Practice AP Environmental Science questions on agriculture, irrigation, pest control, mining, urbanization, sustainability, and forestry.
Asian carp were first introduced in the southern United States in the 1970s by fish farmers wanting to control algal growth in fish ponds. Asian carp can eat up to 40\% of their body weight in algae each day, and a female carp can produce up to 1 million eggs every year.
Distribution of the Asian Carp in the United States
Describe one way that overfishing of blue pike illustrates the tragedy of the commons.
One potential solution to reduce overfishing is to use aquaculture. Describe one disadvantage of this solution.
Begin your response to this question at the top of a new page in the separate Free Response booklet and fill in the appropriate circle at the top of each page to indicate the question number.
The following diagram shows how an area changed over time. The dominant vegetation in each stage is labeled in the diagram. Each roman numeral represents a stage in the ecological process.
Identify the independent variable in the experiment.
Explain why the water temperature might change because of clear-cutting trees in forest B.
After the experiment was completed, land developers constructed a golf course in the clear-cut area of forest B. To prepare the land, developers removed any remaining stumps and newly grown trees and began planting and fertilizing new grass. The researchers are interested in the effect the golf course may have on the water quality of the river. To monitor the river in forest B, the researchers repeated the experiment once the golf course had been constructed.
The active ingredients in many pesticides are chemical compounds that kill organisms such as insects, molds, and weeds. Proponents claim that the use of pesticides improves crop yields and thus protects land and soil by reducing the conversion of forests and wetlands to cropland. Opponents of pesticide use claim that pesticides degrade water and soil quality and that other modern agricultural techniques and practices are responsible for the improved crop yields in recent years.
Design a laboratory experiment to determine whether or not a new pesticide (product X) is toxic to minnows, a type of small fish. For the experiment you design, be sure to do all of the following.
State the hypothesis.
Describe the method you would use to test your hypothesis.
Identify the control.
Identify the dependent variable.
Describe experimental results that would lead you to reject your hypothesis in part (a)(i). (Be specific.)
One strategy for dealing with agricultural pests is integrated pest management (IPM).
Describe IPM. As part of your description, include TWO specific pest-control approaches that are part of IPM.
Identify one environmental benefit of using IPM.
Describe TWO agricultural practices, other than those involving pest control, that increase crop yields.
Common snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina, are primarily aquatic, but they lay their eggs on land. Researchers are interested in understanding the impact of pollution on turtle nesting sites. The researchers examined nesting sites at two agricultural areas along the floodplain of a river upstream and downstream from a chemical factory that is a known source of aqueous mercury pollution. Turtle eggs, soil, and vegetation samples taken from areas around turtle nests downstream from the chemical factory showed high levels of mercury in a previous study. Mercury was not detected in samples taken upstream from the chemical factory.
The turtle study was conducted in an agricultural area. Describe how a specific agricultural practice changes the soil in an area.
Begin your response to this question at the top of a new page in the separate Free Response booklet and fill in the appropriate circle at the top of each page to indicate the question number.