Environmental Science Multiple Choice
Which of the following is the best example of congeneration?
A coal-fired power plant captures waste heat and uses it to heat adjacent buildings
All of the following are likely consequences of indoor air pollution except an increase in...
The risk of developing skin cancer
An effective short-term remediation strategy for the pond would be to...
Add calcium carbonate to the pond water
Which of the following best represents the percent of the water that is used for various purposes worldwide
Agriculture - 70% , Municipal - 20% , Commercial - 10%
Marine Sediments that form limestone are a major sink for this element
Carbon
Most plastics pose a special problem in the waste stream because they...
Decompose slowly, if at all, and persist as solid waste
Which of the following would be the most likely effect of acid deposition on a northern forest?
Decreased ability of trees to withstand cold weather
Which of the following best characterizes a population that is growing exponentially with time?
Doubling in size over equal increments of time
Which of the following ecological concepts includes all of the others?
Ecosystem
Of the following ecosystems, which has the lowest net primary productivity, measured as kilocalories of energy produced per square meter per year?
Open ocean
Many synthetic chemicals, such as PCBs, act as estrogen mimics. In an ecosystem, these persistent chemicals would have the greatest effect on which of the following?
Secondary consumers
A laboratory study using rats showed a steady increase in physical effects as the concentration of a toxic substance in their food was increased. This suggests that...
The dose-response relationship is linear
Which of the following best describes acid mine drainage?
The leakage of water containing toxic material from coal and metal mines
Which of the following is the best example of gray water?
Water that has been used for bathing and for washing clothes
The danger from radon gas would most likely be greatest in...
Well-insulated homes
If the population of a country is growing at a rate of 1.75 percent per year, the population will double approximately how many years?
70/1.75 = 40 years (use the rule of 70)
The risk that many cancer-causing chemicals pose to humans can be estimated using laboratory tests on rats. A significant scientific limitation of such test is that...
Animal models may not reflect human responses
West Niles virus was identified in the Western Hemisphere during the summer of 1999 and was associated with human, equine, and avian deaths. This virus is acquired by...
Being bitten by an infected mosquito
More commonly used in the least developed countries than in highly developed countries
Biomass
Which of the following compounds is NOT involved in the depletion of stratospheric ozone?
Carbon dioxide
It has been observed that forest fires can produce up to 40% of the mean annual global emissions of which of the following gases?
Carbon dioxides
Which of the following is a primary air pollutant produced from burning coal?
Carbon monoxide
Contains an amendment that allows private landowners to modify their property under a habitat conservation plan
Endangered Species Act
Drawbacks include noise and the release of corrosive chemicals
Geothermal
For a primary producer, the main function of photosynthesis is to manufacture
Glucose
In North America, native pollinators often increase the quantity and quality of crops of native plants that are insect pollinated more effectively than European honeybees do. The most likely reason for the phenomenon is that native pollinators...
Have coevolved with native plant species
Which of the following pairs of statistics would most likely indicate the highest quality of life in a country?
High life expectancy and low infant mortality
The great grasslands of the world have which of the following primary characteristics in common?
High winds blow seeds of trees away such that only grasses exist
A cost-benefit analysis done to investigate a proposed mine site would likely take which of the following into account?
I. The medical costs of mine worker injuries, II. The cost of environmental restoration of the site when it is shut down, III. The value of the ore to be extracted from the mine
The increase in mean global temperature is likely to result in all of the following EXCEPT
Increased sea level
Which of the following best illustrates a mitigation approach to climate change?
Increasing the proportion of commercial energy that is produced by wind farms
Which of the following is an example of an external cost?
Individuals pay for medical treatment of lung disease aggravated by pollution from a coal-fired power plant
Which of the following represents a correct pairing of an agricultural practice with its environmental consequence?
Paddy rice cultivation and methane emissions
Guano from fish-eating birds is a commercial source of this element
Phosphorus
Converts solar energy directly into electrical energy
Photovoltaics
Which of the following is the best example of an economic incentive that could be used to improve environmental quality and reduce resource waste?
Providing tax breaks for companies that use recycled materials
Members of an r-selected species characteristically...
Reach sexual maturity quickly
A farmer observes that increasingly higher concentrations of a particular pesticide have been required each year over the past ten years to achieve the same level of effectiveness on a specific insect pest. Which of the following best helps explain the observation?
Some individual insects are more likely than others to survive and reproduce due to their inherited traits
The crude growth rate (r) of a population is calculated by...
Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate
In the stratosphere, which of the following increases Earth's albedo by reflecting solar energy back into space?
Sulfate aerosols
This element in pyrite contributions to acid mine drainage
Sulfur
Which of the following does NOT exert a major influence on Earth's overall climate?
The seasonal development of temperature inversions in geographical basins
Which of the following is a characteristic of tropical rain forests?
Their soils typically have a high pH
Small populations of animals, such as those typically found on islands, are prone to extinction because...
They are more vulnerable to unpredictable events
Which of the following best explains why decomposers in soils and water are important to ecosystems?
They recycle nutrients
All of the following statements about invasive exotic species are true EXCEPT
They tend to have low reproductive rates
Recent studies show that the decline of some tree populations in the northeastern U.S is due to a combination of factors. Which of the following is the most important factor?
Toxic metals freed by acid deposition
Which of the following best describes the process of leaching?
Water percolating through soil, dissolving some of its material
In a human population, the population momentum effect is most likely to occur in cases in which a large percent of people in the population are in which age-group?
Younger than eighteen years old
A clock draws 2.0 watts of power to operate and is in operation 8,600 hours per year. The energy usage of the clock, in kWh per year, is closest to...
17
Which of the following is the most successful solution to the problem of fish mortality caused by dams?
Building fish ladders around the dam
Which of the following is a greenhouse gas that comes only from human sources?
Chlorofluorocarbons
Which of the following characteristically produces non-point-source pollution?
Erosion from agricultural land
Factors that increase the spread of infectious diseases include all of the following EXCEPT...
Exposure to neurotoxins, which affect the endocrine system
Salmon farming threatens the health of wild salmon stocks primarily because...
Farmed salmon can spread parasites and disease to wild salmon
True statements about the ozone include which of the following?
II. Contact with ozone can be injurious to human health, III. Ozone absorbs some wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation
In 1950 the pH of the pond water was 8.2, but by 2000 the pH had decreased to 5.2. Which of the following changes would also be expected in the pond over the same time period?
II. Increased levels of heavy metals
Correct statements about the northern spotted owl include which of the following?
II. It is dependent on mature, old-growth forest for it's habitat, III. It is a carnivore at or near the top of the food chain
Biological control methods for managing insect pests are effective for reasons that include which of the following?
II. They generally focus on one target insect to ensure that the target insect population remains low, III. They can lead to a self-perpetuating population of a control species
The release of a large amount of sewage and other organic wastes into a river would likely result in a sharp
Increase in the biological oxygen demand
Switching from customary large-scale agricultural practices to which of the following is most likely to reduce the exposure of farmworkers and nearby residents to toxic chemical?
Integrated pest management
Which of the following NOT a property of water?
It absorbs relatively little heat as it vaporizes
The activity with the health risk most likely to be overestimated by the general public in the U.S is...
Living near a nuclear power plant
Which of the following actions would be most likely to increase the protection of ecological systems in national forests?
Mandate that the government sale of logging rights in national forests be at fair market value
Addressed the issue of stratospheric ozone depletion
Montreal Protocol
Many environmentalists consider Egypt's Aswan High Dam on the Nile River to be an ecological disaster. Which of the following is the best evidence to support this viewpoint?
Most of the nutrient-rich silt that the Nile annually deposited downstream is now deposited behind the dam.
Requires the federal government to produce an environmental impact statement for any construction project funded by the government
National Environmental Policy Act
Which of the following is a common component of photochemical smog and is a reddish-brown gas with a pungent odor?
Nitrogen dioxide NO2
Which of the following problems is best addressed with contour plowing?
Soil erosion
Which of the following air pollutants is correctly paired with one of its major effects?
Sulfur oxides... acid deposition
Which of the following is most likely to reduce the United States contribution to the increase in concentration of atmospheric CO2
Switching from cars and trucks to rail for mass transit and freight movement
A small developing country with negligible rates of immigration and emigration is going through a demographic change. Thirty years ago the crude birth rate was 44 per thousand per year and the crude death rate was 17 per thousand per year. Now the crude birth rate is 16 per thousand per year and the crude death rate is 5 per thousand per year. Which of the following statements about the country now is most likely to be true?
The country is at the industrial stage of the demographic transition
Which of the following is true about the region of Earth's atmosphere known as the stratosphere?
The highest concentration of naturally occurring ozone forms in this layer