PART 1: ECOLOGY

Which of these is not one of the “great spheres” of the Earth?

Atmosphere
Lithosphere
Biosphere
Hydrosphere

What genus of bacteria transforms ammonia to nitrite in the Nitrogen cycle?

Nitrosomanas

What genus of bacteria transforms nitrite to nitrate in the Nitrogen cycle?

Nitrobacter

The following are examples of renewable energy resources EXCEPT

Tidal forces
Geothermal energy
Nuclear energy
Hydroelectric energy

The equation CO2 + H2O + D® C(H2O) + O2 is the representation of

Photosynthesis

Anything that affects an organism during its lifetime

Environment

Water level where algal photosynthesis is reduced to the point that it only just matches respiration
Compensation point

A brown or black carbon deposit derived from the accumulation and alteration of ancient vegetation.
Coal

Which is not a type of symbiosis?

Competition
Parasitism
Commensalism
Mutualism

According to the energy pyramid, which class of organisms get the most amount of energy?
Producers

The following are the processes that remove materials from the atmosphere except __________.
Oxidation
Sedimentation
Rain Out
Evaporation
These cycles are closely linked through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration.
Oxygen and carbon

This is also known as biomagnification

Bioaccumulation

Carbon is deposited into the lithosphere as carbonates in the process called ___________.
Sedimentation

It is the passage of energy from one level to another as a result of one organism consuming another.
Food chain

In the Ecosystem, the material flow is

Cyclical

Evaporation and respiration

Evapotranspiration

This is the term often used to describe engineered solar or photovoltaic cell systems designed to
capture light energy and convert it into electrical energy.
Artificial photosynthesis

Which is related to soil?

Lithosphere

What does PAH mean?

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon

Through which process is nitrogen gas broken down into simpler nitrogen species?
Fixation

Terrestrial climax communities with wide geographic distribution.

Biomes

This is the nonliving component of ecosystem.

Abiotic

The strong interactions among living organisms and the various spheres of the abiotic environment
described through cycles of matter that involve biological, chemical, and geological processes and
phenomena.
Biogeochemical Cycle

These are parasites living inside the bodies of their host.

Endoparasites
This is the greenhouse gas that has the largest contribution to anthropogenic greenhouse effect.
Methane

These are organisms that eat plants, extracting energy and chemical building blocks to make more
complex substances; they are also the primary consumers
Herbivores

A commensalism that is for transportation

Phoresy

This is the study of the physical, chemical & biological characteristics of rivers & lakes.
Limnology

The word given to describe the effects of when a water body becomes so rich in nutrients that the
natural wildlife is unable to survive.
Eutrophicatiom

What form of nitrogen is useful to plants?

Nitrate

In the Ecosystem, the energy flow is

One directional

Which of the following does not belong to the group?

Tropical
Arctic
Midlatudinal (continental) x
Humid Continental

Which of the following does not belong to the group?

Decomposers
Detritus
Consumers
Producers

Enormous populations under favourable conditions producing water color & distinctive odors &
tastes
Algal bloom

It is the process where complex organic materials are converted into inorganic CO2 and water.
Decomposition

Among the following fossil fuel reserves, which of the following has the longest time of depletion?
Crude Oil
Decomposers that can live with or without oxygen are called __________.
Facultative

Surface volume of water in the ocean or a deep lake that receives sufficient light to support
photosynthesis
Euphotic Zone

Which nutrient is taken up by producers from the atmosphere?

Nitrogen

An organism’s specialized role in the environment is called __________.

Niche

Starch, cellulose, fats, and protein are collectively termed as ______________

Organic Matter

A naturally occurring oil that consists chiefly of hydrocarbons with some other elements such as
sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen.
Petroleum

Which of the following nutrients contribute to eutrophication?

Nitrogen

The science that deals with the relationships between living organisms with their physical
environment and with each other.
Ecology

It is the process where complex organic materials are converted into inorganic CO2 and water.
Decomposition

Based on the world consumption of commercially provided energy, which of the following has the
highest percentage of consumption.
Crude Oil

This is the process by which the chemical energy stored through photosynthesis is ultimately
released to do work in plants and other organisms.
Respiration
PART 2: AIR POLLUTION

What is the primary cause of the terrible air pollution in Beijing, China?

The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first national law in the United States for
air pollution control

What is the most common level of air quality found in areas where people live?
The air is contaminated to some degree.

In terms of air pollution, what is meant by aesthetic degradation?

Any undesirable change in the physical characteristics or chemistry of the
atmosphere

​The pollutants that the EPA classifies as "criteria pollutants" are thought to contribute
most to air quality degradation and include ______.
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
carbon monoxide and ozone
total suspended particulate matter
Lead

Power plants and transportation are the two primary sources of criteria air pollutants.

As referenced in U.S. pollution regulations, the air around us is called ______ air.
ambient

According to the Clean Air Act, what is an unconventional pollutant?

a pollutant used in low quantities yet is highly hazardous or toxic

The six major air pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone,
lead, and particulate matter) are known as criteria pollutants

What is the difference between primary and secondary air pollutants?

Primary air pollutants are released directly into the air in a harmful form, whereas
secondary air pollutants form in the air.

Dominant sources of criteria pollutants are

transportation and power plants

Photochemical oxidants and atmospheric acids are the most significant secondary
pollutants relating to health and ecosystems.
U.S. national ambient air quality standards are the maximum allowable emissions for
six pollutants that contribute the largest volume of air degradation and are also the most
serious threat to human health and welfare.

he pollution that leaks out from loose joints, fittings, and holes in pipes directly into the
air are known as fugitive emissions.

Ambient air is the air around us

Which of the following are natural sources of sulfur in earth's atmosphere?

Biogenic emissions
Sea spray evaporation
Volcanoes and hot springs

Air pollutants that are especially toxic or hazardous yet are produced in less volume
than conventional pollutants are called unconventional

Which pollutant listed below reacts with oxygen and hydrogen in the atmosphere to form
a major component of acid rain?
Sulfur

Identify the two most important secondary pollutants from the list below in terms of
human health and ecosystem damage.
Photochemical oxidants
Atmospheric acids

True or false: Nitrous oxide is hazardous for a number of reasons, but it is not a
greenhouse gas.

Fugitive emissions do not vent from a single location such as a smokestack

A regulated criteria pollutant under the Clean Air Act, nitrogen oxides are reactive gases
formed during combustion or burning, when the nitrogen in fuel or in the air is heated in
the presence of oxygen.

What is the major source of anthropogenic sulfur in the atmosphere?

Combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil
The colorless, odorless, highly toxic gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuel
is carbon monoxide

Ground-level ozone which is a three-atom molecule of oxygen, is formed when volatile

organic compounds react with other pollutants in the presence of sunlight.

Photochemical oxidants are those chemicals formed by reactions initiated by sunlight

Organic chemicals that evaporate easily or exist as gases in the air are called volatile
organic compounds.

Humans release about 28 million tons of synthetic volatile organic chemicals, such as
benzene and toluene, into the air every year.

Toxic to neural functions, airborne lead is produced through mining, smelting, and the
combustion of fossil fuels. It was banned as a gasoline additive in the United States in
the 1980s.

What happened to children's blood lead levels since leaded gasoline was banned in the
United States in 1986?
They have dropped by 90%.

Smoke, pollen, ash, and dust are all examples of particulate matter, which are solid
particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium.

What are aerosols?

Very fine solid or liquid particulates suspended in the atmosphere

Particulate matter, monitored under the Clean Air Act, are those particles that are small
enough to breathe

How far can dust storms travel?

Dust regularly travels between continents.

The biomagnification of toxins such as mercury occurs when toxins are passed up the
food chain as larger organisms consume smaller ones

Small, solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium (i.e., the air) are
called particulate matter
Critics of the cap-and-trade system for mercury emissions appropriately point-out that it
is too slow going for a compound as hazardous to health as mercury is.

Very fine solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere are called aerosols

The health effects of mercury poisoning are severe; they are neurological in nature and
include severe mental defects, deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy, numbness, and
dementia.

The particulate matter classifications of PM2.5 and PM10 in the Clean Air Act refer to
particulate matter that is less than 2.5 micrometers for PM2.5 and greater than 2.5
but less than 10 micrometers for PM10

The Minimata Convention establishes rules for mercury emissions and is named after
the city in Japan where tragic cases of poisoning occurred in the 1950s.

True or false: Dust storms frequently blow material from one continent to another.

The high levels of mercury in Pacific fish and seafood is linked to the large number of
coal-burning plants in Asia

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are increasing by about 0.5 percent per year.

The market-based system that allows companies to buy and sell unused pollution
credits is called

This is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Sources include the decay
of organic matter, the anaerobic digestion of ruminant animals, and natural gas and oil
wells. CH4

Which of the following are health effects in newborns whose mothers were exposed to
high levels of mercury during pregnancy?
● Severer mental defects
● Deafness
● Blindness

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that is was the EPA’s responsibility to limit
greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

What is the name of the agreement that established global rules for monitoring and
reporting on mercury emissions? The Minimata Convention
The EPA regulates all the greenhouse gases below except Water vapor

Coal-burning plants worldwide release mercury into the air that can and does travel
long distances before it is deposited

Carcinogens, neurotoxins, mutagens, teratogens, and endocrine disruptors are specially

regulated in the Clean Air Act because of their adverse impact on human health. They
are called hazardous air pollutants

What is the current trend of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere? CO2 levels are
increasing.

The most persistent of the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are especially dangerous
because they remain in the ecosystem for long periods of time and have a tendency to
bioaccumulate in animal (e.g., human) tissue

What are the primary sources of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more
powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide?
● the decay of organic matter
● leaking gas and oil wells
● anaerobic digestion in animals

The Toxic Release Inventory part of the EPA's community right-to-know program,
requires large facilities to report on releases of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

Regarding the regulation of greenhouse gases, in 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it
was the EPA's responsibility to limit these gases on the grounds of public health
and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act

Identify the statement below that best describes the comparison between indoor and
outdoor air quality. ndoor air quality is often much worse than outdoor air quality.

dentify all the greenhouse gases below that the EPA regulates.
● Hydrofluorocarbons
● Sulfur hexafluoride
● Methane
● Perfluorocarbons
● Carbon dioxide
The two sources of indoor air pollution that cause the most health affects include
cooking fire and tobacco smoke

What does the EPA call the air pollutants that are especially toxic and particularly
dangerous? Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)

When rapid nighttime cooling in a valley occurs, the temperature differential can
prevent mixing and trap pollutants such as ozone close to the ground.

EPA regulations have resulted in HAPs emissions falling by 70%

What conditions exist in Los Angeles that make it a particularly good place for air
pollutants to get trapped?

When comparing the estimated economic costs and benefits of the protections
contained in the 1990 Clean Air Act, the costs are about 1/30th the benefits.

The elimination of 10 million tons of sulfur dioxide emissions through the cap-and-trade
system cost 1/10th of that estimated when it was initiated by the Clean Air Act.

n the last 50 years, the Clear Air Act is responsible for combined emissions of the six
criteria pollutants decreasing by 78%

Smelters, mines, and chemical manufacturers in areas that are the worse source of
global pollution