Fire Ch.14 Complete Test Bank

Natural Disasters, 11e (Abbott)

Chapter 14 Fire

1) On 12 September 1812, Napoleon and the French army reached the hills outside of ________ and found it to be largely deserted, with intentional set fires burning throughout; for six days, the fires raged until 90 percent of the city was incinerated. 

A) Madrid

B) St. Petersburg

C) Berlin

D) Magadan

E) Moscow

2) In the photosynthesis reaction ________is released as a by-product.

A) hydrogen

B) oxygen

C) carbon dioxide

D) nitrogen

E) water

3) In effect, the solar energy stored by plants during their growth is ________ when they are burned.

A) returned to the atmosphere

B) lost forever

C) used to produce ozone 

D) returned to their roots 

E) stored in ribosomes

4) Fire-dependent natural ecosystems include all but which of the following?

A) grasslands

B) seasonal tropical forests

C) some temperate-climate forests

D) the Mediterranean-climate shrublands

E) deserts

5) In Mediterranean climates such as in parts of California, Australia, and South Africa, frequent wildfire is necessary for the health of natural plant communities because ________.

A) many of the plant species must have the smoke and/or heat of fire to germinate their seeds

B) it helps to control parasites

C) it influences insect behavior

D) many of the plant species must have the smoke and/or heat of fire to germinate their seeds and it helps to control parasites and it influences insect behavior

E) it controls seasonal variations of solar albinism

6) The organic debris left on the ground after logging or windstorms is called ________.

A) switch

B) slag

C) grush

D) brush

E) slash

7) Grasses are considered ________.

A) lightweight fuels that are easy to burn when dry

B) heavyweight fuels that can burn if conditions are just right

C) medium-weight fuels that burn easier during their growing season

D) fire dampeners, especially during the late summer

8) The most intense fires in shrublands occur ________.

A) in the early spring

B) when the shrubs contain large amounts of natural oils

C) there is a minimal amount of natural oils in the shrubs

D) when there is an intense low-pressure system in the area

9) Wet wood becomes extremely difficult to ignite because ________.

A) the water in wet wood has a high specific heat

B) its temperature must be raised considerably

C) the water displaces oxygen (necessary for ignition) in pores in the wood

D) water in wet wood has a high specific heat and its temperature must be raised considerably

E) the water in wet wood has a high specific heat, its temperature must be raised considerably, and the water displaces oxygen (necessary for ignition) in pores in the wood

10) The thermal degradation of wood involves the process of ________.

A) fission

B) electrolysis

C) dialysis

D) pyrolysis

E) anoxic growth

11) During burning, the chemical structure of solid wood breaks apart and yields ________.

A) flammable hydrocarbon vapors

B) water vapor

C) tar

D) mineral residues

E) All of these choices are correct.

12) Wildfires that race through the treetops are known as ________.

A) crown fires

B) bough fires

C) slash fires

D) hypothermal fires

13) The spread of fire depends on behavior within the fire itself and on ________.

A) the types of fuel

B) weather

C) topography

D) the soil type

E) the types of fuel, weather, and topography 

14) Fire burns faster ________.

A) up a slope

B) down a slope

C) on flat ground

D) Rate of burn is not dependent on amount or direction of slope.

15) Heat-expanded air ________.

A) is more dense than cool air because molecules are pushing harder on each other

B) is less dense than cool air

C) has the same density as cool air because matter is neither created nor destroyed in fire

D) contains less energy than cooler air because there are fewer molecules per unit volume

16) The term "ladder fuels" refers to ________.

A) an evolutionary hierarchy of flammable plants, from primitive ferns to complex flowering trees

B) a hierarchy of carbon-rich flammable materials, from wood to peat, coal, and petroleum products

C) vegetation of varying heights, which allow fire to quickly climb upward

D) fuel made of old woodworking scraps and workbenches

E) extinguishing materials used by urban firefighters

17) Sea breezes reach their maximum on shore wind speeds ________.

A) during the hottest part of the day

B) shortly after sunrise

C) shortly after sunset

D) at random times during a 24-hour period

18) Fierce winds occur when a high-pressure air mass spills over a mountain range and descends as warm, dry wind toward a low-pressure zone; these winds are called ________.

