APES Fall Semester Exam 2024- PDF

APES Fall Semester Exam The fall semester exam will consist of 80 questions (multiple choice/matching ). Atmosphere and Water Systems 1) What is an ENSO event? La Nina? ENSO is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Oc...

APES Fall Semester Exam The fall semester exam will consist of 80 questions (multiple choice/matching ). Atmosphere and Water Systems 1) What is an ENSO event? La Nina? ENSO is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. La Nina is the extreme normal. 2) What are the four layers of the atmosphere and list general characteristics of each layer. Troposphere: weather takes place, about 75% of the atmospheric mass, decreases temp with height, greenhouse effect, tropopause. Stratosphere: jet stream, about 20% of atmospheric mass, ozone layer, increases temperature with height stratopause. Mesosphere: meteorites, about 5% of atmospheric mass, decrease temperature with height, mesopause. Thermosphere: aurora borealis, about 0.002% of atmospheric mass, increase temp with height, thermopause. 3) Identify the major atmospheric convection cells and wind belts. Polar Cell, Ferrell Cell, Hadley Cell, Prevailing Westerlies, Trade Winds, Polar Easterlies. 4) Describe the pycnocline and its effect on nutrient distribution in the ocean? A layer in an ocean or other body of water in which water density increases rapidly with depth and acts as a barrier to vertical water circulation. 5) Describe the process of upwelling and downwelling within an aquatic system. Upwelling: The process of cold, nutrient-rich ocean water rises to the surface. Downwelling: Occurs when the water on the surface of the sea becomes denser than the water beneath it and so it sinks. 6) List the five main forms of water pollution. Toxic chemicals, sediment, thermal, nutrients, pathogens, and waterborne diseases. 7) What are examples of point and nonpoint sources of water pollution? Point Source: Sources of pollution that are close to the water sources are called point sources. - Sewage outlets in the municipal area, power plants, oil wells, and underground coal mines close to water bodies. Non-point sources: Sources of pollution that are scattered and do not have any specific location are called non-point sources. - Gardens, roads, construction sites, runoff water from the field 8) Describe the relationship between DO (Dissolved oxygen) and BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand). DO: O2 that has been dissolved in water and is therefore available for aquatic organisms to use during respiration. The unit of measurement is ppm (parts per million). Factors include temperature, movement of water, and amount of nutrients/decomposers present. BOD: Amount of oxygen needed for aerobic organisms during respiration within a body of water. Increase with the input of nutrients. 6O2 plus C6H12O6 turns to 6CO2 plus 6H2O. Examples include fertilizers, animal poop, woody debris, and effluents. 9) Where is the location of one dead zone in the U.S. What is a dead zone? Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a “dead zone” because most marine life either dies or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area. One location is in the Gulf of Mexico. 10) Describe the process of eutrophication. A process in which a water source is enriched with nutrients. Steps: 1. Nutrients are introduced into a body of water. 2. Algae begins to grow quickly along with other microorganisms which feed on the nutrients. 3. As they die they sink to the bottom of the water source where decomposers recycle their remains and use up the surrounding DO. 4. Creates areas that are anoxic called “dead zone”. Climate 11) List seven factors that lead to unequal heating of the Earth’s surface. Describe how they affect the temperature/precipitation within a given area. 1. Tilt of the Earth’s axis: Leads to the four seasons and unequal heating of the surface. 2. The Earth is shaped like a sphere. 3. Albedo: A measurement of reflected sunlight. A surface with high Albedo reflects a large percentage of radiation. A surface with low Albedo does NOT reflect as much radiation, it is absorbed by the surface. 4. Altitude and Latitude: Hopkins Bioclimatic Law says that temperature decreases with an increase in elevation is reflected in temperature, decrease with an increase in latitude. 5. Mountains: Windward (moisture), Leeward (rain shadow effect), and Adiabatic Cooling which is when rising air mass drops in temperature due to lower atmospheric pressure at higher altitude (no energy is lost). 6. The Coriolis Effect: The deflection of N and S winds dues to Earth’s rotation. 7. Ocean Currents: A convection cell that transports the majority amount of energy around the planet. 12) Give examples of how surfaces have a different albedo. Different surfaces have different albedo based on how much radiation is reflected on it and how different materials absorb radiation. Ecology 13) Identify biomes based upon temperature and precipitation differences. Be able to view climatographs to identify specific biomes. Deserts: Variations in annual temperature and precipitation in tropical temperate and cold deserts. Grasslands: Typically see seasonal droughts and fire events. Tropical is Savanna and they have droughts. Temperate is Chaparral and they have the most rain. Polar is the Tundra and they have little precipitation. Forest: Have enough precipitation to support stands of trees. Tropical are rainforests and they have lots of precipitation. Temperate is deciduous and has medium amounts of precipitation. Subpolar is Taiga and they have little rain. 14) What characteristics would make an animal prone to becoming endangered? What characteristics would term a species as invasive? Give examples of both. Endangered species: Organisms whose number has reduced drastically and if not conserved will become extinct. Ex: Bees, Vicuna Invasive species: An organism that overtakes a community that isn’t native. Ex: Mimosas 15) Describe different species interactions and identify examples. (mutualism, parasitism, etc) Mutualism: Both benefit Commensalism: One benefits and one has no effect Parasitism: One benefits and one has a negative effect. 16) Compare and contrast trophic levels, food chains, and food webs. How are their concepts related, and how do they differ? Trophic Levels: Numbers the steps of specific organisms from the source within a community. Food Chains: Shows the energy flow from one organism to another in one chain. Food Webs: Shows the energy flow from one organism to another in a community. 17) Successfully draw a food chain or food web from given information. Radish → Cricket → Toad 18) Describe an energy pyramid and use the 10% rule to calculate energy transfer through trophic levels. An energy pyramid shows energy transferred from one trophic level to another by 10%. 