AP®︎ Environmental Science: Unit 4 Practice Test
Prepare for your quiz, test, or the AP exam with focused practice questions on Unit 4 of AP Environmental Science – Earth Systems and Resources.
Questions List
Unit 4 (All Topics)
Question 1 Topic 4.1Easy
This question tests the following: ERT-4.A.1
What type of boundary occurs where two tectonic plates move towards each other?
What You’re Being Tested On:
Explore the learning objectives taken directly from the College Board’s AP® Environmental Science Curriculum. Ensure you’re prepared for the exact topics covered on the AP® exam, in-class tests, and quizzes, and gain confidence in your mastery of the material.
Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources
This unit investigates Earth’s physical systems, including plate tectonics, soil formation, climate, and atmospheric circulation patterns.
Topic 4.1: Plate Tectonics
Learning Objective: ERT-4.A
Describe the geological changes and events that occur at convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.A.1
Convergent boundaries can result in the creation of mountains, island arcs, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.A.2
Divergent boundaries can result in seafloor spreading, rift valleys, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.A.3
Transform boundaries can result in earthquakes.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.A.4
Maps that show the global distribution of plate boundaries can be used to determine the location of volcanoes, island arcs, earthquakes, hot spots, and faults.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.A.5
An earthquake occurs when stress overcomes a locked fault, releasing stored energy.
Topic 4.2: Soil Formation and Erosion
Learning Objective: ERT-4.B
Describe the characteristics and formation of soil.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.B.1
Soils are formed when parent material is weathered, transported, and deposited.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.B.2
Soils are generally categorized by horizons based on their composition and organic material.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.B.3
Soils can be eroded by winds or water. Protecting soils can protect water quality as soils effectively filter and clean water that moves through them.
Topic 4.3: Soil Composition and Properties
Learning Objective: ERT-4.C
Describe similarities and differences between properties of different soil types.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.C.1
Water holding capacity—the total amount of water soil can hold—varies with different soil types. Water retention contributes to land productivity and fertility of soils.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.C.2
The particle size and composition of each soil horizon can affect the porosity, permeability, and fertility of the soil.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.C.3
There are a variety of methods to test the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soil that can aid in a variety of decisions, such as irrigation and fertilizer requirements.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.C.4
A soil texture triangle is a diagram that allows for the identification and comparison of soil types based on their percentage of clay, silt, and sand.
Topic 4.4: Earth’s Atmosphere
Learning Objective: ERT-4.D
Describe the structure and composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.D.1
The atmosphere is made up of major gases, each with its own relative abundance.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.D.2
The layers of the atmosphere are based on temperature gradients and include the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
Topic 4.5: Global Wind Patterns
Learning Objective: ERT-4.E
Explain how environmental factors can result in atmospheric circulation.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.E.1
Global wind patterns primarily result from the most intense solar radiation arriving at the equator, resulting in density differences and the Coriolis effect.
Topic 4.6: Watersheds
Learning Objective: ERT-4.F
Describe the characteristics of a watershed.
Essential Knowledge: ERT-4.F.1
Characteristics of a given watershed include its area, length, slope, soil, vegetation types, and divides with adjoining watersheds.
Topic 4.7: Solar Radiation and Earth’s Seasons
Learning Objective: ENG-2.A
Explain how the sun’s energy affects the Earth’s surface.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.A.1
Incoming solar radiation (insolation) is the Earth’s main source of energy and is dependent on season and latitude.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.A.2
The angle of the sun’s rays determines the intensity of the solar radiation. Due to the shape of the Earth, the latitude that is directly horizontal to the solar radiation receives the most intensity.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.A.3
The highest solar radiation per unit area is received at the equator and decreases toward the poles.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.A.4
The solar radiation received at a location on the Earth’s surface varies seasonally, with the most radiation received during the location’s longest summer day and the least on the shortest winter day.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.A.5
The tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation causes the Earth’s seasons and the number of hours of daylight in a particular location on the Earth’s surface.
Topic 4.8: Earth’s Geography and Climate
Learning Objective: ENG-2.B
Describe how the Earth’s geography affects weather and climate.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.B.1
Weather and climate are affected not only by the sun’s energy but by geologic and geographic factors, such as mountains and ocean temperature.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.B.2
A rain shadow is a region of land that has become drier because a higher elevation area blocks precipitation from reaching the land.
Topic 4.9: El Niño and La Niña
Learning Objective: ENG-2.C
Describe the environmental changes and effects that result from El Niño or La Niña events (El Niño–Southern Oscillation).
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.C.1
El Niño and La Niña are phenomena associated with changing ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. These phenomena can cause global changes to rainfall, wind, and ocean circulation patterns.
Essential Knowledge: ENG-2.C.2
El Niño and La Niña are influenced by geological and geographic factors and can affect different locations in different ways.
