APES MIDTERM 2022
A sanitary landfill with a surface area of 6000m26000m2 receives a yearly rainfall amount of 300mm300mm. About 2020 percent of this precipitation is runoff and does not infiltrate the surface. A leachate collection system, which is installed underneath the landfill, is 9090 percent effective at collecting and treating any water that infiltrates the surface of the landfill. Assuming consistent yearly rainfall amounts, what is the volume of leachate, in m3m3, that the landfill will be able to treat per year?
1296 m^3
The town of Fremont Center shares its power plant with the towns of West Fremont and East Fremont. Information about the three towns is shown in the table below. The maximum capacity of the existing power plant is 2,000 MW. The percent of the total available power currently being used by West Fremont is nearest to
15%
What was the approximate percent increase in consumption from 1986 to 1997 ?
20%
Burning one gallon of gasoline in a car releases approximately 20 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. One person drives 60,000 miles in a car that averages 30 miles per gallon (mpg), while another person drives 60,000 miles in a car that averages 20 mpg. Over the course of the 60,000 miles, how many fewer pounds of CO2 are released by the 30 mpg car than by the 20 mpg car?
20,000
A sample of radioactive waste has a half-life of 10 years and an activity level of 2 curies. After how many years will the activity level of this sample be 0.25 curie?
30 years
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following should be used to calculate the difference in LD50LD50 for the two different species of mice?
575mg−490mg
The half-life of a radioactive substance with the decay rate shown in the graph above is closest to
7 seconds
At the 1997 rate of consumption, about how long will the estimated 2,000 billion barrels of oil last?
75 years
Large objects, such as sticks and rocks, are screened out and removed during this process.
A
Water from which of the following locations on the map would best serve as a control group for the study?
A
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
Which of the following describes a component of a modern sanitary landfill?
A bottom liner of plastic or clay to prevent groundwater contamination
Which of the following locations would most likely receive acid deposition?
A town downwind from a coal-fired power plant
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 increase the permeability of the soil
Which of the following best describes a transform boundary?
An area where two tectonic plates slide past one another
Based on the LD50 values, which of the following best describes the toxicity level of the household substances shown in the table?
Antifreeze is more toxic than aspirin.
Which of the following human health issues is linked to exposure to pollutants released during the incineration of plastic waste?
Asthma
At which of the following sites would activity result in volcanoes, island arcs, and mountains?
B
This area is most susceptible to erosion, leading to increased suspended solids and increased turbidity downstream.
B
Which of the following areas shown on the map of the United States has a history of coal deposits and is most likely to have mining operations?
B
Directions: The following question(s) refer to the following methods of solid-waste disposal and treatment (A) Sanitary landfill (B) Incineration (C) Discharge to sewers, streams, and rivers (D) Chemical treatment (E) Biological treatment Which method introduces microorganisms to break down hazardous organic compounds?
Biological Treatment
Which of the following is the correct order of soil particles in order of increasing size?
CLAY-SILT-SAND
Which of the following is a primary air pollutant produced from burning coal?
Carbon monoxide
The cities of Edmonton and Calgary are relatively far north and at high elevations. Which of the following best explains the data presented in their ecological footprints?
Colder average temperatures and longer nights in Edmonton and Calgary lead to high energy usage to heat and light homes.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has determined that all four pesticides could have negative health consequences to humans if applied at high concentrations and has set a maximum application concentration of 500g/cm3500g/cm3. Based on the data in the graph, which pesticide would be the most effective at that concentration?
D
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following processes. (A) Photosynthesis (B) Eutrophication (C) Denitrification (D) Decomposition (E) Transpiration The rapid rate of this process in tropical forests results in low-nutrient soils
Decomposition
Which of the following components, which are not shown on the diagram, are part of the tertiary treatment of wastewater?
Disinfectants
This region has been the largest petroleum exporter for the past four decades.
E
Which of the following statements correctly explains the tectonic plate activity on the West Coast of the United States?
Earthquakes occur at the San Andreas Fault when stored energy is released from locked plates.
Based on the data in the graphs, which of the following strategies would best increase the total volume of municipal solid waste being recycled?
