APES- Cycles & Climate Change Test Review
1. Q: Which gas composes up approximately 78% of the Troposphere?
2. Q: The Phosphorus and Nitrogen concentration found in groundwater most likely
would be greatest beneath which of the following?
 Undisturbed forest land
 a large farm
 an automobile salvage facility
 a petroleum refinery
3. Q: As glacial ice melts, it exposes the soil beneath that absorbs more energy than
ice, which causes it to get warmer, which melts more ice, exposing more soil and
so on. This is an example of what phenomenon?
4. Q: Which of the following is a major cause of cultural eutrophication?
 Global warming
 Pesticide run-off
 Organic waste
 Burning coal
 Fertilizer run-off
5. Q: Which of the following decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the
troposphere?
 Combustion
 Decomposition
 Respiration
 Photosynthesis
 Volcanic Eruptions
6. Q: Photochemical smog is created by which nutrient cycle?
7. Q: Which of the following regulates the flow of nitrogen into and out of its largest
reservoir?
 Green plants
 Water
 Animals
 Bacteria
8. Q: Which of the following is the smallest reservoir of the global hydrologic
cycle?
 Groundwater
 Lakes
 Rivers
 The Atmosphere

Polar Ice Caps/Glaciers
9. Q: Nitrogen fixation will take place in fields that are planted with:
 Soy
 Corn
 Rice
 Potatoes
 Wheat
10. Q: Most photosynthesis in the open sea occurs in the:
 euphotic zones
 benthic zones
 littoral zone
 abyssal zone
11. Q: Which of the following would decrease one’s ecological footprint?
 traveling by airplane rather than driving
 eating more meat
 walking to school
 purchasing a larger home
12. Q: Which of the following is a correct sequence of transformation in the nitrogen
cycle?
 transpiration- nitrification- assimilation- ammonification-respiration
 fixation- ammonification-nitrification- assimilation- denitrification
 ammonification-respiration-nitrification-denitrification
 fixation-nitrification-assimilation-ammonification
13. Q: Of the following, the largest storage reservoir of the world’s freshwater is:
 the atmosphere
 groundwater
 lakes
 living organisms
 rivers
14. Q: The major sink for phosphorus is:
 marine sediments
 atmospheric gases
 seawater
 plants
15. Q: In the nitrogen cycle, the bacteria that replenish the atmosphere with N2 are:
 Rhizobium
 nitrifying bacteria
 denitrifying bacteria

nitrogen-fixing bacteria
16. Q: The largest user of freshwater worldwide is:
 mining
 irrigation
 industry
 home use
17. Q: Which of the following are trace elements necessary in the human diet?
 Ca, Mg, and Na
 Al and Fe
 I, Cu and Zn
 S, N and P
 C, H and O
18. Q: The concentration of which gas can be reduced by preventing forest depletion?
 Carbon Dioxide
 Nitrous Oxide
 Oxygen
 Methane
19. Q: The stage of the nitrogen cycle in which plant roots absorb ammonia,
ammonium, and nitrate ions to manufacture DNA, amino acids, and proteins
20. Q: What is the chemical formula of ammonia?
21. Q: What is the current percentage of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere?
22. Q: Process in which nitrates are turned in nitrogen gas and nitrous oxide, which
are then released back into the atmosphere
23. Q: Wearing away of the lands by running water, glaciers, winds and waves
24. Q: These plants belong to the pea or bean family and form a mutualistic
association with certain species of bacteria (rhizobium) that allow the plant to
absorb nitrogen in a usable form.
25. Q: Which element is commonly considered to be the limiting factor in plant
growth?
26. Q: Nitrogen fixation can occur through the help of soil bacteria and legumes AND
also through which other process?
27. Q: What is the process of plants losing water vapor through their leaves?
28. Q: The process by which excess nutrients are released into a body of water
causing an overgrowth of algae that depletes the water of dissolved oxygen.
29. Q: Which of the nutrient cycles doesn’t have an atmospheric component?
30. Q: When the input and output of a system is equal, it is said to be in:
31. Q: Preserving the environment because it is beautiful, it which type of
justification?
32. Q: What is the non-living parts of an ecosystem called?
33. Q: Which macronutrients are considered to be “The Big 6”?