CE 250 Test 1 Quizzes

You are trying to estimate the mass of concrete needed for a highway project. An example of structural uncertainty in your model may be:

You simplified your model to exclude on-ramps and off-ramps.

What are the dimensions of velocity?

[LT^-1]

In Lecture 1.5, the number of gas stations in the U.S. was estimated. Which of the following is a structural uncertainty?

A person is not necessarily a driver.

The vision statement from the American Society for Civil expects engineers to adhere to the principles of sustainable development.

True

Ways to get involved with undergraduate research include: (select all that apply):

-Applying for funded positions with faculty -Participating in the NCSU RISE program over the summer -Taking CE499

Which of the following infrastructure can be affected by sea level rising? Select all that apply.

-Bridges -Airports -Roads -Rail

In 2021, according to the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, how many of the 17 infrastructure categories receive a grade of C or higher? (provide a numerical integer)

4

Earning a degree from an ABET accredited program is an important part of achieving a professional engineering license.

True

Forward-looking design informs investment in reliable infrastructure that can better withstand ongoing and future climate risks.

True

If you choose to Study Abroad or do a Co-op, careful planning is required to ensure timely degree completion.

True

In life cycle assessment, characterization factors convert emissions of different pollutants into common units for a given environmental impact.

True

More than half of the inhabited regions across the globe have observed an increase in extreme hot temperatures with either medium or high confidence.

True

Proportional reasoning requires identifying an invariant.

True

Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs):

are future climate change scenarios

For an equation to be dimensionally consistent, the dimensional exponents must:

be the same on both sides of the equation

In 2021, what was the US's overall 'G.P.A.' for infrastructure?

c-

An LCA comparing the impacts of landfilling, recycling, and composting residential waste.

ton of waste generated

Which of the following are examples of climate change adaptation for the transportation sector? Select all that apply.

-Build longer runways at airports -Dedicate crews for quick repairs of transportation infrastructure -Replace and/or reconstruct highway and bridge expansion joints

Which of the following are examples of climate change mitigation? Select all that apply.

-Building a 100 MW solar photovoltaic facility -Eliminating fugitive methane emissions from landfills -Improving the average fuel economy of light duty vehicles

The most likely causes for smog in Los Angeles are (mark all that apply):

-Car exhaust -Natural features that trap in pollutants

Which of the followings are climate impacts? Select all that apply.

-Changing precipitation patterns -More frequent and higher temperatures -Sea level rise, storm surge

Match the term and its meaning:

-Climate Change Mitigation → Actions to limit the magnitude of climate change, typically through reductions in human (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases or increasing the capacity of carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation) -Climate Change Adaptation → The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities

Match the pollutant with the most appropriate environmental impact.

-Excess fertilizer runoff leads to: → eutrophication -Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that reach the stratosphere lead to: → ozone depletion -Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides lead to: → acidification -Carbon dioxide emissions lead to: → climate change

Which of the following are impacts of rising temperatures and extreme heat events? Select all that apply.

-Increase in the electricity demand for air conditioning -Increase in the number of road failures due to buckling or stress -Reduction in the generation capacity of hydropower plants

There are Sustainable Development Goals that relate to (select all that apply):

-Inequality -Climate change -Aquatic ecosystems -Economic growth -Poverty

Select the statements that were supported by Lecture 1.2 content:

-Intergenerational well-being is a goal of sustainability -Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Match the product system to the most suitable functional unit:

-Product system: Hand sanitizer factory → 1000 ml hand sanitizer produced -Product system: Subway (metro rail) → Passenger miles traveled -Product system: Landfill → 1 ton of trash disposed

In the ISO Life Cycle Assessment Framework, what are included in "Goal and scope definition?" Select all that apply.

-Purpose of study -Functional unit

The Plan of Work: (select all that apply)

-Shows the requisites for our courses -Shows the set of electives that fulfills some requirements -Shows whether the courses are offered in the fall or spring

Fuel combustion and energy use are the primary cause of (select all that apply):

-Smog -Acidification

Which of the following are dimensions (check all that apply):

-Temperature -Length

Tropospheric ozone formation is governed by complex chemical reactions, which are influenced by ambient concentrations of ___. Select all that apply.

-VOCs -NOx

Which of the following questions involve(s) Life Cycle Thinking? Select all that apply.

-Which building design results in the lowest overall environmental impact? -Is paper, plastic, or textile bags the most environmentally friendly option for carrying groceries? -Which electric generation technology has the lowest environmental impact?

You are trying to estimate your gas costs for the coming year. Which of the following contribute(s) parametric uncertainties? (select all that apply)

-You are not sure about your vehicle miles traveled and need to make a guess. -You make a guess in the average fuel economy (e.g., miles per gallon) of your car.

What are possible units for x when y has dimensions of [L-1M] and z has dimensions of [L2T-2], given the following equation (check all that apply) 4x = y2z

-tonne^2/(hr^2) -kg^2/(s^2)

The US population (~ 330 million) has nearly 4 million miles of public roads. What invariant would you use to estimate the miles of public roads in Wake County (~ population of 1,000,000)?

