APES MIDTERM — REUSED QUESTIONS

What is the zone of hot, partly melted rock that flows and that can be deformed?

asthenosphere

Which of the following does NOT exert a major influence on earth's overall climate?

the seasonal development of temperature inversions in geographical basins

scientists are looking for mew locations to generate electricity using geothermal energy. Which of the following locations would be the best choice for a geothermal energy-generating plant?

near tectonic plate boundaries

This area is most susceptible to erosion, leading to increased suspended solids and increased turbidity downstream.

agricultural fields

A student group is involved in a restoration study of a nearby disturbed area. They decide to collect six soil samples and analyze them for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Two of the samples are found to be very high in C and N, but the other four samples are low in both. The students also notice that the color of the two soil samples that are high in C and N is very dark. Which of the following is the most likely explanation of the data?

two of the samples were collected from an A horizon, and the others were collected from a B horizon

Which of the following is the correct order of soil particles in order of increasing size?

clay, silt, sand

which of the following chemical cycles does not have an atmospheric component

phosphorous

what is the primary determining factor in the type of available mineral nutrients a soil will be composed of?

parent material

what would cause a population to overshoot its carrying capacity?

a reproductive time lag between birth and death rates

what is the most common distribution of populations

clumped

the exponential rate of growth of the total human population over the past 100 years has been a result of ...

a sharp drop in death rates

two useful indicators of overall health in a country or region are ...

life expectancy and infant mortality rate

the total fertility rate is the ...

the average number of children born to women in their reproductive years

which soil horizon has very little organic matter and accumulates soluble metals and nutrients that are transported from other soil layers?

E layer (third down)

based on the diagram, which of the following statements best explains why the climate of the west coast of Africa si drier than that of the east coast of the united states, even though they are both located at similar northern latitudes?

the cold ocean currents off Africa absorb heat from land and therefore cool the atmosphere

compounds found in the \_____ of certain amphibians have been isolated and used in pharmaceutical products

skin secretions

What are amphibians?

vertebrates that live part of their lives in water and part on land

which of the following is LEAST associated with biodiversity?

geological diversity

what is the ability of one or more organisms in a population to tolerate a chemical designed to kill it, such as when bacteria tolerate antibiotics?

genetic resistance

from a scientific point of view, which of the following is TRUE?

fitness is a matter of reproductive success

the earth's biodiversity is determined by the balance between \______.

speciation and extinction

the relationship between bacteria that live in the digestive systems of animals, such as humans, is \_______.

mutualism

what is an end product of anaerobic respiration?

acetic acid

aerobic respiration requires \______

glucose and oxygen

despite a low net primary productivity (NPP), which ecosystem or life zone produces the most biomass each year?

open ocean

which terrestrial ecosystem or life zone produces the highest net primary productivity per year?

swamps and marshes

Humans add sulfur to the atmosphere primarily by the release of \____ when fossil fuels are burned

sulfur dioxide

The form of nitrogen used by plants to produce various amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, and vitamins is \____.

nitrate ions

a measure of relative abundance, or the comparative numbers of individuals of each species present, is called \_____.

species evenness

how does the burning of fossil fuels contribute to the net increase in atmospheric carbon?

carbon that has been sequestered underground is added to the carbon cycling between the atmosphere and biosphere

\_______ is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time

succession

the half-life of Zn-71 is 2.4 minutes. If you had 200 grams at the beginning, how many grams would be left after 9.6 minutes has elapsed

12.5

Where does the largest input of solar occur during the spring equinox for the northern hemisphere?

the equator

which of the following is the source of energy driving the circulation pattern in the Hadley cell?

solar radiation

which of the following choices contains the elements known to occupy the largest percentage of the earth's crust?

oxygen and silicon

Global-scale wind currents are produced by:

differential heating of the earth by the sun

air flows from

high to low pressure like the westerlies

What is a common characteristic between air circulation and water circulation

Coriolis effect

which latitude experiences 24 hours of daylight on December 21

antarctic circle