Environmental Science Final Exam

Which of the following is true of land-use plans?

-Developers must prepare detailed reports assessing the environmental impact of their projects. -The public often has input in land-use plans. -Projects in environmentally sensitive areas may be hotly debated.

Which of the following might occur as a result of plastic trash accumulating in the ocean?

-Turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish, ingest them, and die of intestinal blockage. -Sea birds are strangled by plastic six-pack rings. -Sea mammals, such as seals, become tangled in clear plastic fishing lines and drown.

Collapse of _____ can lead to subsidence.

.pillars in abandoned mines

How long will it take for chlorofluorocarbons released from Earth's surface today to reach the stratosphere?

10 to 20 years

The U.S. Census Bureau defines an urban area as an area that contains more than

2500 people

Much of the oil and natural gas in the United States is located in

Alaska, Texas, California, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Which of the following best describes measurements of CO2 levels in the atmosphere since 1958?

CO2 levels are higher in winter and lower in summer, but the winter "highs" have increased each year and the summer "lows" have not fallen as far.

The _____ regulates the release of hazardous substances into the air, soil, and water by mining.

Comprehensive Response Compensation and Liability Act

Which of the following is not a true statement about the social and environmental impact of dams

Dams are built to resolve disputes between neighboring countries.

Which of the following best describes why many people in the world go hungry?

Food production has not been increasing as fast as the human population.

Which of the following statements about hydrogen gas as a fuel source is correct?

Hydrogen gas can be burned as a fuel or used to produce electricity chemically.

What can be done to sustain the productivity of rangeland?

Limit herd size, Eliminate invasive plants, and leave the land unused for a time

Which of the following statements is true about pollutants from waste disposal?

Many communities release raw sewage into a river or the ocean after a heavy rain.

Which of the following farm practices have been used by farmers only in recent years?

None of the above

What is the main reason why fewer nuclear power plants are being built today compared to 40 years ago?

Nuclear power plants have become too expensive to generate electricity at a reasonable cost.

Which of the following statements related to global warming is not accurate?

Only fossil fuels, not living plants, release carbon dioxide when burned.

Which of the following is most likely to cause conflict between two countries that share a river

The "upstream" country builds a series of new dams.

How is electrical energy generated in a coal-fired power plant?

The heat generated from burning coal turns water into steam, which turns a turbine, thus running the electric generator.

During the process of nuclear fission,

a neutron splits a uranium-235 atom, forming new elements and releasing several neutrons, plus energy.

Which of the following is an example of how biomass fuel is currently being used?

a. Biogas digesters ferment manure and produce methane. b. Dung-fired power stations produce electricity. c. Ethanol from fermenting corn is added to gasoline.

Which of the following is not a method of reducing hazardous waste?

allowing fungi to break down petroleum sludge

As a lake becomes more acidic, fish are harmed not only by the acidity but also by substances that leach out of the soil into the water. Which of these toxic substances is leached when conditions are acidic

aluminum

A hybrid car uses

an efficient gasoline engine and an electric motor.

A quarry also could be called

an open pit.

Biological mechanisms of pest control include all of the following except

applying an organophosphate chemical with a short half-life.

Renewable energy is energy from sources that

are constantly being formed.

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a mineral?

atoms in random geometric patterns

Which of the following pollutants is caused by poor sanitation and can lead to gastrointestinal infections?

bacteria in food

Persistent pesticides are those that

become concentrated in organisms high on the food chain.

Surface mining can cause

both air and noise pollution

A true statement about carbon monoxide is that it

can lower the level of oxygen carried in the blood.

Ozone holes appear in polar regions during springtime when ozone-depleting

chlorine atoms are released from polar stratospheric clouds.

Which of the following is an environmental change that scientists believe may increase the areas where malaria occurs?

climate change

Which of the following would cause the smallest increase in smog in an urban area?

combustion of ethanol in cars

Genetic engineering of food crops

continues to be debated among scientists.

Which of the following describes new wind turbines?

cost-effective

Which of the following most effectively allows forests to recover from tree harvesting?

cutting only medium-sized or mature trees

A common feature of thermal pollution and artificial eutrophication is that they both

decrease the amount of oxygen dissolved in water.

Light pollution can be decreased by

directing lighting downward.

What is one property that may be used to distinguish metallic from nonmetallic minerals?

electrical conductivity

The energy in fossil fuels is often converted into

electrical energy

The percentage of energy put into a system that does useful work is

energy efficiency.

some communities have banned detergents containing high levels of phosphates because

excessive phosphates in lakes may begin a process that causes fish to suffocate and die

In developing countries, you are most likely to find biomass used

for heating and cooking.

