Unit 7

Which of the different components of smog depicted in the graph are most likely released from automobile exhaust?

A and B

Which of the curves on the graph depicts the concentration of ozone, which requires sunlight to form?

C

The data that were used to create this graph were collected in the winter. Which of the following best describes how the graph would be different if the data were collected in the middle of the summer?

Concentrations for component C would be higher throughout the graph.

In the figure above, the letters A, B, and C represent the different thermal layers present in an inversion. Which of the following shows the correct sequence of thermal layers as one moves vertically upwards from the surface of Earth?

Cool sea breeze → Warm → Cool

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. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the data presented in the graph?

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.

Over a three-year period, a city's environmental protection department measured the particulate matter (PM2.5PM2.5) in a ten-square-mile area around one of the city's coal-fired power plants. The annual mean level of PM2.5PM2.5 measured was 20.0μgm320.0μgm3 over the three-year study period. The National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQSNAAQS) for PM2.5PM2.5 is an annual mean level of 12.0μgm312.0μgm3, averaged over three years. The city instructs the manager of the power plant to propose a plan to aid the city in meeting the NAAQSNAAQS for PM2.5PM2.5 in the area around the power plant over the next ten years. Which of the following would be the most effective plan for the manager to propose to the city?

Install electrostatic precipitators at the plant.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPAEPA) of the United States recommends taking corrective measures to reduce exposure to radon gas. The EPAEPA has set an action level of 4pCiL4pCiL for radon gas. The graph below shows radon samples taken from seventeen buildings in California. The radon samples were taken from the air inside the buildings, and the uranium concentrations were sampled from the soil under the buildings. Data points from four of the seventeen building locations are labeled A-D. Which of the following conclusions can best be drawn from the data in the graph?

Location A has the greatest need for remediation because the radon levels in the building are the highest and exceed the EPAEPA action level.

Which of the following best describes why the authors claim that reducing noise exposure is currently more of a public policy problem than a scientific problem?

Most public health impacts of noise were already identified in the 1960s.

Noise Exposure and Public Health Exposure to noise constitutes a health risk. There is sufficient scientific evidence that noise exposure can induce hearing impairment, hypertension and heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and decreased school performance. For other effects such as changes in the immune system and birth defects, the evidence is limited. Most public health impacts of noise were already identified in the 1960s, and noise abatement is less of a scientific but primarily a policy problem. A subject for further research is the [clarification] of the mechanisms underlying noise-induced cardiovascular disorders and the relationship of noise with annoyance and nonacoustical factors modifying health outcomes. A high-priority study subject is the effect of noise on children, including cognitive effects and their reversibility. Noise exposure is on the increase, especially in the general living environment, both in industrialized nations and in developing world regions. This implies that in the twenty-first century noise exposure will still be a major public health problem. Which of the following best describes why the authors claim that noise exposure will be a major health problem in the twenty-first century?

Noise exposure is on the increase in both industrialized nations and in developing regions.

Scientists have been monitoring CO2CO2 in the atmosphere from Mauna Loa in Hawaii since 1958. Which of the following units is used by scientists to measure CO2CO2 in the atmosphere?

Parts per million

Based on the layers in the diagram, which of the following best explains why a thermal inversion tends to concentrate pollutants in the air layer closest to the Earth's surface?

The air layer closest to the Earth's surface is denser than the layer above it.

Canada has proposed an action plan to address climate change and air pollution. The action plan will reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and pollutants on the environment and human health. Which of the following claims about the Canadian action plan is best supported by the data in the graph?

The plan supports phasing out traditional coal power plants and transitioning to sources like hydroelectricity, wind, and solar power.

Which of the following best describes why the authors do not claim that noise exposure induces birth defects in humans?

There is insufficient evidence to support that noise exposure induces birth defects in humans.

A student is setting up a model to study the carbon cycle and natural sources of carbon dioxide. They create a microenvironment that contains soil, leaf debris, an earthworm, heterotrophic bacteria, and a sun lamp. What natural source of carbon dioxide and major metabolic process was left out of the model?

There is no representation of photosynthesis in the model environment.

Which of the following best explains the cause of the trend shown in the graph for lead emissions in the United States from 1970 to 2011 ?

Unleaded gasoline was first introduced in 1974, and amendments to the Clean Air Act required cars with the model year 1975 or later to use only unleaded gasoline.

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. Which of the following activities would most likely account for the levels of indoor air pollution in India and sub-Saharan Africa, as shown in the graph?

Use of biomass fuel sources such as wood and charcoal for cooking

Which of the following sources should be examined in a study to determine the impact of a geologic source on levels of CO2CO2 in the atmosphere?

Volcanos

If the air layers in the diagram were relabeled to illustrate normal atmospheric conditions, the correct labeling from the air layer closest to the Earth's surface to the one farthest from the Earth's surface would be

warm air, cool air, cooler air