0.012 miles of road/person

The best estimate of human-caused global surface temperature increase from pre-industrial levels to the most recent decade is:

1.07 °C

The US population (~330 million) has nearly 4 million miles of public roads. What is the best estimate of miles of public roads in Wake County (~ population of 1,000,000)?

12,000 miles

Your life cycle inventory finds that the product is associated with the following pollutant releases: 1,000 kg of CO2 to the air and 10 kg of methane (CH4) to the air. The characterization factor of methane to air is 29.8 kg CO2 eq / kg CH4. The characterization factor of CO2 to air is 1 kg CO2 eq / kg CO2. What is the total life cycle climate impact of this product (in kg CO2 eq)? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.

1298

Two streams (A and B) converge. Stream A has a flow rate of 10 cubic meters per minute and has a concentration of a conservative pollutant of 312 micrograms per liter. Stream B has a flow rate of 10 cubic meters per minute and has no detectable levels of the pollutant. What is the downstream concentration of the pollutant?

156 micrograms per liter

Across all of the Sustainable Development Goals, there are how many specific targets?

169

Averaged across the world, how much has sea level increased since the beginning of the last century?

20cm

In a tree diagram, the notation "-1" indicates:

A term should be raised to -1 exponent

Thorough life cycle thinking considers which of the following:

All of the above

We use "CO2-eq" to:

Bring the climate change impacts of different greenhouse gases to a common unit

What is the main cause of ocean acidification?

CO2

The "eq" in terms such as CO2-eq stands for:

Equivalents

According to the ISO Life Cycle Assessment Framework, Life Cycle Assessment is a one directional process.

False

All anthropogenic actions lead to increases in radiative forcings.

False

All critical path courses are offered both in the fall and spring semesters.

False

As countries around the globe continue to develop economically, peak electricity demand is expected to lower.

False

ISO stands for International Sustainability Organization

False

In the US at the beginning of the 1900s, the federal government passed regulations to protect navigable waterways throughout the country.

False

Ozone (O3) in the stratosphere leads to detrimental impacts on human health and ecosystems.

False

Sustainable development calls for sacrificing meeting our needs today so that future generations can meet theirs.

False

The Accelerated Bachelors-to-Masters program allows you to double count up to six credit hours toward a graduate degree.

False

When performing an LCA on a product, conforming to the ISO LCA Standard guarantees the same answer from different parties.

False

When you have earned enough credits to achieve "senior status," you have met the requirements for Senior Design.

False

The Course Equivalency website tells you:

If a course taken at another university will count for an NC State requirement

Dimensional analysis can tell you if an equation is wrong, but is not sufficient to tell you that it is correct.

True

The gravitational constant, G, is defined as 6.67 x 10-11 N.m2/(kg2). G has dimensions of ___.

M^-1L^3T^-2

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of riding an electric bike vs taking a public bus. Why would you not choose "one mile of transport" as the functional unit for your study?

More than one person is typically riding the bus at any given time

Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas?

NO2

Double counting CE courses is a good way to:

Not graduate, because it's not allowed.

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of two pavement designs for a highway. Why might "one mile of highway" be an inadequate functional unit?

One pavement design may last longer than the other

You plan to use the divide and conquer technique to estimate the number of people who would use a proposed train station each year. What term would be suitable for the top of your tree diagram?

Passengers/year

You are asked to estimate the number of major airports in the United States using proportional reasoning. You know that North Carolina has two major airports and a population of about 10 million. You also know that the US population is about 330 million, so you assume that the US has 33 times as many airports as North Carolina (i.e., roughly 66 major airports in the US). What was your invariant in your estimation?

Population/airport

Which pillar of sustainability is missing? Economic, Environmental,

Social

What do the "leaves" represent in a tree diagram?

Subdivisions of the goal

Annual cycles for global atmospheric CO2 concentrations are predominantly driven by:

The different mass of vegetation between the Northern and Southern hemispheres

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of incandescent lightbulbs and LEDs, which are far more efficient. Why would you not choose "1 kWh" as the functional unit for your study?

The lightbulbs' function is not to consume electricity

Which organization developed the SDGs?

UN

According to the 2021 IPCC report, how certain is the scientific consensus that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, land, and oceans?

Unequivocal

Global surface temperatures have increased:

greater over the land relative to over the ocean

Which of the following is the possible unit for dimensions [ML2T-2]:

kg*m2/(s2)

The fundamental dimensions M, L, and T stand for:

mass, length, time

An LCA comparing alternative material options for bridge design.

mile of bridge for one year

An LCA comparing the environmental impacts of an iPhone and an Android phone

one year of smart phone use

An LCA comparing a proposed urban light rail rapid transit system with expanded bus service.

passenger-mile traveled

An LCA comparing alternative designs for a new multi-level commercial building.

square foot-year