Sc4730 environmental science

ITT Envir. Sci. SeptQ Final Exam Q&A Review w/ Answers in Bold

Course SC4730, Visualizing Environmental Science, Berg Text Book Ref.:Chapters 1 thru 18

Chapter 1 - Environmental Issues

1) Which of the following is not included in sustainable human activities or behaviors?

2)

2) What is an example of sustainable consumption?

3) Nonrenewable resource is to renewable resource as _________ is to __________?

4) Environmental sustainability does not imply ______________________?

Chapter 2 - Sustainability Concepts

1) Environmental justice is reflected in ______________________?

.

2) Why is the deep ecology worldview impractical for widespread adoption?

3) Why is it difficult to attain environmental sustainability based on the Western worldview?

4)

5) Which of the following statements reflects the Western worldview?

6)

5) Which of the following is not associated with poverty?

Low life expectancy

Inadequate access to health care

Illiteracy

7) For a country to progress from a less-developed country to a more-developed country, the country would have to_______________?

8)

7) Which of the following is key to the elimination of world poverty and stabilizing global population?

Globalization

Pollution Control

Urbanization

Chapter 3 Environmental History

1) The sensible and careful management of natural resources is called:

2)

2) Setting aside undisturbed areas, maintaining them in a pristine state, and protecting them from human activities that might alter their “natural” state is referred to as:

3) The desire to conquer nature and put its resources to use in the most lucrative manner possible is called:

4) The following people all contributed to our understanding of the environment. Which one was the first head of the U.S. Forest Service and supported expanding the nation’s forest reserves?


5) The Yosemite and Sequoia national parks were established, largely in response to the efforts of naturalist:

6) What contribution to our understanding of the environment did Wallace Stegner provide?

7) When did many U.S. naturalists first become concerned about conserving natural resources? during

8) A person who values natural resources because of their usefulness to us, but uses them sensibly and carefully is called a(n):

9) A person who believes in protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration is called a(n):

10) Why is the National Environmental Policy Act the cornerstone of U.S. environmental law?

11) How do environmental impact statements (EISs) provide such powerful protection of the environment?

a) they must thoroughly analyze the environmental consequences of anticipated projects on soil, water, and organisms

b) they must include possible alternatives to the proposed action that would create fewer adverse environmental effects

c) they provide for public scrutiny

12) Which of the following terms describes the process of evaluating and presenting to decision makers the relative benefits and costs of various alternatives?

13) The figure below illustrates how economics depend on natural capital for sources of raw materials and sinks for waste products. Sinks are associated with the end of the process, which occurs after which step?


14) Why are national income accounts incomplete estimates of national economic performance?
1. they don’t take into account natural resource depletion
2. they don’t take into account the cost and benefits of pollution control
3. none of these

15) Pollution control laws that work by setting limits on levels of pollution are referred to as:

Chapter 4 Environmental Health

1) The probability of harm occurring under certain circumstances is referred to as:

2) How does risk assessment help determine adverse health effects?

a) it determines the probability of harm occurring under certain circumstances

b) it helps determine whether we should reduce or eliminate a particular risk and, if so, what we should do

c) it helps estimate the probability that an event will occur and lets us set priorities and manage risks in an appropriate way

3) The study of chemicals with adverse effects on health is referred to as:

4) Which of the following statements about chronic toxicity are correct?

5) Which of the following terms refers to an agent (usually a microorganism) that causes disease?

6) A scientist who investigates the outbreaks of both infectious and noninfectious diseases in a population is referred to as a(n):

7) How is the incidence of disease related to human activities that alter the environment?

a) development activities may bring more humans into contact with new or rare disease-causing agents

b) the disruption of natural environments may give disease-causing agents an opportunity to thrive

c) development projects may increase the population and distribution of disease-carrying organisms, thereby increasing the spread of disease

8) Mercury is a substance that is extremely stable and may take many years to break down into a less toxic form. This is an example of:

9) A group of persistent toxicants that bioaccumulate in organisms, and travel thousands of kilometers through air and water and contaminate sites far removed from their source are called:

10) What is the purpose of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants?

