Practice Test 2 - AP Environmental Science

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

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1. A desert annual plant experiences highly variable rainfall. It produces many seeds that can remain dormant for years and germinate quickly after rain. Which is the best classification and rationale?
2. A developer replaces a vegetated lot with impervious surfaces. During storms, runoff increases and carries sediment from remaining exposed soil areas into storm drains. Which change most directly caused the increased runoff?
3. Which statement about temperature effects is most accurate? Context: Natural greenhouse effect keeps Earth warmer than it would be without an atmosphere; enhanced greenhouse effect adds additional warming.
4. During a flight at ~11 km altitude, a pilot notes that above this height the air becomes more stable and temperature begins to increase with altitude due to absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone. In which layer is the plane entering?
5. Residents complain of watery eyes and a scratchy throat during a brown haze event. Monitoring shows elevated ground-level ozone. Which pollutant category is most closely tied to these symptoms in photochemical smog episodes?
6. A wetland is drained and paved for a shopping center. Within a few years, local water quality declines because fewer plants and microbes are filtering excess nutrients and sediments from runoff before it reaches the lake. Which ecosystem service has been reduced most directly?
7. Species R and S occupy different habitats. R: stable deep ocean, few offspring, long lifespan, high parental care. S: ephemeral puddles, many offspring, short lifespan, no care. Which option correctly matches each species to K- or r-selection?
8. After overfishing reduces predatory fish, an invasive lionfish spreads rapidly on reefs. Which factor most likely aided its success?
9. A suburban area replaces several blocks of conventional sidewalks with permeable concrete and adds rain gardens at intersections. Which change is most likely in groundwater recharge compared with before the retrofit?
10. An island has many endemic birds that evolved there and nowhere else. Which process most directly produced endemism?
11. A student at $50^\circ$N observes that the Sun rises north of due east in June but south of due east in December. Which statement best connects this observation to Earth's seasons and solar radiation at $50^\circ$N? Assume Earth's axial tilt is $23.5^\circ$.
12. Two regions experience opposite precipitation anomalies: coastal Ecuador is wetter than average, while Indonesia is drier than average. At the same time, the Walker circulation is weaker. Which ocean temperature pattern best matches these observations?
13. A researcher observes that convection and thunderstorms have shifted from the western Pacific toward the central/eastern equatorial Pacific. The Walker circulation is weaker than normal. Which SST and wind pattern should accompany this shift?
14. In a lesson on POPs, students compare dioxins, PCBs, and DDT to a common household cleaner that breaks down quickly in sunlight. Which option best explains why the cleaner is less likely to be a POP even if it is irritating at high doses?
15. A ranch converts forest to pasture for cattle; which impact on the carbon cycle is most immediate?
16. A city upgrades wastewater treatment with anaerobic digesters capturing methane; which best describes the energy benefit?
17. A city bans leaf blowers due to 95 dB peaks; what is the best rationale?
18. A factory installs scrubbers to remove sulfur dioxide ($\text{SO}_2$) from smokestacks. Which environmental problem is this most directly intended to reduce?
19. A new road is cut along a steep slope inside a watershed, and several culverts discharge directly into a nearby creek. After storms, the creek shows higher suspended sediment. Which mechanism best explains this change? Context: The road is within the creek's drainage basin; stormwater is routed quickly to the channel.
20. A "sick building" has headaches and fatigue among workers; which factor most often contributes to this syndrome?

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