Deck 4: Biosphere

Question 1

Generally, evapotranspiration depends on two factors. These are:

A) Water must be available for plants to transpire and the air cannot be saturated with humidity.
B) Evaporation must be zero and the air must be saturated.
C) Transpiration must not be present and evaporation must be determined to be below 10 percent.
D) Water must be available for plants to transpire and the air must be saturated with moisture.
E) The roots must be able to provide water through osmosis and the air must be saturated.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is true of the the law of conservation of energy?

A) Energy is not created nor destroyed except with the addition of oxygen
B) Energy is not created or destroyed under ordinary conditions, but it may be changed from one form to another
C) Matter may be changed from one form to another under ordinary conditions but cannot be created or destroyed, except in nuclear reactions
D) Matter can only be created with the addition of oxygen
E) None of the answer choices are correct.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When forests are cut down, most of this in the trees is released to the atmosphere, through decomposition or perhaps fire.

A) carbon
B) sulfur
C) nitrogen
D) neon
E) oxygen

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Although many processes are involved, clearly combustion of fossil fuels is the most important factor driving the global increase in atmospheric ________ and thus global warming.

A) ozone
B) CFCs
C) nitrates
D) oxygen
E) CO₂

Question 5

This is the amount of water that would be evaporated if it were available.

A) Potential evapotranspiration
B) Potential evaporation
C) Actual Evaporation
D) Actual Evapotranspiration
E) Desired evaporation

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways in which water cycles through the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere?

A) evaporation
B) condensation
C) precipitation
D) runoff
E) frost action

Question 7

Most natural nitrogen fixation takes place ________, and is then taken up in plants and incorporated in plant tissue.

A) in water and plankton
B) in the air by bacteria
C) in the soil, by bacteria
D) in water by bacteria
E) in the soil by worms

Question 8

Which of the following is true of the Mississippi delta?

A) It is a vast area of over 50,000 km2, largely consisting of wetlands near sea level
B) It is vast area of over 100,000 km2, largely consisting of gorges and canyons
C) It is a small area of about 2,000 km2 consisting largely of wetlands
D) It is ever changing based on the temperature of the river's water and the number of fish species
E) None of answer choices are correct.

Question 9

Which of the following is true of water budgets?

A) In the winter, when water use is low, evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation
B) In the winter, when water use is low, precipitation exceeds exceeds evapotranspiration
C) By springtime and early summer, precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration
D) By late summer, precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration
E) Evapotranspiration never exceeds precipitation

Question 10

In the winter, when water use is low, precipitation ________ evapotranspiration

A) equals
B) is below
C) exceeds
D) fluctuates between exceeding and equaling
E) fractuates between equaling and below

Question 11

Where is the drainage basin of the Mississippi?

A) Western U.S. and Northern Mexico
B) Southern Canada and Central U.S.
C) Central and Eastern U.S. and Western Canada
D) Northern U.S. and Northern Canada
E) Southern U.S. and Southern Mexico

Question 12

In ________, carbohydrates are broken down into CO₂ and water when they combine with atmospheric oxygen.

A) transpiration
B) evaporation
C) respiration
D) carbonation
E) evapotranspiration

Question 13

Which of the following is the reason for the lower levels of water in the Lake Mead reservoir since 2000?

A) Over harvesting in Nevada
B) Deforestation
C) Drought
D) Too much government regulation
E) Illegal diversion to Mexico

Question 14

This is the amount that actually is evaporated under existing conditions.

A) Potential evapotranspiration
B) Potential evaporation
C) Actual evapotranspiration
D) Actual evaporation
E) Desired evaporation

Question 15

In the carbon cycle, carbon in the form of atmospheric carbon dioxide is incorporated into carbohydrates in plant tissues through ________.

A) evaporation
B) photosynthesis
C) carbonification
D) carbon sequestration
E) carbonation

Question 16

Humans fix Nitrogen into the soil by ________.

A) applying fertilizer
B) clearing the land
C) planting large tracts of land with corn
D) applying calcium carbonate
E) using fossil fuels

Question 17

The major storage in the phosphorus cycle is in ________.

A) the atmosphere
B) the hydrosphere
C) the lithosphere
D) rivers and freshwater lakes
E) our homes and offices

Question 18

When water vaporizes from a liquid to a gas, the water ________ energy.

A) dissipates
B) releases
C) absorbs
D) converts into matter
E) stabilizes and releases into solid form

Question 19

________ is also added to the atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels

A) Nitrate
B) Argon
C) Chroflourocarbon
D) Carbon dioxide
E) None of these answer choices are correct.

Question 20

The addition of large amounts of bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorus to our streams, lakes, and coastal areas, is responsible for which of the following?

A) reduction in water levels
B) lake size increases
C) lake and stream eutrophication
D) lake and stream magnetization
E) increase in breast and prostate cancer in humans

Question 21

Which of the following is not a requirement for photosynthesis?

A) sunlight
B) water
C) color
D) a suitable substrate for plant growth
E) nutrients

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the standard soil horizons?

A) A horizon
B) O horizon
C) C horizon
D) B horizon
E) D horizon

Question 23

Each step in the food chain is called a ________.

A) rung
B) phylum
C) ecological order
D) trophic level
E) environmental determinant

Question 24

In the food chain, green plants are examples of ________.

A) producers
B) consumers
C) decomposers
D) bioaccummulators
E) biomagnifiers

Question 25

The law of conservation of energy states that energy is created or destroyed under ordinary conditions, but it may not be changed from one form to another.

Question 26

Deer and lions are good examples of ________.

A) producers
B) consumers
C) decomposers
D) bioaccumulators
E) biomagnifiers

Question 27

________ vegetation is dominated by low, tender-stemmed plants and low, woody shrubs.

A) Tundra
B) Tropical forest
C) Coniferous forest
D) Tropical Savanna
E) Desert

Question 28

Which of the following types of vegetation is most likely to be found in Costa Rica?

A) Tundra
B) Tropical forest
C) Coniferous forest
D) Tropical Savanna
E) Desert

Question 29

Biomes are recycling processes that supply essential substances such as carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients to the biosphere.

Question 30

A terrestrial biome has two especially visible features. These are:

A) animals and plants
B) climate and vegetation
C) rainfall and temperature
D) vegetation and terrain
E) terrain and rainfall

Question 31

Small organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, insects, and worms would be good examples of ________.

A) producers
B) consumers
C) decomposers
D) bioaccumulators
E) biomagnifiers

Question 32

This is the environmental recycling process that supplies essential substances such as carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients to the biosphere.

A) photosynthesis
B) evapotranspiration
C) photochemical cycles
D) biochemical cycles
E) ecosystems

Question 33

Which of the following is likely responsible for algae bloom in lakes and streams?

A) increased carbon and magnesium
B) increased nitrogen and phosphorus
C) increased methane and hydrogen
D) increased mercury through biomagnification
E) increased potassium and carbon monoxide

Question 34

Which of the following is true of carbon dioxide concentrations in North America?

A) Concentrations fall from spring through autumn
B) Concentrations increase from spring through autumn
C) Concentrations fall from autumn through Spring
D) Concentrations levels are constant through the year
E) There is no discernible pattern of concentration

Question 35

Which of the following soils is more likely to be found in an area of high rainfall and high temperatures?

A) histosols
B) aridisols
C) alfisols
D) oxisols
E) mollisols

Question 36

As a rough rule of thumb, about ________ of the energy consumed as food at a given food chain level is converted to new biomass, and the remaining is respired and dissipated as heat.

A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 30 percent
D) 40 percent
E) 50 percent

Question 37

If a substance accumulates in an animal rather than being broken down, then at each trophic level the concentration of that pesticide increases in a process called ________.

A) eutrophication
B) biomagnification
C) biodeabsorption
D) bioabsorption
E) web disruptors

Question 38

Although the atmosphere is powerful in controlling weather and climate, it contains ________ percent of all of the world's water.

A) 0.001
B) 0.01
C) 0.1
D) 1
E) 10

Question 39

Which of the following is not one of the soil forming factors?

