Natural Resources Test

1. If there are 160 acres in a 1/4 section, then there is ____ acres in a 1/2 section.

a. 320

b. 480

c. 640

d. 680

2. What percentage of the soil is organic matter?

a. 45%

b. 5%

c. 17%

d. 25%

3. A crop grown primarily to prevent soil erosion and to improve the soil structure and tilth.

a. Cover crop

b. Crop rotation

c. Conservation farm planning

d. Contour farming

4. The ceiling of the forest is called the ______.

a. Crown

b. Canopy

c. Intermediate

d. Climax

5. A nutrient rich lake is called a ______lake.

a. Limnetic

b. Organic

c. Eutrophic

d. Hydrophilic

6. Both under grazing and overgrazing discourages the growth of desirable grasses and promotes invaders in an area.

a. True

b. False

7. The removal of dominant trees to allow younger or smaller trees to grow is called ______.

a. Increaser

b. Liberation

c. Flocculation

d. Hypothermia

8. Fire is always detrimental to forests.

a. True

b. False

9. The ______zone of a lake is that which extends from the end of rooted vegetation to the point where sunlight no longer penetrates the water.

a. Lotic

b. Limnetic

c. Profundal

d. Littoral

10. This type of erosion occurs when small streamlets are cut into the soil surface by running water.

a. Splash erosion

b. Gully erosion

c. Sheet erosion

d. Rill erosion

11. This harmful pollutant has been shown to cause lung cancer.

a. benzene

b. mercury

c. arsenic

d. asbestos

12. This radioactive material gives off energy when its atom is split.

a. coal

b. titanium

c. uranium

d. argon

13. The art of producing and caring for a forest is known as:

a. horticulture

b. silviculture

c. aquaculture

d. pop culture

14. Most animals require the same habitat type.

a. true

b. false

15. Well-regulated hunting will lead to an animal’s extinction.

a. true

b. false

16. An exotic species in South Dakota.

a. pheasant

b. carp

c. Canada thistle

d. All of the above


17. Vegetation that provides protection for an animal.

a. edge

b. cover

c. ecosystem

d. algae

18. There are four types of roots in a tree. They are the lateral roots, fibrous roots, deeply descending roots and the _____ root.

a. vertical

b. tap

c. hair

d. canopy

19. Plants convert water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight to sugar. This process is known as ______.

a. photosynthesis

b. respiration

c. ecosystem

d. nitrification

20. What is the best method to create a sustained pheasant population in your area.

a. stocking pheasants

b. creating good pheasant habitat

c. planting soybeans

d. trapping predators

21. Insects that feed and leaves and needles are called _____.

a. meristem feeders

b. sap suckers

c. tip feeders

d. defoliators

22. A _____ fire is the most violent and dangerous of the forest fires.

a. crown

b. ground

c. surface

d. incendiary

23. For a fire to occur, these three things must be present.

a. fuel, carbon dioxide, match

b. oxygen, fuel, heat

c. heat, gas, nitrogen

d. oxygen, match, carbon dioxide

24. These types of mines are usually within 50 feet of the earth’s surface.

a. strip mines

b. shaft mines

c. slope mine

d. drift mine.

25. The 4 Missouri River dams in South Dakota produce electricity from ____.

a. geothermal energy

b. methane

c. hydropower

d. tidal power

26. ______farming essentially means plowing around the hill instead of up and down it.

a. Contour

b. Terrace

c. Conservation

d. Traditional

27. Overgrazing will not affect plant diversity.

a. true

b. false

28. The ____ is the uppermost layer of soil that produces most of our food.

a. glacial till

b. soil survey

c. range

d. topsoil

29. Global warming has been scientifically proven without a doubt to be occurring now.

a. true

b. false

30. Which of these would help with controlling erosion?

a. terracing

b. no-till farming

c. strip cropping

d. all of the above

31. Once water enters a landfill and it moves through the buried materials, it is known as _____.

a. leachate

b. percolate

c. fabricate

d. propagate

32. There are freshwater, saltwater, and tidal ______.

a. marshes

b. bogs

c. prairie potholes

d. vernal pools

33. Water lost to evaporation, runoff and human usage are replaced by:

a. drilling water wells

b. they are never replaced

c. water coming from space

d. the hydrologic cycle

34. Animals that are most active at night are:

a. diurnal

b. nocturnal

c. omnivores

d. infrared

35. Sand, gravel or rock formation found below the earth’s surface, which is saturated with water.

a. surface water

b. hydrologic cycle

c. watershed

d. aquifer

36. This flammable gas is released from the decomposition of wastes.

a. oxygen

b. carbon dioxide

c. nitrogen

d. methane

37. If a species is extinct, then only a few animals of that species remain.

a. true

b. false

38. The study of fish is called:

a. ornithology

b. ichthyology

c. limnology

d. herbology

39. The standard unit of measure for lumber is the ______.

a. board foot

b. cord

c. gross weight

d. dendrometer

40. The oldest and hardest coal is called ______.

a. Bituminous coal

b. Anthracite coal

c. Lignite coal

d. Charcoal

41. The area where fresh water meets salt water is called a(n) ______.

a. Rorqual

b. Estuary

c. Limnetic zone

d. Hydrometer

42. A distinct layer of soil is called a ______.

a. Weathering

b. Original tissue

c. Soil matter

d. Soil horizon

43. ______refers to the ability of the soil to allow water to move through it.

a. Zone of aeration

b. Transpiration

c. Permeability

d. Evaporation

44. ______is the maximum number of animals that an area can support.

a. Cover

b. Territory

c. Habitat

d. Carrying capacity

45. Once the fission process is started in a radioactive material, it can continue on its own. The process is called a ______.

a. Chain reaction

b. Meltdown

c. Electrodialysis

d. Radioactivity

46. Ferrous metals contain ______.

a. Iron

b. Cobalt

c. Aluminum

d. Titanium

47. This material could be considered a pollutant

a. Benzene

b. Phosphorous

c. Silt

d. All of the above

48. The three components of the food chain are:

a. Earth, wind and fire

b. Soil, plants, animals

c. Producers, consumers, and decomposers

d. None of the above

49. Which of the following birds is a parasitic nester?

a. House sparrow

b. Brown headed cowbird

c. Lesser yellow legs

d. Phoebe

50. ______refers to solid matter suspended in a liquid.

a. Coagulation

b. Flocculation

c. Absorption

d. Turbidity