A) foehn winds

B) Chinook winds

C) Diablo winds

D) Santa Ana winds

E) All of these choices are correct, depending on geographic location.

19) Pyrolysis of cellulose produces which of the following?

A) (wood alcohol) vapor

B) water vapor

C) fatty deposits

D) chlorophyll

E) coal

20) Which of the following was largely destroyed by fire in 1871?

A) San Francisco

B) Tokyo

C) Chicago

D) Moscow

E) Lisbon

21) Between 1981 and 2009 in the United States, the annual average of fire deaths ________ and the annual average economic damage to structures due to fires ________.

A) decreased; increased

B) decreased; decreased

C) increased; decreased

D) increased; increased

E) remained flat; decreased slightly

22) Which of these drives fires in Southern California?

A) Pacific trade winds

B) Santa Clara winds

C) Santa Ana winds

D) Southeast trade winds

23) Transfer of heat occurs by all but which of the following?

A) conduction

B) osmosis

C) radiation

D) convection

E) diffusion

24) Pyrolysis results in emanation of all but which of the following?

A) flammable hydrocarbon vapors

B) tar

C) water vapor

D) nitrogen (N2)

25) Which of these two fires started within a few minutes of each other on 8 October 1871? 

A) the Rome and San Francisco fires

B) the Oakland and San Francisco fires

C) the Peshtigo and Chicago fires

D) the Chicago and San Francisco fires

E) the Peshtigo and San Francisco fires

26) Mistakes, or "(how to sacrifice your house to the fire gods)" include ________.

A) locating your house on a slope

B) storing firewood next to your house

C) having a roof made of flammable wood shingles

D) allowing tree limbs to hang over the roof

E) All of these choices are correct.

27) Fire produces ________.

A) oxygen and water vapor

B) hydrogen and HCL's

C) nitrogen and HFC's

D) cellulite and ozone

E) carbon dioxide and water vapor

28) The vast majority of deaths from fire in the United States occur in ________.

A) automotive accidents

B) nonresidential buildings

C) residential buildings

D) campsites

E) large industrial plants

29) If there is a high-pressure zone over the Rocky Mountains and a low-pressure zone in the Great Plains, winds can come rushing down the Front Range into the plains; these winds are known as ________.

A) Cherokee winds

B) Fujita winds

C) Chinook winds

D) Saffir winds

E) Santa Ana winds

30) Chinook winds and Santa Ana winds are ________.

A) cold and dry

B) warm and humid

C) cold and humid

D) warm and dry

E) warm and supersaturated

31) In 1988, ________ National Park had fires that burned over a million acres of forests after period of fire suppression.

A) Yosemite 

B) Mt. Rainier

C) Big Bend 

D) Grand Canyon 

E) Yellowstone 

32) Heat flows outward from a fire by ________.

A) diffusion of particles from hotter to cooler areas

B) radiation from flames and hot surfaces

C) convection of hot, lightweight buoyant gases that rise

D) All of these choices are correct.

33) What are the three components of the fire triangle?

A) fuel, oxygen, and combustion

B) fire, oxygen, and wind

C) heat, oxygen, and fuel

D) radiation, conduction, and convection

E) convection, fuel, and heat

34) Oxygen is a critical component in any fire. However, it is generally not a limiting factor in natural fires because oxygen (O2) makes up ________% of Earth's atmosphere.

A) 21

B) 78

C) 3

D) 98

E) 33

35) If a fire in one area starts a fire in another area 10 kilometers away, the most likely cause is ________.

A) conduction

B) radiation

C) firebrands

D) diffusion

E) reduction

36) The oils in plants, such as those in chaparral group, evolved to defend the plants against insects also ________.

A) help them to resist wildfires

B) make them more flammable

C) help them regrow bark after a fire

D) attract the lightning strikes need to start fires

37) Tall trees in a forest are likely to emerge with the least amount of damage under which of the following sets of conditions?