Enacting a single-stream recycling program and providing bins to residential homes
Which of the following examples includes both a point and a nonpoint source of pollution?
Fertilizer from suburban lawns and wastewater from a water treatment plant
Which of the following scenarios best explains the concept of the tragedy of the commons?
Fish are shared resources, and as the fishing industry competes for the fish, the resource extraction is no longer sustainable.
For a certain insecticide, the LD-50 dosage level for rats is determined to be 250 milligrams per kilograms of body mass. On the basis of this information, which of the following is the best prediction regarding the consequences of receiving this dosage of the insecticide?
Five hundred out of every one thousand rats would die.
During the Cretaceous period of Earth's geological history, eastern Montana was covered with lowland swamps rich in plant life. These plants were buried and slowly decomposed. Which of the following resources would most likely be mined from the plant remains buried in eastern Montana during the Cretaceous?
Fossil fuels such as coal
After reviewing personal footprint data, Student 5 decides to take action to lower his or her overall footprint by reducing money spent on shoes and clothing. Land use in which of the following categories will be most affected by this change?
Goods and services
Based on the diagram, which of the following is associated with the primary treatment of sewage?
Grit Chamber
Which of the following would be the best way to mitigate deforestation?
Grow more diverse timber products to increase economic value in an area.
The presence of which of the following contaminants would be the strongest reason for judging municipal sewage sludge unfit for use as fertilizer?
Heavy metals
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.
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.
Critics of incineration of municipal solid waste suggests that it may not be the best solution for the future, for which of the following reasons?
Incineration contributes to air pollution.
Which of the following correctly pairs a region with its percent increase in electricity demand between 2016 and 2040?
India 227%
Which of the following best describes an environmental advantage of urbanization?
Individuals living in cities usually have a lower transportation carbon footprint than individuals living in rural areas.
Which of the following correctly orders the methods of solid-waste management in terms of energy required?
LEAST TO MOST IN ORDER IS reduce, reuse, recycle
In the United States, most municipal solid waste is disposed of by
Landfilling
Of the following, which is the most serious immediate problem associated with sanitary landfills?
Leachate contamination of groundwater
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following gases. Carbon dioxide Carbon monoxide Methane Radon Sulfur dioxide
Methane
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following gases. Carbon dioxide Carbon monoxide Methane Radon Sulfur dioxide Is a flammable gas produced by landfills
Methane
Industrial logging threatens many forested ecosystems. Which of the following environmental consequences will most likely result from clear-cutting deciduous forests for logging?
More carbon dioxide will be added to the atmosphere and increase anthropogenic climate change.
In addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCsVOCs), which of the following components must be present in the atmosphere to create photochemical smog?
NOx and UVUV light
Chemical compound that leads to formation of photochemical smog in the troposphere when it reacts with other compounds in the presence of sunlight
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Of the following sources, which supplies the most commercial energy in the world today?
Oil
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following Canadian cities had the lowest average per capita ecological footprint?
Ottawa
Step P. Water is passed through a screen to remove debris. Step Q. Pathogenic organisms are killed by chlorination, UV, or ozone. Step R. Suspended particles clump and settle out. Step S. A floccing agent, such as alum, is added to the water. The processes described above are steps in the purification and treatment of municipal wastewater. The steps are listed in random order. Which of the following lists the steps in the correct sequence?
P,S,R,Q
Which of the following is the greatest component (by weight) of municipal solid waste in the United States?
Paper
The water-holding capacity of soil is LEAST likely to be affected by the addition of which of the following?
Pesticide
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.
Which of the following environmental problems is most often linked to the combustion of fossil fuels?
Photochemical smog formation in the troposphere
Which of the following is most likely the source of the radon found in a house?
Radon gas found in bedrock and soil leaked into the home through cracks in the foundation.
If Student 2 wanted to change his or her footprint to be more similar to that of Student 1, which of the following actions would he or she choose based on the data given in table 1 ?
Reducing the amount of meat in his or her diet
Which of the following strategies could be used to reduce soil erosion during surface mining of coal?
Replanting Vegetation
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following. (A) Safe Drinking Water Act (B) Clean Water Act (C) Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (D) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (E) Toxic Substances Control Act Establishes cradle-to-grave tracking of hazardous waste
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Which of the following laws gave the EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from "cradle-to-grave", including the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste?
