Unit 7/9

Which of the following describes a source of methane in the atmosphere?

Anaerobic breakdown of organic material

Which of the following is the human health impact most closely associated with atmospheric particulates?

Asthma

Chemical compound responsible for ocean acidification in the open oceans of the world

Carbon dioxide ( CO2 )

Which of the following best describes a natural process that adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

Carbon dioxide is released from the interior of Earth during volcanic eruptions.

Is primarily responsible for acid rain in the northeast United States

Coal

In the figure above, the letters A, B, and C represent the different thermal layers present in an inversion. Which of the following shows the correct sequence of thermal layers as one moves vertically upwards from the surface of Earth?

Cool sea breeze → Warm → Cool

Which of the following environmental problems is most directly linked to ocean warming?

Coral bleaching

Large quantities of methane hydrates are located in this region and if released will contribute significantly to global climate change.

D

Which of the following is a natural source of atmospheric carbon dioxide?

Decomposition of organic matter

Which of the following would most likely reduce the concentration of ground-level ozone in the air of a city?

Decrease in the emissions of nitrogen oxides

Which of the following energy sources produces the most air pollutants when used during the generation of electricity?

Fuel oil

Scientists have observed that the health of people living in moderately developed regions, which have developed transportation and industry but lack environmental control measures, is more likely to be affected by urban outdoor pollution than by indoor air pollution. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the data presented in the graph?

In moderately developed regions such as China and Latin America, an individual's health is more or as likely to be affected by urban outdoor pollution than by indoor pollution.

Which of the following best describes one way the Clean Air Act helped reduce air pollution?

Introduced regulatory measures to control the amount of lead in fuels

Which of the following is a greenhouse gas that is also a by-product of anaerobic respiration?

Methane, CH4

In addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which of the following components must be present in the atmosphere to create photochemical smog?

NOx and UV light

Which of the following actions would be the most effective in decreasing acid rain and acid deposition problems?

Reducing use of fossil fuels

Based on the diagram, which of the following best predicts how an increase in greenhouse gases would affect the ocean?

The oceans would be warmed because of increased solar radiation being absorbed by the water, causing expansion and sea level rise.

Which of the following best explains the cause of the trend shown in the graph for lead emissions in the United States from 1970 to 2011 ?

Unleaded gasoline was first introduced in 1974, and amendments to the Clean Air Act required cars with the model year 1977 or later to use only unleaded gasoline.

The graph below shows the average pH of precipitation from several regions of the world. The primary cause of acid precipitation in the northeastern United States is

burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels to produce electricity

Surface oceanic circulation results most directly in the

distribution of heat from tropical to temperate and polar regions

Ground-level ozone in most major United States cities results primarily from

motor-vehicle exhaust

The major source of radon in houses in the United States is

the underlying bedrock

Which of the following describes a potential human health effect most likely to be associated with a thermal inversion?

Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates

Which of the following events would most likely lead to a decrease in the pH in the oceans?

Increased burning of fossil fuels in power plants

Which of the following best describes the primary cause of global ocean warming?

Increased global temperature from an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Which of the following best describes why the authors claim that noise exposure will be a major health problem in the twenty-first century?

Noise exposure is on the increase in both industrialized nations and in developing regions.

Which of the following statements best describes photochemical smog in large cities in the United States?

Photochemical smog causes negative human health impacts such as eye and lung irritation.

Scientists want to investigate whether the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the ocean affects fish survival. Scientists suspect immature fish larvae may be most affected by increased carbon dioxide concentrations. Which of the following best identifies a testable hypothesis for the investigation?

The decreasing pH of the ocean water will decrease the survivorship of fish.

Bats use echolocation to find prey by emitting high-pitched bursts of sound and analyzing the reflection. Scientists studying a population of bats in a forest observed that their population size had declined in the years following the completion of a nearby highway. Based on the information above, which of the following best explains how noise pollution from the highway has affected the size of the bat population?

The highway noise is interfering with bats' echolocation, preventing them from successfully locating and catching prey as they fly.

Which of the following contributes to global climate change through the direct release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

Transporting products from one continent to another on a cargo ship

Which of the following is used to reduce SO2 emissions from coal-burning power plants?

Wet-scrubber units

Which of the following is a human health impact associated with exposure to radon gas inside homes or other buildings?

Increased incidence of lung cancer

Which of the following types of releases of greenhouse gases from an anthropogenic source is shown in the diagram?

Industrial and agricultural practices releasing CH4 into the atmosphere

Over a three-year period, a city's environmental protection department measured the particulate matter (PM2.5) in a ten-square-mile area around one of the city's coal-fired power plants. The annual mean level of PM2.5 measured was 20.0 μg/m3 over the three-year study period. The National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 is an annual mean level of 12.0 μg/m3, averaged over three years. The city instructs the manager of the power plant to propose a plan to aid the city in meeting the NAAQS for PM2.5 in the area around the power plant over the next ten years. Which of the following would be the most effective plan for the manager to propose to the city?

Install electrostatic precipitators at the plant.