11) In toxicology, what is a graph called that shows the effect of different doses on a population of test organisms, and is used to determine the health effects of environmental pollutants?

12) Any substance (chemical, radiation, or virus) that causes cancer is called a:

13) Which of the following chemicals will have a highest LD50?

aspirin, caffeine

14) When the effect of a chemical mixture is exactly what you would expect given the individual effects of each component of the mixture, then the mixture is said to be:

15) Why are children particularly susceptible to toxicants?

a) children have higher metabolic rates than adults

b) children are still growing and developing

c) children weigh less than adults

Chapter 5 Ecology

1. Which of the following terms describes the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their abiotic environment?

Ecology, environment, population, biophere

2. Which of the following terms best describe a region that includes several interacting ecosystems?

a) landscape

b)biosphere

c) community

d) population

3. Which of the following ecological levels is the most inclusive?

a) ecosystem

biosphere

c) community

d) population

4. Photosynthesis, where plants absorb the radiant energy of the sun and convert it to the chemical energy contained in the bonds of sugar molecules without creating or destroying the energy itself, is an example of this law.


An automobile engine, which converts the chemical energy of gasoline to mechanical energy, is between 20 and 30 percent efficient. In other words, only 20 to 30 percent of the original energy stored in the chemical bonds of the gasoline molecules is actually transformed into mechanical energy, or work. This is an example of:

5. Which of the following organisms in the picture below is an herbivore, or primary consumer???


b) the Madagascar day gecko in panel B

c) the crab in panel C

d) the mushrooms in panel D

6. Organisms like bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms and waste products are called:

How does energy flow through a food chain or food web?

Bacteria are the only organisms involved in each of the following steps except for which one?

a) nitrogen fixation

b) nitrification

c) assimilation

d) ammonification

e) denitrification

7. Which cycle does not have an atmospheric component?

a) nitrogen cycle

phosphorus cycle

c) sulfur cycle

d) carbon cycle

8. How is carbon returned to the atmosphere in the reverse process of photosynthesis?

9. Which of the following factors contribute to an organism’s ecological niche?

a) physical

b) chemical

c) biological

10. A scientific study of five American warbler species revealed that individuals of each species spend most of their feeding time in different portions of spruces and other conifer trees. This is a Courseic example of ___________.


11. The acacia ant in the picture below gains shelter and nutrients from the acacia plant. In turn, it protects the plant from predators. This is an example of ___________.


12. Which of the following statements about symbiotic relationships is true?

a) commensalism is a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit

b) in parasitism one organism benefits at the expense of another

c) in mutualism one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped

d) both organisms benefit in parasitism

Chapter 6 Ecosystems

1. Which of the following terms describes a large, relatively distinct terrestrial region with similar climate, soil, plants, and animals regardless of where it occurs in the world?

a) boundary

b) ecosystem

d) habitat

2. The treeless biome in the far north that has harsh, very cold winters and extremely short summers, and consists of boggy plains covered by lichens and small plants such as mosses is called a ___________.

3. Which of the following is a region of coniferous forest in the Northern Hemisphere, located just south of the tundra?

a) tropical rain forest

c) temperate deciduous forest

d) temperate rain forest

4. A biome found in both temperate and tropical regions in which the lack of precipitation limits plant growth is referred to as a _____________.

5. How do you distinguish between temperate rain forest and tropical rain forest?

6. Important environmental factors of aquatic ecosystems include:

a) salinity

b) amount of dissolved oxygen

c) availability of light for photosynthesis

Large, strong swimming organisms (ex: turtles and fish) are referred to as __________ in an aquatic ecosystem

How does a freshwater wetland differ from an estuary?

7. Zonation characterizes standing-water ecosystems, such as lakes and ponds. In a lake, what is the limnetic zone?

The mangrove forest in the Caroline Islands, Micronesia, is an example of what?


8. What is the term for aquatic organisms that are usually small or microscopic, and tend to drift or swim feebly and are carried about at the mercy of currents and waves?