Most air pollution is produced by

fuel burning.

The automobile's contribution to air pollution includes

fumes that escape when the gas tank is filled and nitrogen oxides emitted in exhaust.

The difference between global warming and climate changes is that

global warming is a consequence of climate changes.

Which of the following would not likely be mined using solution mining?

gypsum

Acid mine drainage

harms or kills aquatic life.

how is fresh water used in industry

in manufacturing processes, to generate power, and in disposal of waste products

Where do most Americans live?

in urban areas

One way radon and asbestos are similar is that they

increase the risk of cancer.

Which of the following is a disadvantage for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion?

inefficient plants

Which of the following pathogens have made a cross-species transfer to humans?

influenza virus, west nile virus, and hantavirus

A true statement about sulfur dioxides is that they are

involved in the formation of acid precipitation.

A material is biodegradable if

it can be broken down by biological processes

Which of the following is a true statement about surface water?

it makes up less than 1 percent of all water on earth

Earth's surface water is found in

lakes, streams, and rivers

Which of the following are problems associated with landfills?

leachate and methane production

Two diseases that can be caused directly by pollution are

lead poisoning and lung cancer.

Products obtained from livestock include

leather, wool, eggs, meat, and manure.

Through _____, mining companies can identify areas where there may be valuable mineral resources.

mineral exploration

Latitude strongly influences climate because _____ solar energy falls on areas that are closer to the equator than to the poles.

more

As the amount of ozone in the stratosphere decreases,

more ultraviolet light is able to reach Earth's surface.

Compared to washing clothes in warm water, washing clothes in cold water uses

much less energy

what can contaminate a river during dredging

muddy sediments

Nuclear fusion

must take place at extremely high temperatures.

All of the following are primary air pollutants except

nitric acid.

The thinning of the ozone layer

occurs over both polar regions, will take many years to reverse, and is related to seasonal changes

Making products from recycled materials

often saves energy and other resources during the manufacturing process.

The main problem with so-called biodegradable plastic is that

only its organic portion actually decomposes.

Which of the following is not a method of subsurface mining?

open-pit mining

Which of the following has not resulted from urban sprawl?

overgrazing

Which of the following pollutants is found in vehicle exhaust, burning waste, fires, and tobacco smoke?

particulate matter

The designation of wilderness areas

provides for protected habitats.

Eliminating invasive plants and replacing them with native plants is one aspect of

range improvement.

No-till farming helps to conserve soil fertility because

remnants of the previous crop are left to slowly decay.

Irrigation water usually comes from

rivers and groundwater.

The energy needs for the United States in the 1990s

rose slightly.

Regardless of where people live, they are dependent on resources produced in

rural areas

Which of the following is often used to remove poisonous gases from industrial emissions before they are released into the atmosphere?

scrubbers

Storage sites for nuclear wastes

should be located only in areas that are extremely geologically stable.

Which of the following is a secondary pollutant?

smog formed in the presence of sunlight

most of earth's fresh water is

solidified at the North and South Poles

When the acidity of soil increases,

some nutrients are dissolved and washed away.

Some hazardous waste is disposed of by deep-well injection. This procedure

stores wastes in layers of dry rock below the water table.

Which of the following is a water contaminant that can cause acid mine drainage?

sulfuric acid

Under the Superfund Act,

the EPA may sue companies that dump hazardous waste illegally.

Acid precipitation can be traced back to

the burning of fossil fuels.

Most of the pollution that causes acid precipitation to fall in southeastern Canada is released from

the midwestern and eastern United States.

A true statement about aquifers is that

they are hard to purify because the water collects in sand and rocks.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion works because water boils at low temperatures when

under low pressure in a vacuum chamber.

which of the following is one way a person could conserve water

use a low-flow showerhead and take short showers

An example of source reduction is

using canvas shopping bags.

Air pollution is a major health problem caused by the burning of fuels in

vehicles., power plants and factories, and home furnaces.

Temperature inversions work to trap pollution when

warm air above keeps cooler air at the surface from moving upward.

A true statement concerning the physical properties of air is that

warm air can hold more water vapor than an equal amount of cold air.

Human immunodeficiency virus is considered an emerging virus because it

was previously unknown

many areas of the world without adequate fresh water have become habitable because

water management projects have diverted water the the area

During summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the Northern Hemisphere experiences

winter