EnviroIQ · AP Environmental Science · Mock Exam 2
EnviroIQ · AP Environmental Science

EnviroIQ Mock Exam 2 (Full-Length Simulation)

AP Environmental Science · Full coverage, Units 1–9 at CED weightings

Format: Full AP APES simulation, to be taken after Lesson 30.

SECTION I — Multiple Choice (80 questions, 90 minutes)

Unit 1 — The Living World: Ecosystems

Question 1
In a food chain, energy available decreases at each higher trophic level mainly because:
Question 2
Net primary productivity (NPP) is:
Question 3
Which is a correct match?
Question 4
Which process transfers carbon from the atmosphere into producers?
Question 5
Denitrification returns which substance to the atmosphere?
Question 6
Which nutrient cycle lacks a significant atmospheric phase?
Question 7
The largest total net primary productivity on Earth, due to its vast size, comes from the:

Questions 8–9 refer to a lake with these zones: littoral, limnetic, profundal, benthic.

Question 8
Photosynthesis by rooted plants is greatest in the:
Question 9
An oligotrophic lake is best described as:

Unit 2 — The Living World: Biodiversity

Question 10
Two communities have equal species richness; the one with more even abundances has higher:
Question 11
An amphibian sensitive to pollution used to gauge ecosystem health is a(n):
Question 12
Genetic diversity within a species is most important for:
Question 13
Pollination of crops by bees is an example of a(n) ______ service.
Question 14
Secondary succession, unlike primary succession:
Question 15
According to island biogeography, species richness is highest on islands that are:
Question 16
On a tolerance curve, organisms cannot survive in the:
Question 17
A generalist species is more likely than a specialist to:
Question 18
Wildlife corridors aid conservation by:

Unit 3 — Populations

Question 19
A population growing without resource limits follows a:
Question 20
Carrying capacity (K) is:
Question 21
A population grows at 2% per year; its doubling time is about:
Question 22
Which is a density-independent limiting factor?
Question 23
r-selected species typically have:
Question 24
A Type I survivorship curve is typical of:
Question 25
In the demographic transition model, death rates fall:
Question 26
A country with CBR = 28 and CDR = 8 has a growth rate of:
Question 27
A wide-based age-structure pyramid indicates a population that will:
Question 28
Population momentum means a population:

Unit 4 — Earth Systems and Resources

Question 29
New oceanic crust forms at a:
Question 30
The mantle drives plate motion through:
Question 31
Sedimentary rock most commonly contains:
Question 32
The soil horizon of accumulated leached minerals below topsoil is the:
Question 33
A soil that is 70% sand will have:
Question 34
The atmospheric layer containing weather and most life is the:
Question 35
The Coriolis effect deflects winds to the ______ in the Northern Hemisphere.
Question 36
Earth's seasons result from:
Question 37
Cold, nutrient-rich water rising to the surface, supporting fisheries, is called:
Question 38
A watershed is:

Unit 5 — Land and Water Use

Question 39
Overfishing a shared ocean illustrates:
Question 40
Clearcutting most directly causes:
Question 41
The most water-efficient irrigation method is:
Question 42
Salinization occurs when:
Question 43
A benefit of no-till farming is:
Question 44
Contour plowing and terracing both:
Question 45
The Green Revolution increased yields but caused:
Question 46
Acid mine drainage is caused by:
Question 47
Impervious surfaces from urbanization most directly cause:
Question 48
Maximum sustainable yield harvests a resource:

Unit 6 — Energy Resources and Consumption

Question 49
Which energy source is nonrenewable but low-carbon during operation?
Question 50
The cleanest-burning fossil fuel (least CO₂ per unit energy) is:
Question 51
A 60-W bulb running 5 hours per day for 20 days uses:
Question 52
Control rods in a nuclear reactor:
Question 53
An isotope with a 25-year half-life starts at 80 g; after 75 years, how much remains?
Question 54
The largest source of renewable electricity globally is:
Question 55
A major challenge for solar and wind energy is:
Question 56
Geothermal energy is best suited to regions with:
Question 57
Energy efficiency is calculated as:
Question 58
Cogeneration improves efficiency by:

Unit 7 — Atmospheric Pollution

Question 59
Ground-level ozone is classified as a ______ pollutant.
Question 60
Photochemical smog forms from:
Question 61
A thermal inversion worsens air pollution because:
Question 62
Acid rain is formed primarily from:
Question 63
A drop in lake pH from 6 to 4 represents an acidity increase of:
Question 64
Radon is a health concern because it:
Question 65
A catalytic converter reduces:
Question 66
Which bedrock best buffers acid deposition?
Question 67
Which is one of the six criteria air pollutants?