9. Floating aquatic organisms that photosynthesize must remain near the water’s surface, and vegetation anchored to lake floors or streambeds will only grow in relatively shallow water. Why?

10. Which of the following are ecosystem services of salt marshes and mangrove swamps?

a) trapping sediment and pollution

b) supplying groundwater

c) breeding grounds and nurseries for important fishes

The cumulative genetic changes in populations that occur during successive generations are referred to as:

Chapter 7 Population

1. The branch of biology that deals with the number of individuals of a particular species found in an area, and how and why those numbers increase or decrease over time is called:

2. Which of the following terms refers to the maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions?

3. Which of the following terms refers to the largest population a particular environment can support sustainably (long term) assuming there are no changes in that environment?

a) sustainable population

b) biotic potential

c) maximum population

4. Which of the following statements about the history of human population growth is correct?

a) The death rate has increased significantly over the past few years

b) The population will never reach zero population growth.

c) The United Nations predicts the population will reach 4 billion by the year 2013.

d) It took thousands of years for the human population to reach one billion (around 1800).

5. What is the current human world population (as of 2007)?

6. Why is it impossible to precisely determine the earth’s carrying capacity for humans?

a) it is difficult to make assumptions about standards of living and resource consumption

b) we don’t know what technological innovations may exist in the future

c) we don’t know if our increased food production is sustainable

7. The applied branch of sociology that deals with population statistics is referred to as:

8. Which of the following statements about human population is false?

a) Worldwide, the total fertility rate is well above the replacement level.

c) Highly developed countries have the lowest birth rates in the world.

d) Less developed countries have the shortest life expectancies.

9. Why is the replacement-level fertility usually given as 2.1 children instead of 2.0 children?

b) most couples have more than two children

c) 2.1 represents the average number of children a couple produces

d) people live longer and birth rates exceed death rates

10. Which of the following is the single most important factor affecting high total fertility rate?

a) high infant and child mortality rates

c) low status of women in many societies

d) important economic and societal roles of children in some cultures

11. How does education of women decrease the total fertility rate?

a) by delaying the first childbirth

b) by increasing the likelihood women will know how to control their fertility

c) by increasing women’s career options which provide ways of achieving status besides having babies

12. What is the relationship between fertility rates and marriage age?

13. Which of the following statements about human population is correct?

a) In general, women who don’t follow any religion have the highest total fertility rates.

c) Family planning usually increases fertility rates.

d) Increasing the death rate is an acceptable way of regulating population size.

14. The process whereby people move from rural areas to densely populated cities is called:

15. What are some of the problems caused by rapid urban growth in developing countries?

a) limited capability to provide basic services

b) substandard housing

c) high unemployment

Chapter 8 Air Pollution

1. The gaseous envelope surrounding Earth is referred to as the:

2. What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?

3. Most clouds occur in the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface called the:

4. The layer of the atmosphere that has no turbulence and where commercial jets fly is called the:

5. Various chemicals (gases, liquids, or solids) present in the atmosphere in high enough levels to harm humans, other organisms, or materials, are referred to as:

6. Particulate matter is an example of:

7. What kind of gases are associated with acid deposition, corrode metals and damage stone and other materials?

8. Which of the following pollutants is formed in the atmosphere as a secondary pollutant?

9. Which of the following conditions is a temperature inversion?

a) local heat buildup in an area of high population

b) cold air layered over warm air

d) a dome of heated air that surrounds an urban area with pollution

10. Industrial smog refers to what form of traditional air pollution?

11. Heat from human activities such as fuel combustion is highly concentrated in cities. As a result, the air in these areas form:

12. Which of the following are adverse health effects of air pollutants?

a) eye irritation

b) inflammation of the respiratory tract

c) increasing susceptibility to infection

13. Who oversees the Clean Air Act?

14. Which of the following statements about air pollution is false?

a) Many cities and towns in China have so many smokestacks belching coal smoke that residents only see the sun a few weeks of the year.

b) Lead pollution from heavily leaded gasoline is an especially serious problem in developing nations.

d) Respiratory disease is now the leading cause of death for children worldwide.