A) climate
B) topography
C) biological activity
D) time
E) season of year

Question 40

Which of the following is true of agricultural land in North America?

A) Today, agricultural land continues to increase
B) Today, agricultural land continues to decrease
C) Today, growing forests are being replaced by agricultural land
D) Food production continues to decrease in the last 50 years
E) Most of the wheat and oats used on this continent is imported from Europe

Question 41

In photosynthesis, carbohydrates are broken down to CO₂ and water when they combine with atmospheric oxygen.

Question 42

Globally, only about 0.008 percent of all water is in rivers and lakes.

Question 43

Water budgets vary tremendously from one climate to another.

Question 44

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the Northern hemisphere fall from spring through autumn as carbon is taken up in growing plants, and rise through the winter as organic matter decays.

Question 45

Both the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles have been heavily modified by humans, with profound effects on ecosystems.

Question 46

Soil formation is a slow process that takes place very gradually over thousands of years.

Question 47

Through evolution, plants that have adapted their life forms, physiological characteristics, and reproductive mechanisms that allow them to succeed in particular environments have survived.

Question 48

Photosynthesis rates are greatest in areas that have ample moisture, warm temperatures, and abundant nutrients.

Question 49

Actual evapotranspiration is the amount of water that would be evaporated if it were available.

Question 50

Plant eating animals, known as herbivores, begin the food chain by consuming plants.

Question 51

Eutrophication is a process of excessive growth of algae caused by the addition of large amounts of nutrients like bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorus to streams, lakes, and coastal areas.

Question 52

One way carbon is returned to the atmosphere is through photosynthesis.

Question 53

Although many processes are involved, clearly combustion of fossil fuels is the most important factor driving the global increase in atmospheric CO₂ and thus global warming.

Question 54

In the carbon cycle, atmospheric carbon dioxide is incorporated into carbohydrates in plant tissues through photosynthesis.

Question 55

In many parts of the world, especially the humid tropics, deforestation and urban development are reducing carbon storage in the biosphere and sending the carbon to the atmosphere.

Question 56

Soil horizons are formed through the vertical movement of water, minerals, and organic matter in the soil and also by variations in biological and chemical activity at different depths.

Question 57

Nitrogen fixation occurs by both natural and human processes.

Question 58

The total amount of carbon in the atmosphere increases by about 8.1 gigatons (Gt) of carbon per year.

Question 59

Carnivores (secondary consumers) derive their energy from other animals and not directly from plants.

Question 60

Excess water evaporated into the atmosphere over the oceans is carried by wind over land areas, where it condenses into clouds and falls as precipitation.

Question 61

Briefly describe the nitrogen cycle.

Question 62

Explain some of the ways in which carbon is stored and released in the environment.

Question 63

How different is the food chain from the food web?

Question 64

What are some of the ways in which humans alter the natural vegetation?

Question 65

What major factors do we attribute soil properties to? Explain each factor.

Question 66

Desertification, a process by which semiarid vegetation and soil become more desert-like as a result of human use, has occurred in semiarid lands around the world.

Question 67

Needleleaved trees survive long cold winters, low humidity and frozen soil because the leaves have low surface area in relation to their volume, and they are covered with a waxy coating to reduce water loss.

Question 68

Generally, forest and woodland biomes occur in areas of moisture deficit, whereas grasslands, deserts and tundra are found in areas that have significant potential for plant growth.

Question 69

About 23 percent of global photosynthesis takes place in agricultural lands.

Question 70

Briefly describe the carbon cycle.

Question 71

What factors have led to changes in the environment of the Mississippi delta?

Question 72

Briefly describe the hydrologic cycle.

Question 73

Boreal forest has a top layer, or canopy, and two more layers beneath.

Question 74

How are humans affecting the phosphorus cycle?

Question 75

Human activity has not affected most parts of the global biosphere, and has helped most biomes become healthier.

Question 76

In areas of Mediterranean climate we find a mixed woodland and grassland that consists of relatively small trees.

Question 77

Forests dominate semiarid mid-latitude areas with hot summers, cold winters, and moderate rainfall.

Question 78

Discuss some of the ways humans are affecting global soils.