Unit 8 — Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Question 68
Fertilizer runoff from many farms is an example of:
Question 69
In eutrophication, dissolved oxygen falls because:
Question 70
Warm water discharged from a power plant lowers dissolved oxygen because:
Question 71
Secondary wastewater treatment relies on:
Question 72
The most preferred option in the waste hierarchy is:
Question 73
CERCLA (Superfund) primarily:
Question 74
LD50 is the dose that:
Question 75
Toxin concentration increasing at each higher trophic level is:

Unit 9 — Global Change

Question 76
Stratospheric ozone depletion is caused mainly by:
Question 77
The greenhouse effect operates in the __, while ozone depletion occurs in the ____.
Question 78
The two main causes of climate-driven sea-level rise are:
Question 79
Ocean acidification is caused by:
Question 80
An invasive species often spreads rapidly because it:

SECTION II — Free Response (3 questions, 70 minutes)

Question 1 — Designing an Investigation (10 points)

A community suspects that a factory's warm-water discharge (thermal pollution) is lowering dissolved oxygen and harming fish in a river. A researcher hypothesizes that higher water temperature lowers dissolved oxygen, reducing fish abundance.

(a) Identify the independent and dependent variables. (2 pts) (b) Describe a field or lab method to test how water temperature affects dissolved oxygen. Include a control. (3 pts) (c) Identify one variable to hold constant and explain why. (2 pts) (d) Explain how the results could support or refute the hypothesis. (2 pts) (e) Propose one solution to reduce the thermal pollution and justify it. (1 pt)

Question 2 — Analyze an Environmental Problem and Propose a Solution (10 points)

A coastal city relies on coal for electricity. It suffers photochemical smog on hot days (worsened by a valley inversion), acid deposition in nearby forests, and a bay experiencing algal blooms and dead zones from agricultural and urban runoff.

(a) Explain how photochemical smog forms and why an inversion worsens it. (3 pts) (b) Explain how the coal plants contribute to acid deposition, naming the acids formed. (2 pts) (c) Explain the sequence by which runoff causes the bay's dead zones. (2 pts) (d) Propose three solutions (at least one for air pollution and one for the bay), and justify each. (3 pts)

Question 3 — Analyze an Environmental Problem and Propose a Solution with Calculations (10 points)

A developing nation of 60 million has CBR = 32 and CDR = 10 (per 1,000). It generates most electricity from coal; an average home uses 4,000 kWh/year, and the grid emits 0.9 kg CO₂ per kWh.

(a) Calculate the population growth rate (%) and doubling time (rule of 70). Show work. (3 pts) (b) Calculate the annual CO₂ emissions of one home. Show work. (2 pts) (c) If an efficiency program cuts each home's use by 30%, calculate the new annual use and the CO₂ avoided per home. Show work. (3 pts) (d) Propose one strategy to humanely slow population growth and explain its mechanism. (2 pts)

Show answer key & explanations

ANSWER KEY — Section I

  1. (C) ~90% lost as heat via respiration.
  2. (A) GPP − respiration.
  3. (A) Algae — producer.
  4. (D) Photosynthesis.
  5. (D) Nitrogen gas (N₂).
  6. (D) Phosphorus.
  7. (A) Open ocean (largest total, by size).
  8. (B) Littoral zone.
  9. (C) Nutrient-poor, clear, oxygen-rich.
  10. (A) Diversity.
  11. (D) Indicator species.
  12. (B) Adapting to change and resisting disease.
  13. (B) Regulating.
  14. (A) Begins with soil already present.
  15. (D) Large and near a mainland.
  16. (C) Zone of intolerance.
  17. (B) Survive environmental change.
  18. (D) Reconnecting fragmented habitat.
  19. (D) J-shaped exponential curve.
  20. (C) Maximum sustainable population.
  21. (A) 70/2 = 35 years.
  22. (D) A drought (density-independent).
  23. (B) Many offspring, little parental care.
  24. (D) Humans and elephants.
  25. (A) Before birth rates.
  26. (C) (28−8)/10 = 2.0%.
  27. (A) Grow rapidly.
  28. (C) Keeps growing for decades due to youthful age structure.
  29. (B) Divergent boundary.
  30. (C) Convection currents.
  31. (B) Fossils and fossil fuels.
  32. (A) B horizon.
  33. (C) High permeability and fast drainage.
  34. (A) Troposphere.
  35. (D) Right.
  36. (B) Axial tilt of 23.5°.
  37. (C) Upwelling.
  38. (B) All land draining to a common body of water.
  39. (A) The tragedy of the commons.
  40. (D) Increased soil erosion and sediment runoff.
  41. (D) Drip.
  42. (A) Salts accumulate as irrigation water evaporates.
  43. (B) Reduced soil erosion.
  44. (D) Reduce erosion on slopes.
  45. (C) Fertilizer/pesticide runoff and monoculture vulnerability.
  46. (A) Sulfide minerals + air + water → sulfuric acid.
  47. (B) Increased runoff and flooding.
  48. (C) At a rate it can replenish.
  49. (C) Nuclear.
  50. (A) Natural gas.
  51. (B) 0.060 kW × 5 h × 20 = 6 kWh.
  52. (C) Absorb neutrons to regulate the chain reaction.
  53. (C) 75/25 = 3 half-lives: 80→40→20→10 g.
  54. (A) Hydroelectric.
  55. (D) Intermittency.
  56. (C) Tectonic/volcanic activity.
  57. (B) Useful output ÷ input × 100.
  58. (A) Capturing and using waste heat.
  59. (B) Secondary.
  60. (C) NOₓ and VOCs reacting in sunlight.
  61. (A) Warm air aloft traps cool polluted air near the ground.
  62. (C) SO₂ and NOₓ.
  63. (C) 2 units → 10 × 10 = 100 times.
  64. (B) Leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
  65. (C) CO, NOₓ, and VOCs from vehicles.
  66. (D) Limestone.
  67. (B) Particulate matter.
  68. (D) Nonpoint-source pollution.
  69. (C) Bacteria decomposing dead algae consume oxygen.
  70. (A) Warm water holds less oxygen.
  71. (D) Bacteria digesting dissolved organic matter.
  72. (C) Source reduction (reduce).
  73. (B) Funds cleanup of abandoned hazardous-waste sites.
  74. (C) Kills 50% of a test population.
  75. (B) Biomagnification.
  76. (C) CFCs releasing chlorine.
  77. (B) Troposphere; stratosphere.
  78. (C) Melting land ice and thermal expansion.
  79. (B) CO₂ dissolving to form carbonic acid.
  80. (B) Lacks natural predators and competitors in the new range.