15. As developing nations become more industrialized, what is the effect on air quality?

Chapter 9 Atmosphere and Climate

1. Which of the following statements about climate and weather is correct?

a) Weather refers to the conditions that occur in a place over a period of years and climate refers to the conditions in the atmosphere at a given place and time.

at a given place and time.

c) Climate can change from one hour to the next and from one day to the next whereas weather changes slowly, over hundreds or thousands of years.

d) None of these statements are correct.

2. What are the two most important factors that determine an area’s overall climate?

3. Based on the diagram below, approximately how much solar radiation is absorbed by Earth’s land, water, and atmosphere?


69%

4. Which characteristic of Earth causes the seasons?

5. What are the reasons for regional precipitation differences?

a) the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

b) geographic location

c) topographic features

6. What are the five main greenhouse gases?

7. Which of the following is a way to mitigate global warming?

a) development of alternatives to fossil fuels

b) controlling the human population

c) planting and maintaining forests

9.Which of the following is a potential effect of global warming?

b) weather patterns will become more predictable

c) mosquitoes and other disease carriers could become extinct

d) precipitation patterns will become more stable

10. What is the importance of the stratospheric ozone layer?

11. The picture below is a computer-generated image of part of the Southern Hemisphere. What does the purple area over Antarctica represent???


a) acid deposition

c) global warming

d) precipitation

12. What are the primary chemicals responsible for ozone thinning in the stratosphere?

13. Which of the following are harmful effects on human due to stratospheric ozone depletion?

14. The Montreal Protocol resulted in an international agreement to:

15. Which of the following terms refers to a type of air pollution that includes sulfuric and nitric acids in precipitation as well as dry acid particles that settle out of the air?

Chapter 10 Water Resources

1. Which of the following results in a balance of the water resources in the ocean, on the land, and in the atmosphere?

2. The figure below shows that excess water seeps downward through soil and porous rock layers until it reaches impermeable rock or clay and is stored in either contained or uncontained aquifers. What is this water called?


3. How do hydrogen bonds form between adjacent water molecules?

the negative (oxygen) end of one water molecule is attracted to the positive (hydrogen) end of another water molecule, forming a bond between the two molecules

4. What unique property of water allows the ocean to have a moderating influence on climate, particularly along coastal areas?

5. What problem(s) are associated with aquifer depletion?

a) it lowers the water table

b) saltwater intrusion occurs along coastal areas when groundwater is depleted faster than it recharges

c) aquifer depletion from porous sediments causes subsidence, or sinking, of the land above it

6. Which statement about the Ogallala Aquifer is false?


a) the aquifer underlies eight states in the US

b) in some areas farmers are drawing water from the Aquifer 40 times faster than nature can replace it

c) the aquifer is the largest groundwater deposit in the world

7. What issue(s) surround water problems of the Colorado River basin?

a) a treaty in 1922 called the Colorado River Compact, overestimated the average annual flow and locked that estimate into a multistate agreement

b) population growth in the upper Colorado region threatens the lower Colorado region’s water supply

c) the lower Colorado becomes increasingly salty as it flows toward Mexico

8. How does international cooperation affect shared water resources?

9. The wise use of water resources, without harming the essential functioning of the hydrologic cycle or the ecosystems on which humans depend is called:

10. Dams are major generators of inexpensive hydroelectric power; however, dams have negative impacts such as:

11. Which of the following type of irrigation is important in agricultural water conservation?

12. Refer to the graph below to analyze the effect of sewage on dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). How is (BOD) related to sewage?


13. Which of the following statements about eutrophication is false?

a) Eutrophic bodies of water result in an increased photosynthetic productivity.

b) Eutrophication is the enrichment of water by inorganic plant and algal nutrients.

c)The water in a eutrophic lake is cloudy because of the presence of algae and cyanobacteria.

14. How is most drinking water purified in the United States?

, and disinfection kills disease-causing agents

15. Which stage of municipal sewage treatment removes suspended and floating particles by mechanical processes?

Chapter 11 Oceans

1. Which of the following statements about the global ocean is false?

a) The ocean is essential to the hydrologic cycle

b) The global ocean covers almost 75% of the earth’s surface

d) Life in the ocean includes mammals, and invertebrates.

