apes unit 7 exam
If carbon monoxide emissions decreased from 145 million tons annually to 80 million tons annually, by what percentage have emissions been reduced?
45 percent
What percentage of worldwide deaths due to indoor air pollution occurs in developing nations?
90 percent
Which pollution control method was proposed by an amendment to the Clean Air Act?
A market for sulfur emissions
A paper company located on the banks of a river discharges its treated wastewater into the river. Which of the following would be the best control group to evaluate the treated wastewater from the paper company?
A sample of water upstream from the same river
Which outdoor air pollutant is also a significant indoor air pollutant?
Carbon monoxide
Which is NOT used to prevent the emission of particulate matter?
Catalytic converters
The graph below depicts the various components of smog for a densely populated urban area in the Northern Hemisphere. Each plotted line (A, B, C, and D) is a different component of smog. 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 CC 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
High levels of photochemical smog are due to I nitrogen dioxide II sulfur dioxide III VOCs
I and III only
A paper company located on the banks of a river discharges its treated wastewater into the river. Which of the following would be the best location to obtain a water sample from to determine if the paper plant is affecting the acidity of the river?
Immediately downstream from the paper plant
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 (PM2.5) in a ten-square-mile area around one of the city's coal-fired power plants. The annual mean level of PM2.5 measured was 20.0μgm3 over the three-year study period. The National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 is an annual mean level of 12.0μgm3, averaged over three years. The city instructs the manager of the power plant to propose a plan to aid the city in meeting the NAAQS for PM2.5 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.
Which method is used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions?
Installation of catalytic converters
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States recommends taking corrective measures to reduce exposure to radon gas. The EPA has set an action level of 4pCiL 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 EPA action level.
Which size of particulate matter causes the greatest health concern?
PM 2.5
Scientists have been monitoring CO2 in the atmosphere from Mauna Loa in Hawaii since 1958. Which of the following units is used by scientists to measure CO2 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.
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
An organic compound that evaporates at typical atmospheric temperatures
VOC
Which is a source of sulfur dioxide found in nature?
Volcanoes
The graph below depicts the various components of smog for a densely populated urban area in the Northern Hemisphere. Each plotted line (A, B, C, and D) is a different component of smog. Which of the different components of smog depicted in the graph are most likely released from automobile exhaust?
a and b
The introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or microorganisms into the atmosphere at concentrations high enough to harm plants, animals, and materials such as buildings, or to alter ecosystems
air pollution
A long, thin, fibrous silicate mineral with insulating properties, which can cause cancer when inhaled
asbestos
The graph below depicts the various components of smog for a densely populated urban area in the Northern Hemisphere. Each plotted line (A, B, C, and D) is a different component of smog. Which of the curves on the graph depicts the concentration of ozone, which requires sunlight to form?
c
The effects of acid deposition include
decreased aquatic biodiversity.
Reduced visibility
haze
Acid deposition forms as a result of
nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
A class of air pollutants formed as a result of sunlight acting on compounds such as nitrogen oxides
photochemical oxidant
Smog that is dominated by oxidants such as ozone
photochemical smog
A polluting compound that comes directly out of a smokestack, exhaust pipe, or natural emission source
primary pollutant
The primary source of radon is
rocks and soils.
A primary pollutant that has undergone transformation in the presence of sunlight, water, oxygen, or other compounds
secondary pollutant
A buildup of toxic pollutants in an airtight space, seen in newer buildings
sick building syndrome
A type of air pollution that is a mixture of oxidants and particulate matter
smog
Smog dominated by sulfur dioxide and sulfate compounds
sulfurous smog
Solid or liquid particles suspended in air
Particulate Matter (PM)
Which is NOT a criteria air pollutant?
Carbon dioxide
An engineer is assigned the task of reducing the air pollutants being released from a power plant that generates electricity by burning coal. The engineer performs a variety of computer simulations to determine which techniques and methods would be most effective at reducing air pollution generated by the plant. The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the installation of baghouse filters in exhaust systems
Particulate matter
An engineer is assigned the task of reducing the air pollutants being released from a power plant that generates electricity by burning coal. The engineer performs a variety of computer simulations to determine which techniques and methods would be most effective at reducing air pollution generated by the plant. The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the installation of electrostatic precipitators in exhaust systems
Particulate matter
Which of the following sources should be examined in a study to determine the impact of a geologic source on levels of CO2 in the atmosphere?
Volcanoes
Recent increases in acid deposition in the western United States are due to
increased emissions in China.
The layer of warm air that traps emissions in a thermal inversion
inversion layer
Sick building syndrome is
is a result of off-gassing.
Carbon monoxide
is produced by incomplete combustion.
A secondary pollutant
is transformed by sunlight or water.
Asbestos is
is used for insulation.
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
An engineer is assigned the task of reducing the air pollutants being released from a power plant that generates electricity by burning coal. The engineer performs a variety of computer simulations to determine which techniques and methods would be most effective at reducing air pollution generated by the plant. The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the use of fluidized-bed combustion in the boiler furnaces
Sulfur dioxide
Thermal inversions..
trap high concentrations of pollution at ground level.
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 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.
A paper company located on the banks of a river discharges its treated wastewater into the river. Which of the following water quality indicators should be measured to best determine if the wastewater is increasing the acidity of the river?
The amount of hydrogen ions
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 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 secondary pollutant made up of three oxygen atoms bound together
ozone
A situation in which a relatively warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers a layer of cold, dense air below
thermal inversion