apes water resources & water pollution (exam 3)

A pesticide was applied to a population of roaches, and it was determined that the LD50 was 55 mg/kg. If the average mass of a roach was 0.02kg, which of the following approaches will determine the dose in mg per roach?

55mg/ 1kg x 0.02 kg

Water from which of the following locations on the map would best serve as a control group for the study?

A

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?

Biomagnification

The graph above shows the effect of sewage on biological oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in a flowing stream. The smallest fish populations will most probably be found at point

C

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.

Mandates the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters

Clean Water Act

Which of the following is the most likely route for mercury to enter the food web?

Coal-burning emissions → deposition → ocean → plankton → fishes

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.

Based on the diagram, which of the following is an expected consequence of runoff and sewage in an aquatic environment?

Decreased oxygen production by seaweed on the seafloor from an increase in turbidity

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

A point source discharges organic waste into a stream. Which of the following graphs best depicts the expected pattern for dissolved oxygen (DO) in this stream as a function of distance from the discharge point?

E

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

Of the following, which is the best example of a point source of water pollution?

Factory effluent

Question Which of the following water quality tests would best indicate if sewage from the wastewater treatment plant has contaminated the Moose River?

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

Mercury concentrations were measured in freshwater shrimp populations in two different ponds, one polluted with mercury and one unpolluted, with a similar food web in each pond. Which of the following best identifies the scientific question that would guide this investigation?

How much mercury accumulates in the tissues of freshwater shrimp living in a polluted pond?

The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the Midwestern United States is a major contributing factor to which of the following?

Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico

The amount of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river system is likely to be increased by the presence upstream of which of the following? I. Artificial levees and embankments II. Dams III. Extensive natural wetlands

I only

Defining characteristics of a wetland involve which of the following? I. Hydrology II. Soil type III. Species composition

I, II, and III

The dangers of disposing of toxic chemicals underground came to public attention in which of the following locations?

Love Canal, New York

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? Responses

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.

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.

Which of the following would best improve the validity of the experiment?

Repeating the experiment several times and comparing the results

Which of the following factors would most likely contribute to the conditions observed in the Long Island Sound?

Restricted circulation

Based on the diagram, which of the following is the most likely reason that a community with good sanitation could still have individuals who contract cholera?

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

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 producers

Based on the data table above for a stream in Illinois, which site most likely has a construction site immediately upstream from it? Responses

Site C

Until 2005 the entire Postawko Creek Watershed in Fremont County consisted of a national forest interspersed with hay meadows and houses on lots with a minimum size of five acres. In 2005 Farmer Cobb opened a dairy farm in the watershed, and the citizens of Fremont County became concerned that the runoff from the dairy farm would negatively impact the water quality of the watershed. Scientists employed by the county collected water quality data at five sites in the watershed; some of the data are compiled in the table above. Based on these data, which site is most likely immediately downstream from the dairy farm?

Site C

Which of the following best describes why understanding a watershed and its boundaries is important in designing housing developments along a river?

Surface water and stormwater runoff will drain downstream within the watershed boundaries, so it is important to understand the flow of water through the watershed.

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

Why did the DO after one week decrease as the amount of waste increased?

The algae multiplied and then died and decomposed.

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.

Which of the following should be included in a watershed map to best determine the non-point source of a pollutant, such as fertilizer, found in a river?

The land use upstream of the river and water quality indicators in streams that run downstream into the river

Which of the following statements best describes the concept of phytoremediation?

The use of plants to absorb and accumulate toxic materials from the soil

What is the main purpose for the experiment?

To observe the effect of organic waste on DO

Which of the following is a measure of the amount of suspended material in water?

Turbidity

All of the following are commonly used to deal with the side effects of eutrophication in lakes EXCEPT

adding nitrates

Eutrophication results in the death of trout and other fish as a result of

asphyxiation from lack of oxygen

Factors that increase the spread of infectious diseases include all of the following EXCEPT

exposure to neurotoxins, which affect the endocrine system

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

Three common methods employed in the cleanup of oil spills are

large floating booms, skimmer boats, and genetically engineered bacteria

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

mitigation

Although the use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, a test of the body tissue of an average United States resident today would most likely reveal the presence of DDT because

other countries that export produce to the United States still use DDT

All of the following are considered toxic metal pollutants EXCEPT

potassium