2. Winds largely cause the basic pattern of ocean currents. The main ocean current flow shown in the picture below – clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, result partly from what influence?


3. Large, circular ocean current systems that often encompass an entire ocean basin are called:

4. A periodic, large-scale warming of surface waters of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean that temporarily alters both ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns is referred to as:

5. Which of the following is not an effect of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?

a) alteration of global air currents

b) interannual climate variability of the Earth

c) intertidal zone changes

6. Why are the kelp forests illustrated in the picture below ecologically important?


7. The ocean floor, which extends from the intertidal zone to the deep ocean trenches is referred to as:

8. The zone of the ocean that extends from 6000m deep to the deepest trenches of the ocean floor is called the:

9. Which marine environment is transitional between land and ocean?

10. Which of the following is a harmful environmental effect associated with aquaculture?

11. Which method(s) of fishing catches non-target fish and harvests predatory fish to the point where their numbers are severely depleted.


12. What is the most serious problem for marine fisheries?

13. Which of the following statements accurately describes how aquaculture differs from fishing?

14. Which of the following are human activities that contribute to the negative human impacts on the ocean?

a) coastal development

b) passenger cruise ships dump sewage, shower, and sink water

c) agricultural runoff

15. What is a likely cause of the bleached coral shown in the picture below?


Chapter 12 Minerals and Soils

1. The study of the processes by which the lithospheric plates move over the asthenosphere is:

2. Any area where two plates meet is referred to as a:

3. Most volcanic activity is caused by:

4. This type of rock forms when small fragments of weathered, eroded rock are deposited, compacted, and cemented together.

5. Elements or compounds of elements that occur naturally in the Earth’s crust are called:

6. Ores that contain relatively large amounts of particular minerals are called:

7. Which of the following terms refer to a hill of loose rock created when the overburden from a new trench is put into the already excavated trench during strip mining?

8. What is smelting?

9. What is the likely cause of the characteristic orange-red runoff shown in the picture below?


10. How are mining lands restored?

a) by filling in and grading the area to the shape of its natural contours, then planting vegetation to hold the soil in place

b) by eliminating or neutralizing local sources of toxic pollutants

c) by making areas visually attractive and productive

11. The uppermost layer of Earth’s crust which supports terrestrial plants, animals, and microorganisms is called:

12. What are the factor(s) involved in soil formation?

a) biological processes such as the accumulation of organic material

b) chemical processes such as the breakdown of parent material

c) physical weathering processes such as wind and rain

13. The black or dark-brown organic material that remains after extensive decomposition is called:


14. Which of the following terms refers to the wise use of soil resources, without a reduction in the amount or fertility of soil, so it is productive for future generations?

15. How do shelterbelts contribute to soil conservation?

Chapter 13 Land Use

1. What percentage of land in the United States is privately owned?

2. What percentage of land in the United States is public land owned by the federal government?

3. Which of the following terms is used to describe the use and management of forest ecosystems in an environmentally balanced and enduring way?

4. Forest areas uniformly covered by one crop, such as portrayed in the picture below, are called:


5. Adopting sustainable forestry principles requires setting aside:

6. Most U.S. national forests are managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the rest are overseen by the:

7. Which type of forestry practice maintains a mix of forest trees, by age and species, rather than imposing a monoculture?

a) clear cutting

b) seed tree cutting

c) deforestation

8. The illustration below depicts _____________________, where less desirable and dead trees are harvested.


9. Why are tropical rain forests disappearing?

a) commercial logging

b) cattle ranching

c) subsistence farming

10. Approximately 2.5 million acres of forest in this biome in Canada are logged annually, adding to global deforestation.

11. Which of the following can lead to desertification?

a) overgrazing

b) over-fertilizing

c) selective cutting forestry

12. How do conservation easements help protect privately own rangelands?

13. A protected area of public land in which no human development is permitted is referred to as:

14. Which of the following statements about the wise-use movement is true?

15. Those who wish to preserve the resources on federally owned lands are known collectively as the

Chapter 14 Food

1. A serious under-consumption of calories that leaves the body weakened and susceptible to disease is referred to as

2. Which of the following terms describes a serious overconsumption of calories that leaves the body susceptible to disease?