A) moderate winds, minimal litter, and no shrubs

B) weak winds, abundant litter, and abundant shrubs

C) moderate winds, abundant litter, and tall grasses

D) little wind, some litter, and many shrubs and grasses

38) What complication does "duff" add to job of firefighters?

A) Duff can rain fire and embers down on unburned areas that are kilometers away.

B) Duff allows fire to smolder in the soil and restart the fire again after it appears to be out.

C) Duff makes a nearby larger fire appear to be less dangerous than it really is.

D) Duff invisibly burns within the leaves of some plants.

39) La Niña conditions in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean can increase the risk of wildfires in the United States by ________ some parts of the country.

A) causing less rain to fall in

B) bringing a low-pressure system over

C) wafting firebrands from Central America into

D) wafting firebrands from South America into

E) raising the temperature of the stratosphere over

40) During World War II, entire cities were ignited as thousands of tons of bombs created massive firestorms, killing tens of thousands of people in such cities as Hamburg and Dresden.

41)  In the United States lightning strikes are responsible for more than 95% of all wildfires.

42) There are typically only about 18 thunderstorms in action on Earth during any one hour that are capable of producing lightning.

43) In effect, fire is the photosynthesis reaction in reverse.

44) Fire is the rapid combination of oxygen with carbon, hydrogen, and other elements of organic material in a reaction that produces flame, heat, and light.

45) In 1880, people clearing land caused nearly half of the forest fires. 

46) In many natural environments, fire is necessary to recycle nutrients and regenerate plant communities.

47) In Mediterranean climates such as in parts of California, Australia, and South Africa, frequent wildfire is necessary for the health of natural plant communities. 

48) Flaming combustion is the stage when the least amount of energy is released in any fire. 

49) For the 1972–1980 period, the percentage of chaparral acreage burned in the United States and in Mexico was about the same, despite enormous efforts made in the United States to suppress fire.

50) Because of the poor conductance of heat in wood, the interior of a log remains below the combustion point even when the exterior is engulfed in flames.

51) For a log to burn completely, there must be enough outside heat conducting into the log to continue the pyrolyzing process.

52) In glowing combustion the wood burns more slowly but at a higher temperature as the fire consumes the solid wood instead of pyrolized gases, as occurs in flaming combustion.

53) The energy release in a fire strongly depends on the volume of material consumed, but not on the chemical composition of the plants and organic debris.

54) Fire tornadoes may carry fiery debris and drop it miles away, starting new fires, but their wind speeds do not get high enough to register on the Fujita Scale.

55) Fire hazards are smallest in those regions with the biggest climatic differences between their wet and dry seasons.

56) Sea breezes and land breezes, at a point on the shoreline, flow in opposite directions, but the sea breezes typically have a higher maximum wind speed. 

57) Most fire deaths in the United States occur in hotels and motels.

58) The radiant heat released from fires is a form of electromagnetic radiation.

59) Strong winds tend to blow large fires out rather than making them spread.

60) Firefighters set backfires to reduce or eliminate fuel for an advancing wildfire.

61) The Fort McMurray fire in 2016 in Alberta, Canada, wildfire raged for ________.

A) 2 days

B) 2 weeks

C) 2 months

D) 2 years

62) The Fort McMurray fire in 2016 ended up being the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history with direct and indirect costs totalling ________.

A) $9.9 million

B) $9.9 billion

C) $19.9 million

D) $99 million

63) The Fort McMurray fire in 2016 ended up burning nearly ________ acres.

A) 1500

B) 15,000

C) 150,000

D) 1,500,000

64) A ________ is an uncontrollable mega-fire covering more than 100,000 acres and burns at high intensities that leave little life behind.

A) firestorm

B) fire tornadoes

C) brush fires

D) pyro-storms

65) In 2000, ________ of United States wildland fires were caused by lightning.

A) 85%

B) 26%

C) 15%

D) 10%

66) Wildfires release so much energy from fuel that they can develop their own clouds called ________.

A) pyrocumulus

B) pyrostratus

C) cirrostratus

D) pyronimbus

67) Embers carried by wind can land and ignite new, separate fires through a process called ________.

A) spreading

B) wind delivery

C) pyro-rotating

D) spotting