Latest Physical Science Reviewer 1

1. What must be done in order to preserve the biosphere for future generations?

A. Put all wild animals and game preserves.

B. Make use of technology to develop.

C. Explore ways to drain and fill wetlands along the sea coast.

D. Understand how living things interact with their environment.

Ans: D. Understand how living things interact with their environment.

-The future of the biosphere will depend on how people interact with other living things within the zone of life.

2. Which of the following can help ensure a suitable environment for the future generations?

A. Biological controls

B. Chemical dumps

C. Fossils fuels

D. Pesticides

Ans: A. Biological controls

-Choices B, C, and D can bring harm to the environment.

3. Which human activity would be more likely to have a negative impact on the environment?

A. Investigating the use of the biological controls for the pests

B. Using reforestation and cover cropping to control soil erosion

C. Using insecticides to kill insects that compete with human for food

D. Developing a research aimed toward the preservation of endangered species

Ans: C. Using insecticides to kill insects that compete with human for food

-Insecticides are poisonous compounds. They may adversely affect other organisms besides harmful insects. The accumulation of some insecticides in the environment can in fact pose a serious threat to both wildlife and humans. Many insecticides are short-lived or are metabolized by the animals that ingest them, but some persistent, and applied in large amount they pervade the environment.

4. Which is the main cause of the depletion of the ozone layer?

A. Decrease in temperature

B. Decrease in the amount of air pollutants

C. Increase in number of marine ecosystem

D. Increase in temperature due to atmospheric pollutants

Ans: D. Increase in temperature due to atmospheric pollutants

-Our atmosphere is one connected system. It is not surprising that ozone depletion and global warming are related in other ways. For example, evidence suggests that climate change may contribute to thinning of the protective ozone layer.

5. DDT was used to kill mosquitoes. It was observed that lizards that ate the mosquitoes slowed down and died. Eventually, the pollution of cats that eat lizards diminished. What can be inferred from this situation?

A. DDT can cause harm to all organisms.

B. Using DDT is a reliable way to eliminate insect predators.

C. The mosquito and other organisms were all competing for same resources.

D. Environmental changes that affect one population can affect other population.

Ans: D. Environmental changes that affect one population can affect other population.

-One of the laws of ecology formulated by Barry Commoner states that everything is connected to everything else- humans and other species are connected on a number of other species.

6. Butch is a seasoned farmer updated a new trends in agriculture. In effort to make and harvest the best rice crops, he tried to implement the environmentalist’s way of controlling pests as mandated in the integrated pest management. Butch later found out that all of the following processes made best contributions to a good and safe harvest EXCEPT__________.

A. use of natural enemies

B. planting variety of crops

C. use of narrow-spectrum pesticides

D. use of genetically engineered crops

Ans: C. use of narrow-spectrum pesticides

-Pesticides that have a small coverage range are referred to as narrow-spectrum pesticides, because they are designed to kill or manage a select group of organisms. Narrow-spectrum pesticides make it possible to target a specific species or group of organisms that are known to cause damage. Many narrow-spectrum pesticides are designed to interact with characteristics of the pest that is specific to that organism, such as a pheromone, hormone or physical feature. While narrow-spectrum pesticides are intended to kill only one type of organism, they are not always completely safe for human to ingest.

7. What is the most important factor for the success of animal population?

A. Adaptability

B. Interspecies activity

C. Natality

D. Unlimited food

Ans: A. Adaptability

-An adaptation is a way an animal’s body helps it survive, or live, in its environment. Animals depend on their physical features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, withstand weather, and attract mates.

8. Why dues starvation occur?

A. There is not enough fertile land worldwide on which to grow food.

B. Forces in nature (drought, pests, floods ) wipe out food supplies.

C. Population is growing at a faster rate than the world’s ability to produce.

D. Some parts of the world lack food while other parts of the world produce more than they consume.

Ans: D. Some parts of the world lack food while other parts of the world produce more than they consume.

-Starvation is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several factors including crop failure, population unbalance, or government policies. Some ethicists argue that rich nations have no obligation to aid poor nations. Our moral duty, they claim, is always to act in ways that will maximize human happiness and minimize human suffering.

9. Which of the following presents the greatest threat to the survival of numerous plant and animal species?

A. Greenhouse effect

B. Continued burning of fossil fuel

C. Disappearance of world’s rainforest

D. Dumping of toxic waste in the least industrialized nations

Ans: C. Disappearance of world’s rainforest

-Another harmful result of deforestation is the extinction of animal and plant species. They disappear because their environment and life cycles have been disturbed and they unable to adapt to the change. When species disappears, it is called extinction.