3. Which of the following terms is used to describe the condition in which people live with chronic hunger and malnutrition?

4. What is the major difference between industrialized agriculture and subsistence agriculture?

5. Which type of subsistence farming involves short periods of cultivation followed by longer periods of fallow,

during which the land reverts to forest?

6. Which of the following statements about intercropping is false?

7. Modern agriculture has embraced the addition of low doses of this to the feed for pigs, chickens and cattle.

8. What problems with industrialized agriculture do hog farms create?

a) sewage disposal

b) crowded conditions favor disease

c) antibiotic resistance from the common practice of adding antibiotics and hormones to the food supply.

9. What criticisms and/or problems are associated with the green revolution?

a) It has made developing countries dependent on imported technologies such as agrochemicals and tractors at the expense of traditional agriculture.

b) High energy costs built into this type of agriculture.

c) Environmental problems caused by the intensive use of commercial inorganic fertilizers and pesticides.

10. Soil erosion, compaction of soil by heavy farm machinery, and waterlogging and salinization of soil from improper irrigation methods are all examples of:

11. Agricultural methods that maintain soil productivity and a healthy ecological balance while having minimal long-term impacts are referred to as:

12. Which of the following is a feature of a sustainable farm?

13. The manipulation of genes to produce a particular trait is called what?

14. Which of the following statements about genetic engineering is false?

.

15. A pesticide that kills a variety of organisms, including beneficial organisms, in addition to the target pest is called:

Chapter 15 Biological Resources

1. The number of different species in a community is termed this.

2. Species richness is greatest in which area?

3. Which is a reason for promoting high biological diversity?

4. Coasts provide a buffer against storms, dilute and remove pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat. What are these functions provided by Coasts called?

5. Biological diversity is the number and variety of Earth’s organisms. Which of the following is NOT one of the three components of biological diversity?

a) species richness

c) ecosystem diversity

d) genetic diversity

6. The rosy periwinkle provides chemicals that are effective against which disease?

7. This term represents a species that faces threats that may cause it to become extinct within a short period.

8. Where do live organisms collected through commercial harvest end up?

a) zoos

b) aquaria

c) biomedical research labs

9. What is the goal of in situ conservation?

10. The National Wildlife Refuge System was established by which US president?

11. Captive breeding is an example of which type of conservation?

12. The ultimate goal of the captive breeding programs practiced by zoos and aquaria is

13. Which statement about conservation biology is NOT correct?

a) Working to preserve a species in it’s natural habitat is an example of in situ conservation

b) Working to preserve a species outside of it’s natural habitat (a zoo or botanical garden) is an example of ex situ conservation

d) In situ conservation may include habitat preservation or radio tagging of individuals

e) Ex situ conservation includes seed banks, sperm banks, embryo transfer and captive breeding

14. What year was the Endangered Species Act first passed?

15. Some critics view the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to which of the following?

Chapter 16 Solid Waste

1. According to the figure below what makes up the largest percent of municipal solid waste?


2. Open dumps, which are now illegal in the United States, have been replaced primarily by which of the following?

3. Which component of solid waste is growing faster than any other component of municipal solid waste?

4. Which is NOT a positive aspect of solid waste incineration?

a) heat from incineration can be harnessed to make steam to warm buildings

b) the volume of solid waste is reduced by 90%

d) tires can produce as much heat as coal with less pollution

5. Three goals of waste prevention are discussed in the text. Place them in the correct order of priory.
recycle materials as much as possible
reuse products as much as possible
reduce the amount of waste as much as possible

6. Aluminum cans are 35 percent lighter now than in the 1970’s. This is an example of what type of solid waste reduction?

7. Cullet used in road ways comes from recycling which product?

8. What type of solid waste reduction is being practiced in the photo below???


9. Only about 5 percent of plastic is recycled in the United States. Why is this percentage lower than aluminum or glass recycling?