ANSWER KEY — Section II

Question 1 — Designing an Investigation (10 pts)

  • (a) 1 pt IV = water temperature; 1 pt DV = dissolved oxygen (and/or fish abundance). (2)
  • (b) 1 pt prepare/sample water at several controlled temperatures; 1 pt include a control at ambient/baseline temperature; 1 pt measure dissolved oxygen identically across all after equal time. (3)
  • (c) 1 pt names a constant (same water source, volume, mixing, organisms, measurement method); 1 pt explains it prevents a confounding variable. (2)
  • (d) 1 pt support = DO falls as temperature rises; 1 pt refute = DO unchanged/rises with temperature (or fish unaffected). (2)
  • (e) 1 pt names a solution (cooling towers/ponds before discharge, reduce discharge volume, phase out once-through cooling) with brief justification. (1)

Question 2 — Analyze & Propose (10 pts)

  • (a) 1 pt sunlight drives reactions of NOₓ and VOCs; 1 pt producing ground-level ozone/smog; 1 pt inversion traps pollutants near the ground (warm-air lid) so they accumulate. (3)
  • (b) 1 pt coal emits SO₂ and NOₓ that react with water/O₂; 1 pt forming sulfuric and nitric acid (deposited downwind). (2)
  • (c) 1 pt nutrient runoff (N, P) triggers algal bloom; 1 pt algae die → decomposer bacteria consume oxygen → hypoxia/dead zone. (2)
  • (d) Three solutions, each 1 pt (name + justification), covering both air and water: air — scrubbers/catalytic converters/renewables/transit; bay — buffer strips, reduced fertilizer, upgraded sewage treatment, cover crops. (3)

Question 3 — Analyze & Propose with Calculations (10 pts)

  • (a) 1 pt (32−10)/10 = 2.2%; 1 pt setup 70/2.2; 1 pt ≈ 31.8 ≈ 32 years. (3)
  • (b) 1 pt setup 4,000 kWh × 0.9 kg/kWh; 1 pt = 3,600 kg CO₂/yr. (2)
  • (c) 1 pt new use 4,000 × 0.70 = 2,800 kWh; 1 pt new CO₂ 2,800 × 0.9 = 2,520 kg; 1 pt avoided 3,600 − 2,520 = 1,080 kg CO₂/yr (accept 1,200 kWh × 0.9 = 1,080). (3)
  • (d) 1 pt strategy (educate/empower women, family planning access, reduce infant mortality, development); 1 pt correct fertility-lowering mechanism. (2)

SCORING WORKSHEET (approximate AP score bands)

  • Section I: ___ / 80 correct.
  • Section II: Q1 /10 + Q2 /10 + Q3 /10 = /30.
  • Composite ≈ MC (weighted 60%) + FRQ (weighted 40%), scaled to ~120 points.
Composite (approx.) AP Score
~78–120 5
~64–77 4
~48–63 3
~34–47 2
below ~34 1

(Cut scores vary yearly; these are study calibrations, not official.)

⭐ Exam-day reminders: 80 MC in 90 min (~65 sec each) — flag and move on; there is NO (E), so eliminate among A–D and always answer. On FRQs, obey command words, show all math WITH UNITS, cite real laws accurately, and pair every proposed solution with its mechanism. Watch the trap pairs: ozone vs. greenhouse, bioaccumulation vs. biomagnification, primary vs. secondary pollutants, point vs. nonpoint, mitigation vs. adaptation.

Content pending external review.

Score summary

Your running multiple-choice score appears in the bar below. Self-score the free-response section with the rubrics in the answer key, then use the diagnostic table to target review.

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