APES Unit 8 MCQ
A pesticide was applied to a population of roaches, and it was determined that the LD50 was 55mgkg. If the average mass of a roach was 0.02kg, which of the following approaches will determine the dose in mg per roach? Responses
55mg/1kg x 0.02kg
The graph shows how biological oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration change over the length of a stream. Points A-D indicate different locations within the stream. At which of the following locations in the stream was there most likely a discharge of excess organic matter into the water?
B
Which of the following best explains why DDT has been found in penguin eggs in the Antarctic?
Chemicals used in one region of Earth can circulate in the biosphere and affect organisms in a distant region.
The diagram illustrates a sewage treatment plant. The different processes at the plant are labeled A to D.
D
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.
Which of the following practices would best help to protect against inland and coastal flooding in urban areas?
Preserving wetland and coastal mangrove habitats
Lakes that are characterized by high water clarity and low concentrations of dissolved nutrients are classified as
oligotrophic
An advantage of recycling aluminum rather than disposing of it in landfills is that aluminum can be
produced from recycled metal using much less energy than is required for its production from aluminum ore
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
Of the phenomena that correlate with the data above, the one that is the most direct consequence of the trend in air travel is
the increase in the spread of infectious diseases
Integrated waste management employs all of the following EXCEPT
using disposable diapers instead of cloth diapers
Cholera is an acute infection of the digestive system that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Infected individuals can experience a range of symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and extreme thirst. If symptoms persist and severe dehydration results, an infected individual can die within hours of symptom onset. The diagram below shows how cholera is transmitted.
V. cholerae is a microscopic bacterium that can survive in various aquatic environments for prolonged periods of time and can cause a delayed onset of visible symptoms.
Large objects, such as sticks and rocks, are screened out and removed during this process.
A
An ecologist examining several different ponds discovers that in one pond all the frogs are female. Which of the following most likely led to the all-female population of frogs? Responses
An endocrine disruptor
Which of the following would encourage recycling? Responses
Decreasing taxes on recycled material
Based on the diagram, which of the following is associated with the primary treatment of sewage?
Grit chamber
Endocrine disruptors directly affect which of the following in an organism?
Hormones
Which of the following is the most likely consequence of runoff transporting chemicals that are endocrine disruptors to a pond? Responses
Increased frequency of birth defects in fish populations in the pond
Rachel Carson's contributions to the environmental movement include which of the following?
Increasing public awareness of the risks of using pesticides
Which of the following is a way to potentially eliminate one of the greatest threats to the world's mangrove wetlands? Responses
Integrate ecologically sound shrimp aquacultural practices with mangrove management.
Of the following, which is the primary method of waste disposal in the United States?
Landfilling
Significant increases in water temperature can drastically change dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in a lake. Why does the combined effect of these two environmental changes result in algal blooms?
Low dissolved oxygen leads to death for aerobic organisms, like fish, whose decomposition provides an overabundance of nutrients for the algae, resulting in the large blooms.
The following questions refer to this list of pollutants. (A) Radon (B) Mercury (C) Lead (D) Copper (E) Iron Poses a health risk to humans who eat large quantities of marine fish such as swordfish and tuna
Mercury
Which of the following is a point source pollutant that would likely affect the ecosystem health of a coral reef?
Oil released from the broken hull of a shipwrecked tanker
Which of the following is the best example of a point source pollutant?
Oil tanker spill
Which of the following best explains why top predators can have up to 60 times as much of persistent organic pollutant (POP) as their prey and up to 600 times as much of the pollutant as producers?
POPs accumulate in the body fat of living organisms. POPs increase in concentration as they move up the food chain.
Which of the following is the greatest component (by weight) of municipal solid waste in the United States?
Paper
Which of the following best describes a way that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) cause harm in the environment?
Persistent organic pollutants are soluble in fat, so they accumulate in an organisms' fatty tissues.
A beach community was recently negatively affected by a hurricane. Community leaders are looking for a potential solution to prevent damage from future hurricanes. Below is a list of their concerns as well as how important each issue is to the community. Which of the following solutions would best address the issues of greatest concern in the community?
Planting mangrove forests
Which of the following correctly orders the methods of solid-waste management in terms of energy required?
Reduce Reuse Recycle
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
Which of the following is the best description of bioaccumulation?
The absorption of a substance by an organism at a rate greater than the rate of elimination
When water used to cool power plants during normal plant operations is released into adjacent waterways, which of the following is most likely to occur as a result?
The dissolved oxygen in the adjacent waterways would decrease because used coolant water is warm and leads to thermal pollution.
A massive bluegill fish kill was observed in a lake near a power plant during the winter months. It was determined that the plant was releasing large amounts of hot water into the lake. Which of the following explains what likely caused the death of so many bluegills in the lake?
The influx of warmer water caused an unexpected increase in the metabolic rate of the bluegills, which led to increased physiological stress from limited resource availability.
The graph below depicts the dose response curves for three common bacteria and a newly discovered bacterium found in streams near certain agricultural properties.
The newly discovered bacterium would have the lowest allowable dosage to meet the drinking water standards.
The diagram shows a power plant designed to generate electricity for a nearby city.
The temperature of the released water causes a decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the reservoir.
Which of the following best describes a supporting ecological service provided by wetlands?
Wetlands provide a habitat for a wide variety of organisms.