19) How do the energy pyramid, numbers pyramid, and biomass pyramid differ? An energy pyramid shows energy transferred from one trophic level to another by 10%. A numbers pyramid shows the amount of organisms of each species at each trophic level. A biomass pyramid shows has no rules and just shows the biomass of each trophic level. 20) Give the balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis and cellular respiration. 6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2 for photosynthesis and C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2 --> 6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + ATP for cellular respiration. 21) Describe the difference between GPP and NPP. GPP: Gross Primary Productivity is the amount of biomass produced by photosynthesis per unit area over a specific time period. Units include Kg/m^2/yr/ha NPP: Net Primary Productivity is the amount of 02 released by autotrophs that are directly measurable in the lab. 22) What is an ecological tolerance factor? Give 3 examples. The range of conditions best suited for an organism or population's survival. 1. Terrestrial: temperature, water, moisture, nutrients, pH, sunlight. 2. Aquatic: Salinity, temperature, DO, pH, sunlight. 3. Biotic: Food sources, competition. 23) What are the two factors that correlate to increase/decrease island biodiversity? Distance decreases biodiversity and area increases the biodiversity. 24) Describe how scientists are using the study of island biodiversity. The study of species on islands or patches of land and the factors that influence the location’s biodiversity. Patch size is an area in which an organism obtains resources and the edge effect changes within a population/community structure that occurs between habitat boundaries. 25) Describe economic and ecological impacts of decreased biodiversity. Habitat loss, over-use of resources, changes in ecosystem composition, and introduction to invasive species. Geology and Soils 26) Identify the horizons within a soil profile. Describe characteristics of each horizon. O Horizon: The surface layer has organic debris, partly decomposed. A Horizon: The topsoil has mineral particles mixed with organic matter. B Horizon: The subsoil has compounds draining from above accumulate. C Horizon: The parent material has partly weathered rock. R Horizon: Bedrock. 27) Describe key physical properties of soils: pH, CEC, soil texture CEC: the ability of soil to hold cation (Ca+2, Mg+2, K+1) for plant use. Increases with negative particles in the soil (clay) and increases surface area. pH: Concentration of H ions and more acidic few nutrients available for absorption. Porosity: Measures the void space in sediment and/or rock and the size of grain has NO effect. Permeability: Measures the rate at which a fluid flows through void space and the size of the grain DOES matter. Humus: A mixture of inorganic material and microbes; lithobionts. 28) Identify soil macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and their most common form within the soil both by name and formula. Describe the importance of each nutrient within the soil. Nitrogen: Main element required for plant growth and reproduction. - Plants absorb either NO3 or NH4+1 ion - Excess amounts of NO3 can run into water sources and lead to eutrophication Phosphorus: Has a role in regulating protein synthesis, therefore important for cell division - Also has a role in energy transformation (ATP) - Absorbs primarily H2PO4-1 and with increasing pH H3PO4 compounds - Moves through the soil primarily by diffusion and benefits from symbolic relationship with soil fungi. Potassium: Element used for water uptake by plants and synthesizing sugars - Plants absorb the K+1 ion - Excess K+1 decreases the absorption of other soil nutrients 29) Describe the different plate boundaries and important features associated with each: divergent, convergent, and transform. Divergent: When the plate boundaries divide. Ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge and valleys Convergent: When the plate boundaries come together, Ex: Volcanos and Trenches Transform: When the plate boundaries slide into each other in opposite directions. Ex: San Andreas Fault Scientific Method 30) Describe the process of the scientific method. Form a hypothesis and null hypothesis, identify variables (independent and dependent), constants, and the control group. Independent variable: The change you make in an experiment Dependent variable: The response to the change, needs to be measurable Hypothesis: Directional and the format is “IV then DV” Null Hypothesis: Statement that the IV and DV are not related “IV then no change to DV”. Control group: Represents natural conditions (a comparison) Experimental groups: References the even increments of change 31) If given data from an experiment be able to identify the hypothesis, IV, DV, control/experimental group(s), constants. Odds and Ends 32)What is the tragedy of the commons? What is an example of a tragedy of the commons? The concept is that through individual self-interest a publicly shared resource will always be overused even with the knowledge of the eventual collapse of that resource. Ex: Oceans, atmosphere, iceland sheep, Easter Island 33) What is an ecological footprint? Describe how it is calculated. Resource accounting took, determines resource use per hectare, and how well you take care of the Earth. (1 ha is about 2.5 acres). 34) What is an ecosystem service? Give an example for each of the four types of ecosystem services. An ecosystem service is how we use our ecosystem's resources. Provisioning: Materials that humans use (food, timber, etc.) Cultural: Parts of nature that are incorporated into our culture (tours, nature walks, etc.) Regulating: Natural regulating methods of the ecosystem (pollution, fertilizers, etc.) Supporting: The underlying services that ensure all the other services function (cycles). 35) Describe how the nutrients carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycle through earth’s reservoirs. Nitrogen cycle: Nitrogen fixation then goes to Nitrification and goes through assimilation and then goes to denitrification and back to the atmosphere. Phosphorus cycle: Goes through the lithosphere Carbon cycle: Photosynthesis, respiration, sedimentation, and combustion. 36) Calculate net flux between reservoirs of any one cycle and residence time for a specific nutrient in a reservoir. 37) Describe primary and secondary succession. Identify differences between the two types of succession. Primary succession: Starts with the arrival of living things such as lichen that do not need soil to survive. Secondary succession: Begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home of living organisms and occurs faster and has different pioneer species than primary succession.