AP Classroom Style Test

1. Which soil horizon has very little organic matter and accumulates soluble metals and nutrients that are transported from other soil layers?

A B C D

2. Which soil horizon is best developed in areas with dense vegetation, such as forests and grasslands, since the horizon consists of decomposing leaves and other plant material?

A B C D

3. Which soil horizon is the least weathered horizon and contains rock that is starting to break down into soil?

A B C D

4. This layer of Earth’s atmosphere contains the ozone layer that absorbs the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere

5. A team at a university in Pennsylvania has concerns about the health of streams in a watershed because of the various land uses in the area. There has been an increase in road repair work, and the area has many dairy farms. Which of the following would be most effective at preventing sediment runoff into the streams of the watershed?

Have construction crews steepen the slopes of the valleys of streams near roadwork zones. Maintain zones of grass at least wide on the sides of streams in the area. Construct at least one dam on a stream in the watershed to improve flood control. Shift from dairy farming to corn planted in agricultural fields located within 100m of streams.

6. Which of the following is a primary cause of El Niño climate variations?

Reversals of Hadley cell circulation in the Atlantic Ocean Increased dust blowing into the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara desert Warmer surface waters in the Pacific Ocean Reduced deep-water upwelling in the Pacific Ocean

7. Based on the soil texture triangle, which of the following would describe soil that was clay, silt, and sand?

Loam Clay loam Sandy loam Sandy clay loam

8. Which of the following statements correctly explains the tectonic plate activity on the West Coast of the United States?

The Cascade Mountains were formed when two continental plates converged. Earthquakes occur at the San Andreas Fault when stored energy is released from locked plates. The divergence of two plates has led to the formation of volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains. Movement of plates along the San Andreas Fault created the Cascade Mountains.

9. The graph shows the relative solar energy received at local noon each day of the year at two different locations. Based on the graph, which of the following can be concluded about the latitudes of the two locations?

Both locations are at the same latitude. Location 1 is close to the equator, and Location 2 is in the Northern Hemisphere. Location 1 is in the Northern Hemisphere, and Location 2 is in the Southern Hemisphere. Location 1 is in the Southern Hemisphere, and Location 2 is close to the equator.

10. Corn is a crop that grows best in soil that drains well. Which of the following soils is best suited to grow corn?

Clay because it has high clay content so it absorbs water very well. Silt loam because it is about 50% silt and has low amounts of sand. Sandy loam because it has large amounts of sand and less than 20% clay. Loam because it has balanced amounts of sand, silt, and clay.

11. Which of the following best describes a transform boundary?

An area where two tectonic plates move away from each other An area where two tectonic plates slide past one another An area where two or more tectonic plates collide An area where two or more tectonic plates fuse together at a suture zone

12. At this site a magnitude earthquake, which occurred at a nearby subduction zone, triggered one of the largest nuclear reactor disasters in history.

A B C D

13. Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question refers to the soil composition diagram below.

The figure shows a soil triangle. The base of the equilateral triangle is labeled percent sand with 100 percent near the left vertex and 0 percent near the right vertex. The left edge of the triangle is labeled percent clay with 0 percent near the bottom vertex and 100 percent near the top vertex. The right edge is labeled percent silt with 100 percent near the bottom vertex and 0 percent near the top vertex. Each edge has tick marks for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 percent. Three sets of parallel lines from the tick marks on one edge to the tick marks on the other edges form a grid of smaller triangles. The triangle is divided into sections that represent 12 different types of soils with different ranges of percent compositions of sand, silt and clay. There are five labeled points, indicated at the following locations: Point T, at the intersection of 60% sand, 30% silt, and 10% clay. Point U, at the intersection of 50% sand, 20% silt, and 30% clay. Point V, at the intersection of 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. Point W, at the intersection of 10% sand, 10% silt, and 80% clay. Point X, inside the triangle formed by the line drawn between 10% sand and 90% silt and the edges of the soil triangle.

What are the proportions of sand, silt, and clay for the soil at point T?

% Sand 75, % Silt 20, % Clay 5 % Sand 70, % Silt 20, % Clay 10 % Sand 65, % Silt 25, % Clay 10 % Sand 60, % Silt 30, % Clay 10 % Sand 55, % Silt 30, % Clay 15

14. A farm is experiencing extensive crop loss due to high rains causing overly saturated soils. Which of the following approaches would best help the farmer alleviate the problem?

Amending the soil with sand to decrease the permeability of the soil Amending the soil with clay to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil Fertilizing the area with compost or green manure to improve soil structure and drainage Using contour plowing to decrease soil erosion

15. This layer of Earth’s atmosphere has the highest density of any atmospheric layer and contains most of the water vapor in the atmosphere.

Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere

16. In which of the following atmospheric layers does most weather occur?

Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere

17. Most deserts on Earth are located near the 30° north and 30° south latitudes because humidity is lower at 30°. The best explanation for the lower humidity is that

warm air rises at 90° latitude, cools, and sinks at 30° cool air rises at 30° latitude, warms, and sinks at the equator warm air rises at the equator, cools, and sinks at 30° latitude trade winds transfer moisture away from 30° latitude rain-shadow effects are most pronounced at 30° latitude

18. The city of London in the United Kingdom is found approximately at the same latitude as the city of Calgary in Canada. Calgary has an average high temperature in December of -4.6 degrees Celsius, while London has an average high temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius. Which of the following statements best explains why the average temperature of London is warmer than that of Calgary in December?

Oceanic currents warm the atmosphere in London. The solar radiation reaching London is more perpendicular than the solar radiation that reaches Calgary in December. London is farther from the North Pole than Calgary is. The Hadley cell converges over London and pushes warm air toward the surface.

19. Which of the following is the most abundant gas by volume in the atmosphere?

CO₂ N₂ CH₄ O₂

20. Earth currently rotates on an axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees. If that axis changed to 20 degrees, so that the axis was closer to vertical, which of the following would be expected to occur?

The number of days in a year would be reduced. Earth would experience increased volcanic activity. The amount of energy Earth receives from the Sun would increase. Earth would experience a change in seasonal timing and length.

21. Which of the following properties is most likely associated with soils that contain more sand-sized particles than soils that contain more clay-sized particles?

High permeability Low erosion rate High density Low organic content

22. This area is most susceptible to erosion, leading to increased suspended solids and increased turbidity downstream.

A B C D

23. Based on the diagram, which of the following statements best explains why the climate of the West Coast of Africa is drier than that of the East Coast of the United States, even though they are located at similar northern latitudes?

The warm ocean currents off the United States flow east, making the atmospheric temperatures warmer in Africa. Africa is closer to the equator, which makes the temperatures warmer than those of the United States. The cold ocean currents off Africa absorb heat from land and therefore cool the atmosphere. The cold ocean currents evaporate more easily, releasing latent heat into the atmosphere.

24. Based on the diagram, which of the following changes are most likely to occur in the central and eastern tropical Pacific during El Niño?

The Californian current reverses direction and flows northward. The Californian current flows southward with increased speed. The Peruvian current strengthens, leading to cooler-than-average sea-surface temperatures. The Peruvian current weakens, leading to warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures.