APES Wastewater etc. Test
True statements about ozone include which of the following? 1. It is a pollutant in the troposphere. 2. It filters out most of the UVC radiation in the stratosphere. 3. Most of it is formed in the stratosphere by reaction between carbon dioxide and free oxygen atoms
1 & 2
Important factors that contribute to smog formation in the Los Angeles basin include which of the following? 1. Ample summer sunshine 2. Sea-level elevation 3. High concentration of automobiles
1 & 3
The location where desertification is occurring most rapidly
A (Africa)
What component of wastewater treatment plants designed to facilitate the decomposition of organic material by aerobic microorganisms
Activated-sludge tank
What is not used to deal with the side effects of eutrophication in lakes.
Adding nitrates
The drop in stratospheric ozone levels in the Southern Hemisphere (the "ozone hole") is most evident during which season?
Antarctic spring (October)
Composed of fibers known to cause lung disease
Asbestos
What method introduces microorganisms to break down hazardous organic compounds?
Biological treatment
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. Lowest point of dissolved oxygen
What are direct products of the use of hydrocarbon fuels in automobile engines?
CO2, NOx, and VOCs
Which of the following is a primary air pollutant produced from burning coal?
Carbon Monoxide
Has a stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen has
Carbon monoxide
Catalytic converters reduce which of the following pairs of pollutants in car exhaust?
Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons
Which of the following substances is released by CFC's and catalyzes a chain reaction that breaks down ozone in the upper atmosphere?
Chlorine
Mandates the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters
Clean Water Act
Is primarily responsible for acid rain in the northeast United States
Coal
Which type of electricity-generating power plant releases radioactive materials as well as toxic metals such as lead and arsenic under normal operating conditions?
Coal-burning
most likely route for mercury to enter the food web?
Coal-burning emissions → deposition → ocean → plankton → fishes
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?
DO dips at Discharge point rises at downstream
What would most likely reduce the concentration of ground-level ozone in the air of a city?
Decrease in the emissions of nitrogen oxides
What human activity is most closely associated with depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer?
Disposal of refrigerators and air conditioners
Stratospheric ozone depletion is most likely to result in which of the following?
Disruption of photosynthesis in plants
Particulates can be removed from smokestack emissions by which of the following methods?
Electrostatic precipitators
What characteristically produces non-point-source pollution?
Erosion from agricultural land
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
What is the best example of a point source of water pollution?
Factory effluent
Emitted from most manufactured building materials and furniture
Formaldehyde
The presence of which of the following contaminants would be the strongest reason for judging municipal sewage sludge unfit for use as fertilizer?
Heavy metals
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
What describes a potential human health effect most likely to be associated with a thermal inversion?
Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates
Which of the following is a common characteristic of lakes undergoing cultural eutrophication?
Increased levels of plant nutrients
What important phenomenon that often plays a role in air pollution episodes is illustrated in the diagram above?
Inversion
What is true of the Clean Air Act?
It established a cap-and-trade program for SO2 in 1990.
Found in old plumbing pipes and fixtures and some ceramic glazes
Lead
Implicated in human neurological damage
Lead
Was once widely used in the United States as a gasoline additive
Lead
The presence of which of the following in soil is most likely to neutralize acid rain?
Limestone
Which city regularly experiences the worst levels of photochemical smog that is enhanced by thermal inversions?
Los Angeles, California
Addressed the issue of stratospheric ozone depletion
Montreal Protocol
What best explains the pattern in NO concentration?
NO is produced by rush-hour traffic and is quickly oxidized in the atmosphere.
Considered harmful in the troposphere but beneficial in the stratosphere
Ozone
Which of the following is an effective alternative to chlorine for disinfecting wastewater in a municipal treatment plant?
Ozone
What has most directly resulted in increased skin cancer rates in Australia?
Ozone depletion in the stratosphere
What best explains why it is predicted that ozone depletion over the poles will be at its worst between 2010 and 2019?
Ozone-depleting chemicals produced before their use was banned will take that long to reach peak concentrations in the stratosphere.
Treatment of Municipal wastewater: Step P. Water is passed through a screen to remove debris. Step Q. Pathogenic organisms are killed by chlorination, UV, or ozone. Step R. Suspended particles clump and settle out. Step S. A floccing agent, such as alum, is added to the water.
P → S → R → Q
Is the major pollutant that electrostatic precipitators are designed to remove from power-plant smokestack emissions
Particulates
What will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lakes, and bays?
Phosphates
In August of 2014, residents of several Ohio cities that use Lake Erie as a drinking water source were warned not to drink tap water because of the presence of toxins released by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). Which of the following is the most likely cause of recent blooms of blue-green algae in Lake Erie?
Phosphorus contained in agricultural runoff
A gaseous decay product of uranium that is found in rocks
Radon
A leading cause of lung cancer in the United States
Radon
Colorless, odorless gas that is a naturally occurring decay product of uranium
Radon
Has been implicated as the cause of as much as 15 percent of lung cancer cases
Radon
Which actions would be the most effective in decreasing acid rain and acid deposition problems?
Reducing use of fossil fuels
Which of the following would best improve the validity of the experiment?
Repeating the experiment several times and comparing the results
Waste from what is an example of nonpoint source pollution?
Runoff from agricultural fields
Usual cause of cultural eutrophication in surface waters of both developed and developing countries?
Runoff of nitrate compounds into bodies of water
Requires minimum safety standards for community water supplies
Safe Drinking Water Act
What is an appropriate remediation strategy for removing radon gas from the home?
Seal or ventilate places where radon enters the living space.
What best illustrates point-source pollution?
Smokestack emissions from a large smelting company
What is true of noise pollution?
Sudden or persistent noise may lead to permanent hearing loss.
Is an important precursor to acid rain
Sulfur Dioxide
Most often cited as the causative factor for acid deposition
Sulfur dioxide
Which air pollutants is correctly paired with one of its major effects?
Sulfur oxides . . acid deposition
What best exemplifies global collaboration for a sustainable environment?
The Montreal Protocol
Why did the DO after one week decrease as the amount of waste increased?
The algae multiplied and then died and decomposed.
Acid rain is associated with
The burning of fossil fuels
If technology that reduces the hydrocarbon concentration had been utilized, which of the following would have been the most likely result?
The concentration of O3 would have been lower.
What is true about the region of Earth's atmosphere known as the stratosphere?
The highest concentration of naturally occurring ozone forms in this layer.
Acid deposition would most like result in
The release of aluminum ions from soil.
What is true about the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990?
They allowed power plants to buy and sell SO2 pollution allowances.
What is true of sewage treatment plants in the United States?
They are not designed to remove pharmaceutical chemicals from wastewater.
What is a measure of the amount of suspended material in water?
Turbidity
What is used to reduce SO2 emissions from coal-burning power plants?
Wet-scrubber units
What is the main purpose for the experiment?
What is the main purpose for the experiment?
Smoke from forest fires is most likely to affect air quality over larger areas for many days when
a persistent atmospheric inversion exists in the region
An effective short-term remediation strategy for the pond would be to
add calcium carbonate to the pond water
Eutrophication results in the death of trout and other fish as a result of
asphyxiation from lack of oxygen
The primary cause of acid precipitation in the northeastern United States is
burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels to produce electricity
The majority of atmospheric mercury is produced by
coal-burning power plants
NOT the main environmental effect of ozone depletion
decreased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere
When logging is carried out in a watershed, a likely effect on the local streams is
increased water temperature
In a river ecosystem, dissolved oxygen concentrations drop quickly downstream from a point-source input of organic matter into the river. This effect is due to
increasing bacterial activity as organic matter decays
The three main anthropogenic sources of gaseous air pollutants in the United States are
industry, transportation, and energy production
The major human health problem related to radon accumulation is
lung cancer
Ground-level ozone in most major United States cities results primarily from
motor-vehicle exhaust
Lakes that are characterized by high water clarity and low concentrations of dissolved nutrients are classified as
oligotrophic
NOT considered a toxic metal pollutants
potassium
The major source of radon in houses in the United States is
the underlying bedrock
Ozone in the stratosphere is most important to life at Earth's surface because it absorbs
ultraviolet light
Ozone in the stratosphere is important to organisms at Earth's surface because ozone molecules are very strong absorbers of
ultraviolet rays
The danger from radon gas would most likely be greatest in
well-insulated homes