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Waste from which of the following is an example of nonpoint source pollution?
Runoff from agricultural fields
What are the proportions of sand, silt, and clay for the soil at point T?
SAND = 60% SILT = 30% CLAY = 10%
Based on the soil texture triangle, which of the following would describe soil that was 25%25% clay, 25%25% silt, and 50%50% sand?
Sandy Clay Loam
Directions: The following question(s) refer to the following methods of solid-waste disposal and treatment (A) Sanitary landfill (B) Incineration (C) Discharge to sewers, streams, and rivers (D) Chemical treatment (E) Biological treatment Which method is used most frequently in the United States today?
Sanitary landfill
Which of the following best achieves the goal of providing wood products for humans while preserving biodiversity?
Selective cutting of large areas of old-growth forest
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following gases. Carbon dioxide Carbon monoxide Methane Radon Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Which of the following is the best method for preventing soil erosion in an agricultural area?
Terrace Farming
Acid rain is associated with which of the following?
The burning of fossil fuels
Which of the following statements correctly explains the role of fossil fuels in the production of energy?
The combustion of fossil fuels heats water to produce steam, which then turns a turbine.
Which of the following is a limitation of using only the data in the table to complete an ecological footprint analysis of the different students?
The footprint is a static analysis and does not include all environmental impacts of an individual.
Which of the following best describes the process known as "mountaintop removal"?
The use of heavy equipment to move overburden downhill during the strip mining of coal
A new 450-unit housing development will replace several small farms on the outskirts of Fremont. The development will be composed of 1/4-hectare lots with nearly identical footprints, as show below.
There will be less recharge of groundwater.
Which of the following is a true statement concerning the production of electricity in conventional nuclear power plants using fission reactors?
Thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy and then to electrical energy, as in coal-burning power plants.
Which of the following is true of sewage treatment plants in the United States?
They are not designed to remove pharmaceutical chemicals from wastewater.
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 has the largest proven coal reserves?
USA
Which soil composition would be the best choice for lining a landfill?
W
An advantage of using natural gas, rather than oil, as a fuel is that natural gas is
cleaner because it burns more completely
Sustainable use of forests in the United States would likely be encouraged by
clear-cutting old-growth forests to allow for secondary succession
The majority of atmospheric mercury is produced by
coal-burning power plants
Sustainable use of forests in the United States would likely be encouraged by
cutting small groups of medium- and large- sized trees in uneven-aged forests
Many communities experience the tragedy of the commons. One way a local community might regulate a shared and limited resource and reduce the tragedy of the commons is to
divide the resources into parcels and assign them to individuals
Many homeowners are unaware that their garbage may contain hazardous waste, which should be taken to a designated hazardous waste dump site instead of being placed in their regular trash. All of the following are considered household hazardous waste EXCEPT
food scraps
Directions: The following question(s) refer to the following methods of solid-waste disposal and treatment (A) Sanitary landfill (B) Incineration (C) Discharge to sewers, streams, and rivers (D) Chemical treatment (E) Biological treatment Which method reduces the volume of waste but could release toxic emissions into the atmosphere?
incineration
The three main anthropogenic sources of gaseous air pollutants in the United States are
industry, transportation, and energy production
As urbanization increases and natural soil surfaces are covered, the groundwater supply is reduced due to
loss of recharge area
The major human health problem related to radon accumulation is
lung cancer
Ground-level ozone in most major United States cities results primarily from A burning coal
motor-vehicle exhaust
In the United States, the largest single component of municipal solid waste is
paper
There are various stages in the formation of coal as heat and pressure are increased and moisture content is decreased. These stages, in order, are
peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
Of the following strategies to decrease the landfill volume of packaging material from food and other consumer products, the most energy efficient is
promoting the use of reusable containers for consumer goods
Most municipal solid waste in the United States is disposed of in
sanitary landfills
It has recently been estimated that the growth in world population has slowed in the past decade. Despite this trend, environmentalists remain concerned about the environmental impact of world population, principally because
the standard of living is increasing in many developing countries, leading to an increased per capita use of natural resources
