist
population ecologist
speciologist
community ecologist
niche ecologist

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

43. Rank the following ecosystems from highest to lowest in terms of net primary productivity:
Sahara Desert, Tropical rain forest, Arctic Tundra, Evergreen Forest
Tropical rain forest > Evergreen Forest > Arctic Tundra > Sahara Desert
Sahara Desert > Arctic Tundra > Evergreen Forest > Tropical rain forest,
Tropical rain forest > Evergreen Forest > Sahara Desert > Arctic Tundra
Sahara Desert > Tropical rain forest > Arctic Tundra > Evergreen Forest
Net primary productivity is zero in all of these ecosystems

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

50. Biogeochemical cycles:

only include processes conducted by or within living organisms
pertain only to the abiotic environment
describe the movement of water and other materials through abiotic and biotic interactions
only pertain to exchanges and interactions that occur within the atmosphere
are used to describe the attempts of humans to recycle various pollutants

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

52. The movement of water from land to rivers, lakes, wetlands and ultimately, to the ocean is
called:
groundwater
transpiration
hydrologic cycle
runoff
precipitation

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

61. The phosphorus cycle differs from the nitrogen cycle in that:
there is little or no human impact on the phosphorus cycle
phosphorus is not a critical component of living organisms
the hydrosphere plays a role in the phosphorus cycle
the atmosphere does not contribute substantially to the phosphorus cycle
plants play a role in the nitrogen cycle, but have no role in the phosphorus cycle

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

67. Which biogeochemical cycle(s) contribute(s) most significantly to cloud formation?

the sulfur cycle
the carbon cycle
the N cycle
both the phosphorus cycle and the N cycle
all of these

71. In the present-day global carbon cycle, ______________ is the greatest contributor to the
production of atmospheric CO2.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

industrial emissions
biological respiration
photosynthesis
permafrost melting
vehicle emissions

75. Why are annual oscillations in atmospheric CO2 levels greatest in the Northern Hemisphere?
There is greater volcanic activity in the NH owing the Pacific Ring of Fire

The NH has a higher percentage of land area relative to the Southern

Hemisphere
There is more fossil fuel combustion in the NH

Both a and c
All of the above

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

5. The tallgrass prairie is currently one of the rarest biomes in North America due to:
rampant urbanization
recent climate change
industrial pollution
conversion to agriculture
both industrial pollution and conversion to agriculture

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

6. Transpiration is the most important source of precipitation for which biome?

tropical rain forest
savanna
tundra
chaparral
tropical desert

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

12. Which of the following statements regarding estuarine environment is false:

Estuaries provide biological habitat to juvenile fish
Estuaries help remove contaminants and nutrients from water
Estuaries provide drinking water to cities and towns
Estuaries are a highly variable environment
Estuaries provide recreational activities

21. Examine the graph and choose the letter that corresponds to the threshold level

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

point A on graph
point B on graph
point C on graph
point D on graph
none of these

26. In the associated figure, the gull has the highest concentration of DDT because it is:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Exposed to the air

an older organism
at the bottom of the food chain
at the top of the food chain
homoeothermic (warm-blooded)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

27. In the diagram above, the largest relative concentration increase for DDT occurs between:
secondary consumers and tertiary consumers
water and primary producers
Primary consumers and secondary consumers
American eels and needlefish
Primary producers and primary consumers

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

33. Given a population growth rate of 3.0% per year, you would expect the population to:
increase rapidly
continue to increase, but very slowly
remain unchanged
decrease rapidly
continue to decrease, but very slowly

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

44. Over the past couple of decades, the world population growth rate (r) has:
increased
declined
stayed the same
doubled
increased exponentially

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

55. In a typical year, what percentage of the world's hungry people are without food because of
famine?
5-10%
20-25%
30-35%
approx. 50%
90-95%

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

56. The poor stay poor, not because they're lazy but because they have no access to capital.
This statement by economist Milton Friedman provides the philosophical basis for:
self-employment
food insecurity
socio-economic class distinctions
pronatalists
microcredit

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

64. __________ is an excellent example of a city with rapid spread of urban sprawl while
_________ is a good example of a city that avoided the problem of suburban sprawl.
Curitiba, Brazil
/ Tokyo, Japan
New York, NY
/ Calcutta, India
Mexico City, Mexico / Mumbai (Bombay), India
The Greater Atlanta area, GA / Curitiba, Brazil
Chicago, IL
/ The Greater Atlanta area, GA