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AP Environmental Science 5.12: Sustainability

Practice AP Environmental Science questions on sustainability, sustainable yield, environmental indicators, biodiversity, climate, population, and resources.

Syllabus
Effective Fall 2025
Course
AP Environmental Science

Exam points

  • define sustainability as meeting present needs without depleting resources for future generations
  • explain sustainable yield and use biodiversity, food, climate, population, or resource indicators

Covered syllabus points

STB-1.A—Explain the concept of sustainability

5.12 Introduction to Sustainability question 1

[Maximum number: 2]

The Rocky Mountains, the headwaters for the Colorado River, have experienced a severe drought for many of the past twenty years. States and cities downstream that depend on the river water have had to find solutions to the reduced water flow.
One city located downstream from the Rocky Mountains is Las Vegas, Nevada. In Las Vegas, one solution to reduce the amount of water used for irrigation is to remove landscaping and lawns that use grasses not native to the local area and replace them with desert-tolerant landscaping.

Question (a)

(a)

Identify a typical type of plant that would be used in desert-tolerant landscaping.

[ 1 ]

Question (b)

(b)

Justify the removal of landscaping and lawns that use grasses not native to the local area by describing an additional advantage, other than reducing the amount of water needed for irrigation.

Warmer seasonal temperatures in the Rocky Mountains have led to earlier mountain snowmelt and an increased risk of forest fires as soil and vegetation dry out.

[ 1 ]
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