10. Which factors BEST explains why the human population has grown so rapidly over the last 1000 years?

A. Humans have decreased their reliance on natural resources.

B. Humans have increased the amount of resources available on Earth.

C. Humans have increased the carrying capacity of the biosphere for the population.

D. Humans have developed physical characteristics that increase their competitive advantage.

Ans: C. Humans have increased the carrying capacity of the biosphere for the population.

-Carrying capacity is the population level of an organism that can be sustained given the quantity of life supporting infrastructure available to it. Overpopulation occurs when a population of a species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. Overpopulation is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources.

11. Which human activity causes maximum environmental pollution having regional and global impact?

A. Agriculture

B. Industrialization

C. Mining

D. Urbanization

Ans: B. Industrialization

-With the increase in the number of industries and factories due to the industrial revolution; air pollution also has increased significantly. The emissions from various industries contain large amount of gases, which, when present in elevated levels in the atmosphere. Often result in various environmental and health hazards such as acid rain, and various skin disorders in individuals. Dumping of various industrial wastes products into water source, and improper contamination of industrial waste often result in polluting the water disturbing the balance of the ecosystem inside, resulting in the death of various animal and plant species present in the water.

12. Which of the following statement in relation to sustainable development is FALSE?

A. Sustainability has the main objective of purely focusing on the natural environment.

B. Sustainable development of various countries and the entire world is the only solution left with mankind to survive for a longer period on Earth.

C. Sustainable development not only considers the protection of the environment but also the maintenance of economic viability as well as social and ethical considerations.

D. Sustainable development is defined as the development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of our future generation to meet their own needs.

Ans: A. Sustainability has the main objective of purely focusing on the natural environment.

-The focus of sustainable development is far broader than just the environment. It’s also about ensuring a strong, healthy and just society. This means meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting personal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.

13. What is the process of converting nitrate to nitrogen gas and nitrous oxide?

A. Ammonification

B. Denitrification

C. Nitrogen fixation

D. Transpiration

Ans: B. Denitrification

-Denitrification is the biological conversion of nitrate gas, nitric oxide or nitrous oxide. It is a natural process carried out by many microorganisms when sufficient oxygen is lacking. Ammonification or Mineralization is performed by bacteria to convert the ammonia to ammonium. Nitrification can then occur to convert the ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. Nitrogen fixation is a process in which nitrogen (N₂) in the atmosphere is converted into ammonium (NH₄⁺).

14. Which of the following chemicals enters living organism primarily from the atmosphere rather than from rocks or soil?

A. Calcium

B. Carbon

C. Sodium

D. Sulfur

Ans: B. Carbon

-Among all the choices, carbon enters living organisms through respiration.

15. What is the conversation of atmospheric free nitrogen gas to ammonia which occurs through the activities of certain bacteria and cyanobacteria?

A. Denitrification

B. Nitrification

C. Nitrogen fixation

D. Oxidation

Ans: C. Nitrogen fixation

-See number 293 for the explanation

16. How do animals get the nitrogen they need?

A. Directly from bacteria in the soil

B. From the process of denitrification

C. By breathing in atmospheric nitrogen

D. By consuming plants or other animals

Ans: D. By consuming plants or other animals

-Most plants get the nitrogen they need to grow from the soil or water in which they live. Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating plants or animals that contain nitrogen.

17. The following are ways by which phosphorous enters the environment EXCEPT____________.

A. Run off

B. Animal waste

C. Erosion of rocks

D. Photosynthesis in plants

Ans: D. Photosynthesis

-Phosphorous is not mainly involved in photosynthesis. Choices A, B, and C are all ways in which phosphorous enters the environment.

18. Because of biogeochemical cycling?

A. nutrients are circulated through the biosphere.

B. the Earth creates new chemicals that replace those that were used up by organisms.

C. organisms eventually run out of needed elements, compounds and other form of matter.

D. human activity has no effect on elements, chemical compounds, and other form of matter

Ans: A. nutrients are circulated throughout the biosphere.

-The circulation of chemical nutrients like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and water etc. Though the biological and physical world are known as biogeochemical cycles.

19. Which of the biogeochemical cycles can impact all of the other directly?

A. Carbon cycle

B. Hydrologic cycle

C. Nitrogen cycle

D. Phosphorous cycle

Ans: B. Hydrologic cycle

-Since almost 2/3 of the world is water, it influence other biogeochemical cycles the most.

20. What human activity has added the most carbon in the atmosphere?

A. Burning fossils fuels

B. Mining fossil fuel

C. Increasing soil erosion

D. Cutting down the rainforests

Ans: A. Burning of fossil fuels

-The recent phenomenon of global warming has been attributed primarily to increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. The global annual mean concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has increased markedly since the Industrial Revolution, From 280 ppm as of 2013, with the increase largely attributed to the burning of fossil fuels.

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