All of the following are commonly used to deal with the side effects of eutrophication in lakes EXCEPT
adding nitrates
West Nile 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 Responses
being bitten by an infected mosquito
In the United States, most municipal solid waste is disposed of by
landfilling
Three common methods employed in the cleanup of oil spills are
large floating booms, skimmer boats, and genetically engineered bacteria
The LD50 for arsenic in humans is 13mg/kg. Which of the following approaches should be used to calculate the number of grams of arsenic it would take to reach the LD50 in a 140-pound person? [Note: 1kg=2.2pounds]
140lb x 1kg/2.2b x 13mg/1kg x 1g/1000mg
The graph below represents the dose response curves of insect pests for four different pesticides.
1500g/cm#3
Students conducted an experiment to calculate the LD50 of Chemical X on seedlings. They grew separate groups of seedlings in a range of doses of Chemical X. After several days they calculated the percent mortality at each dose and graphed the results. Which of the graphs correctly shows how to determine the LD50 of Chemical X on the seedlings?
50% mortality, Below medium Chemical X Dose
The graph below shows the LD50 for two different species of mice after being exposed to a mutagen for 30 days. Based on the data in the graph, which of the following should be used to calculate the difference in LD50 for the two different species of mice?
575mg - 490mg
Researchers are evaluating the waste treatment facility located on the Moose River in the northeastern United States. They are sampling the river and its tributaries at several locations, as shown on the map below.
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 best describes the action of an endocrine disruptor?
An endocrine disruptor blocks the receptor protein binding site of a hormone so that the cell cannot receive a signal.
The table below shows the oral LD50 values for various household substances. 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.
The following questions refer to the graph below showing the relationship between the induction of cancer in breast cells and the concentration of anastrozole. Based upon the data, what is the best description of this relationship?
As the concentration of anastrozole increases, the percent induction of breast cancer decreases.
Which of the following human health issues is linked to exposure to pollutants released during the incineration of plastic waste? Responses
Asthma
Some toxic compounds are ingested and retained in the tissues. These pollutants pose special risks to humans and other organisms high on the food chain because of which process? Responses
Biomagnification
The graph below represents the dose response curves of insect pests for four different pesticides.
D
Which of the following best describes why DDT is classified as a persistent organic pollutant?
DDT is very stable, and as much as 50% of the original concentration can remain in the soil 15 years after the initial application.
Researchers suspect that sewage leaked into the Moose River. Rates for which of the following diseases should be used to determine whether the human population using the river as a source of drinking water was exposed to sewage?
Dysentery
Alligators in a Florida lake polluted by high levels of dioxins (chlorinated hydrocarbons) had low testosterone levels and failed to reproduce. Scientists came to the conclusion that the dioxins were acting as which of the following?
Endocrine disrupters
Which of the following characteristically produces non-point-source pollution?
Erosion from agricultural land
If wastewater treatment plant effluent that contains nitrates and phosphates is allowed to flow into a body of water, which of the following may result?
Eutrophication
Researchers are evaluating the waste treatment facility located on the Moose River in the northeastern United States. They are sampling the river and its tributaries at several locations, as shown on the map below.
Fecal coliform measured at site B
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
Scientists are interested in measuring the effect of pollution on the water quality of a stream. They will use observations of various bottom-dwelling insects, or macroinvertebrates, collected in the stream as indicators of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions within the stream. Which of the following best describes why macroinvertebrate sampling can be used to assess the overall health of a stream? Responses
Macroinvertebrates live in an aquatic ecosystem for a long enough time to show the chronic effects of pollutants, and many tend to remain in the same area throughout their life span.
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following gases. a.) Carbon dioxide b.) Carbon monoxide c.) Methane d.) Radon e.) Sulfur dioxide Is a flammable gas produced by landfills ?
Methane
Chemical compound that can cause algal blooms and cultural eutrophication in streams Responses
Nitrates (NO3−)
Cholera is an acute infection of the digestive system that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Infected individuals can experience a range of symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and extreme thirst. If symptoms persist and severe dehydration results, an infected individual can die within hours of symptom onset. The diagram below shows how cholera is transmitted.
Runoff from a nearby agricultural field pollutes a reservoir used for drinking water.
Waste from which of the following is an example of nonpoint source pollution?
Runoff from agricultural fields
Scientists are interested in determining if selenium, from a nearby mine, magnifies in the tissues of fish living in a lake. Which of the following best describes a testable hypothesis for the study?
Selenium will be at a higher concentration in fish tissue than in the tissue of fish prey.
Based on the diagram above, which of the following best describes why a population in an area that has poor sanitation can be particularly at risk for a cholera outbreak? Responses
The bacterium that causes cholera is spread through ingestion of contaminated water or food.
Which of the following is true of sewage treatment plants in the United States?
They are not designed to remove pharmaceutical chemicals from wastewater.
A local citizen science group is monitoring the water quality of a nearby lake. They gather water samples once a week on Wednesday between the hours of 7 A.M. and 9 A.M. from the same location. One day in August they were unable to sample within that time frame and collected the sample at 3 P.M.
Water sampled later in the day may be warmer and therefore have lower dissolved oxygen levels.
Which of the following identifies an unintended result from recycling programs?
When items are placed in recycling that cannot be recycled, the cost of recycling increases.
Eutrophication results in the death of trout and other fish as a result of
asphyxiation from lack of oxygen
Major anthropogenic sources of nitrogen pollution include commercial fertilizers, vehicle exhaust, industrial air pollution, and
discharge of sewage to surface waters
The release of a large amount of sewage and other organic wastes into a river would likely result in a sharp Responses
increase in the biological oxygen demand
When logging is carried out in a watershed, a likely effect on the local streams is
increased water temperature
A state highway was constructed over wetlands. The state obtained a permit to fill the existing wetlands in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Water Act in 1972, and agreed to create another wetland. This trade-off approach to addressing an environmental issue is known as Responses
mitigation
