Practice Test 10 - AP Environmental Science

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

Start practice test

1. A city replaces diesel buses with electric buses; which factor most determines whether total emissions decrease?
2. A wastewater plant uses a settling tank to remove solids, then an aeration tank for microbial breakdown, then adds chlorine. Which option correctly matches these steps to stages in order?
3. A country's population pyramid is triangular, indicating rapid growth. Which combination of crude birth rate (CBR) and crude death rate (CDR) is most consistent with such a diagram?
4. A developer fills mangroves and adds storm drains; which downstream water-quality change is most likely?
5. A geothermal plant is proposed as a replacement for a diesel generator on an island with a known subsurface heat anomaly. Which combination correctly pairs an advantage and a disadvantage of geothermal power for this project?
6. A health department warns that children and older adults should limit outdoor activity when PM$_{2.5}$ is high. Which reason best supports this warning?
7. A country with TFR = 2.8 implements a strong national pension system and increases access to healthcare, reducing the economic need for many children and lowering child mortality. Over time, what is the most likely trajectory of TFR relative to replacement level (2.1)?
8. During a summer heat wave, a large city issues an air-quality alert after commuters report a brownish haze over downtown by mid-afternoon. Monitoring shows elevated NOx from vehicle exhaust during the morning rush hour and high VOC emissions from gasoline vapors and solvent use. Winds are light and the air is stagnant under a temperature inversion, with strong sunlight all day. Which statement best explains the main pollutant formed and the conditions that favor this event?
9. A coastal county replaces 600 hectares of mangrove forest with a marina, hotels, and parking lots. Remaining mangroves are split into narrow strips along canals, and stormwater runoff from roads carries oil residues and heavy metals into the water. Local fishers also increase harvest of juvenile fish in nearby nursery areas to meet tourist demand. Which option best identifies the primary set of human impacts described?
10. A preindustrial region experiences high birth rates and high death rates, with little net population growth. Which DTM stage is this, and which factor most commonly keeps death rates high?
11. A mine's effluent shows high conductivity and sulfate. Which interpretation best fits typical mining pollution?
12. A researcher notes that methane ($\text{CH}_4$) concentrations have increased due to agriculture and fossil fuel extraction. Which statement correctly connects methane to the enhanced greenhouse effect? Context: Methane is a greenhouse gas that affects outgoing infrared radiation.
13. Food chain: kelp (trophic level 1) → sea urchin → sea otter → orca. Which organism is the tertiary consumer?
14. A shoreline area is alternately exposed to air and submerged due to tides. Organisms there must tolerate changing salinity, temperature, and wave action. Which ocean zone is described?
15. During a photochemical smog event, a public health agency warns sensitive groups to limit outdoor activity. Which health effect is most closely associated with elevated ground-level ozone produced in photochemical smog?
16. A tolerance curve for a beetle shows activity level versus temperature. Activity is highest at 30°C, reduced at 20°C and 40°C, and zero at 10°C and 50°C. Which statement correctly identifies the limits of tolerance?
17. A city considers policies to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx). Data show NOx peaks during morning commuting and also rises near a natural-gas power plant. The city also struggles with summertime smog (high $O_3$). Which statement best explains why reducing NOx can help reduce smog?
18. Which pairing of biome and characteristic organism is most appropriate?
19. A country spanning several latitudes shows tundra in the north and tropical rainforest in the south; which factor most drives this pattern?
20. In the 1960s, a coastal community used the pesticide DDT to control mosquitoes. Decades later, DDT residues are still detected in nearby sediments, and fish-eating birds show eggshell thinning. Which statement best identifies why DDT is considered a persistent organic pollutant (POP) under the Stockholm Convention?

Practice tests