10. A combination of the best waste management techniques into a consolidated program to deal effectively with solid waste is called what?

11. What was found to be contaminating homes in Love Canal, NY in 1977?


12. Which of the following statements about PCBs is not true?

a) They were manufactured in the US between 1929 and 1979

b) They are endocrine disruptors

d) PCBs are found in electrical transformers, fire retardants, adhesives, pesticides and

inks.

13. The majority of dioxin contamination comes from which source?

14. PCBs are endocrine disruptors. How do endocrine disruptors affect the body?

15. What is the principle of inherent safety?

Chapter 17 Energies

1. Per capita energy consumption is highest in which countries?
1. highly developed countries
2. developing countries
3. both use equal amounts of energy

2. Which of the following is NOT a pollutant commonly emitted from coal burning power plants?

3. Clean coal technologies are methods of burning coal that reduce air pollution. One such technology mixes crushed coal with limestone particles during combustion. What is this technology called?

4. Which Act provides incentives for utility companies to convert to clean coal technologies?

5. Which fossil fuel is most closely linked to acid deposition?

a) natural gas

b) petroleum

c) coal

6. During petroleum refining, the crude oil is separated into different products based on which property?

7. Which statement about petroleum is true?

a) the US imports little petroleum, relying primarily on its own vast reserves

b) it is confidently

d) the greatest advantage to petroleum is its widespread global supply

e) the greatest disadvantage to petroleum is its relatively low energy yield

8. Which statement about natural gas is true?

a) natural gas is mostly methane with smaller proportions of ethane, propane and butane.

b) a disadvantage to natural gas is that it must be liquefied in order to be transported where pipelines are not available.

c) it is the cleanest burning of all the fossil fuels.

9. Environmental problems associated with oil and natural gas result from burning and transporting them. Which ecosystem is at the greatest risk during transportation?

10. An atom contains a nucleus made up of _________.

11. What is the main difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion reactions?

12. The process by which uranium ore is refined after mining to increase the concentration of fissionable U-235 is called

13. What is the name given to the most serious accidents that can occur at nuclear power plants?

14. Which is the worst nuclear accident that has occurred?

15. What is the difference between high-level and low-level radioactive wastes?

Chapter 18 Renewable Energy

1. Which statement about active solar heating is NOT true?

a) Requires the use of pumps or fans to distribute the collected heat.

b) Sunlight enters panel and warms liquid flowing through pipes.

d) Active solar is an excellent way to heat water.

2. The disadvantage to generating electricity from photovoltaic cells is:

3. Solar thermal electric generation is inherently more efficient than other solar technologies for which reason?


4. Which gas released by sewage decomposition is usually harvested for fuel in biogas digesters?

5. The greatest advantage of using wind power to generate electricity is that:

6. Which areas have the best potential for large-scale wind electricity generation?

7. Which is NOT one of the controversies associated with hydroelectric power?

b) large areas of habitat are lost in areas flooded behind a dam

c) hydroelectric generators are expensive to operate

d) dams block fish migration

8. Which of the following energy source(s) is considered indirect solar energy?

9. Which of these obtains its energy from a source other than the sun?

10. Which statement about schitosomiasis in NOT true?

a) Half the population of Egypt suffers from the disease.

b) The worm’s habitat has increased in stagnant water behind dams.

d) It is spread during bathing, swimming or drinking contaminated water.

11. In a geothermal power plant, what is used to turn the turbines to generate electricity?

12. What are tides?

13. Which of these potential energy sources is most geographically limited?

b) solar energy

c) tidal energy

d) wind energy

e) biomass energy

14. In cogeneration,

15. Increasing the mileage of a car is an example of

16. How has the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act changed the appliance industry?

17. Super insulated buildings use considerably less heat energy than buildings insulated by standard methods. To make the most of insulation and passive solar heat what direction should these windows face?

18. Heat recovered during combustion to generate electricity can be used for which of the following?

a) powering industrial processes

b) heating buildings

c) heating water

d) generating additional electricity

.