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Apes Review 1

This document contains 27 review questions for a midterm exam on environmental science topics covered in chapters 1-5, including ecology, population dynamics, biogeography, and the cycling of matter and flow of energy. The questions cover a wide range of concepts and ask students to define terms, compare and contrast different ideas, explain processes, and discuss case studies.

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EUNAH Lim
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23 views

Apes Review 1

This document contains 27 review questions for a midterm exam on environmental science topics covered in chapters 1-5, including ecology, population dynamics, biogeography, and the cycling of matter and flow of energy. The questions cover a wide range of concepts and ask students to define terms, compare and contrast different ideas, explain processes, and discuss case studies.

Uploaded by

EUNAH Lim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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APES

Fall Midterm (Chapters 1-5) Review Questions



1. Why is it important to understand our interactions with the environment? What will
studying environmental science enable you to do?

2. Discuss the differences between a manipulative and a natural experiment.

3. A pharmaceutical company wishes to study a possible new headache medicine. They are
doing human trials with 1000 volunteers who experience frequent headaches. Describe
what they would need to do to set up their study.

4. Explain the meaning of ‘sustainability.’ Describe two examples of the sustainable use of
resources.

5. The ecological footprint of the average person in India is 0.9; the ecological footprint of
the average American citizen is 7.2. Define ‘ecological footprint.’ Explain the factors that
make our ecological footprint so much higher.

6. Briefly explain the concept of plate tectonics and why it is important for the study of
geography.

7. Describe the rock cycle, explaining how the three major types of rock form and break
down.

8. Describe mass wasting.

9. Describe the difference between convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries.
Which of the three describes California’s San Andreas fault?

10. Compare and discuss the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

11. Name and describe the major factors that determine a population’s growth rate.

12. Describe the differences between populations of r-selected and K-selected organisms.
Give an example of each.

13. A species of bird had an original range covering the entire eastern half of the United States
from New England down to Florida, west to the Rocky Mountains. During a period of
glaciation, the eastern part of the range was cut off from the western part for 2000 years.
Then the glaciers melted and the birds' original range was reestablished. During the
separation, the western birds evolved a slightly different song and a darker wing color.
Ornithologists are now studying this species to determine whether speciation has taken
place. What evidence will they look for in their study?

14. A population of quail lives in an area of prairie grasslands. In good years, a pair of quail
can have four clutches of young, with as many as 12 to 14 eggs in each clutch. Despite this,
the population size remains stable over the long term. Discuss the population structure,
its potential for growth, and its possible limiting factors, using at least four of the terms
you learned in this chapter.

15. Is a carrying capacity a fixed entity? Discuss the role of humans in regulating carrying
capacity for the human species and in altering the carrying capacity for other species.

16. Define biodiversity. Give at least two reasons why it is important to maintain it.

17. List the three major trophic categories in a food web. What types of organisms are found
in each level? Where are the autotrophs and heterotrophs found in a food web? Discuss
the significance of each level for the integral functioning of the food web.

18. What ecological traits do successful invasive species possess? How do these traits interact
to make controlling them difficult?

19. Discuss the two factors that are most important in the distribution of biomes. Choose one
biome and explain how these two factors impact the specific plants and animals found in
this biome.

20. Briefly describe what is meant by the terms pioneer species and primary succession.
Identify the general characteristics of pioneer species, give examples of pioneer species,
and describe their role in primary succession.

21. Describe how wolves in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem are a keystone species.
Explain the meaning of the term ‘trophic cascade’ in this context.

22. Discuss the differences between intraspecific and interspecific competition.

23. Compare and contrast positive and negative feedback loops. Give an example of each and
how common each is in natural systems.

24. Explain and give examples for the following statement:
Energy flows in one direction through ecosystems, whereas matter is recycled.

25. Describe the process of eutrophication and explain how it has to hypoxic dead zones in
waterways such as the Chesapeake Bay.

26. Human activity has affected every aspect of the nitrogen cycle. List the ways that humans
have altered nitrogen content starting with how nitrogen becomes available to producers,
where it goes, and what impacts it has. What are the ecological concerns regarding the
dramatic changes people have made in the global nitrogen cycle?

27. Explain the meaning of the terms “source,” “sink,” and “flux” with reference to the
phosphorus cycle.

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