Test Questions & Answers Water Resources and Pollution Ch.11

Principles of Environmental Science, 9e (Cunningham)

Chapter 11 Water: Resources and Pollution

1) ________ is the water that infiltrates through the ground and is stored in spaces in soil and rock.

A) Lateral recharge

B) Rain

C) Water table

D) Surface water

E) Groundwater

2) The amount of groundwater that can fill the spaces found in soil and rock is determined by the

A) porosity.

B) zone of saturation.

C) recharge rate.

D) gravity.

E) permeability.

3) Based on Figure 11.11, water availability per person per year is lowest in these two countries:

A) Africa and Australia

B) North America and Australia

C) North America and South America

D) Africa and Asia

E) Asia and Australia

4) All of the following are example of point source pollution, except

A) drainpipes.

B) sewer outfalls.

C) ditches.

D) effluent pipes.

E) runoff from farms.

5) The total amount of water on the Earth ________ from year to year and the hydrologic cycle ________.

A) stays about the same; moves it from one place to another place

B) increases; captures it from the incoming solar radiation

C) increases; gains water from the Earth's interior

D) decreases; moves it from one place to another place

E) decreases; loses water to the atmosphere

6) Most water in the atmosphere has evaporated from the ocean, and ________ rain falls back into the sea. About ________ % of the earth's total rain falls on land.

A) most; 10

B) most; 20

C) less; 55

D) less; 70

7) The hydrologic compartment that contains the greatest amount of fresh water is

A) groundwater.

B) the Great Lakes.

C) living organisms and biomass.

D) ice and snow.

E) clouds in the atmosphere.

8) The place where aquifers are most likely to be contaminated is at

A) artesian springs.

B) seeps and other outlets.

C) recharge zones.

D) all discharge and recharge areas.

E) the zone of aeration.

9) A country's renewable water supplies are generally made up of

A) surface runoff and infiltration into accessible aquifers.

B) seasonal flooding and infiltration into accessible aquifers.

C) seasonal flooding.

D) rivers running through the country.

E) water used from an aquifer.

10) Which of the following factors is the most important factor in determining whether a country is "water rich" or "water poor"?

A) population density

B) country size

C) climate

D) rivers running through the country

E) renewable water supplies and population density

11) Withdrawal is the total amount of water

A) lost in transmission, due to evaporation or leakage.

B) taken from rivers, lakes, or aquifers.

C) used in manufacturing or agriculture.

D) altered or polluted in human activities.

E) lost due to chemical transformation because of human use.

12) In general, water use in poor countries is dominated by

A) agricultural use.

B) domestic needs.

C) industrial activities.

D) use as drinking water.

13) A method of increasing water supplies that has been successful, if expensive, is

A) desalination by reverse osmosis.

B) cloud seeding.

C) towing icebergs by ship from polar regions.

D) altering the climate's convection currents.

14) Which would not be a principal problem that has resulted from the construction of large dams?

A) evaporation and siltation

B) leakage and weakening of bedrock

C) mercury poisoning

D) the relocation of people

E) salinization of water bodies and surrounding soil

15) What would you not find in water that has been through tertiary treatment?

A) antibiotics

B) hormones

C) dissolved metals

D) insecticides

E) antidepressants

16) The activity that uses the greatest share of U.S. household water is

A) bathing.

B) drinking and cooking.

C) flushing the toilet.

D) washing clothes and dishes.

E) watering lawns.

17) Factories, sewage treatment plants, and oil wells are ________ sources of water pollution.

A) point

B) primary

C) nonpoint

D) tertiary pollutant

E) secondary

18) ________ sources of water pollution are relatively easy to monitor and regulate while ________ sources of water pollution are difficult to monitor and clean up.

A) Domestic; industrial

B) Primary; tertiary pollutant

C) Nonpoint; point

D) Tertiary pollutant; primary

E) Point; nonpoint

19) ________ is a point source of water pollution; ________ is a nonpoint source of water pollution.

A) Golf course runoff; atmospheric deposition

B) Golf course runoff; power plant effluent

C) Power plant effluent; golf course runoff

D) Atmospheric deposition; golf course runoff

E) Power plant effluent; factory drains

20) The water pollutant that most commonly threatens human health is

A) pathogenic organisms.

B) dissolved plant matter.

C) toxic and hazardous chemicals.

D) thermal pollution.

E) oxygen-demanding wastes.

21) Coliform bacteria populations are routinely monitored in drinking water supplies, swimming pools, and at beaches because these bacteria

A) are especially toxic to animals.

B) may mutate into severely pathogenic strains.

C) indicate the presence of feces in water.

D) usually live in pesticide-contaminated water.

E) are more difficult to find in water.

Use the following graph for the question.

22) On the graph of clean drinking water per person, each letter represents a country. Which of the following is most likely?

A) A is the United States; B is India.

B) A is India; B is the United States.

C) A is the United States; B is Canada.

D) A is China; B is India.

E) A is India; B is Canada.

23) The main reason that surface water pollution has largely decreased in the United States since 1950 is

A) the Clean Water Act.

B) a series of epidemics that inspired action.

C) the discovery of newer technology that makes it cheaper not to pollute.

D) decreases in water withdrawal for industrial uses.

E) the emphasis in 1950 of watershed management.

24) Tertiary treatment of sewage produces water that is NOT free of

A) nutrients.

B) pathogens.

C) solids.

D) organic material.

25) The city of Arcata, California, is notable because it designed a ________ to treat its sewage.

A) system of modern outhouses

B) fully modern, technologically advanced system

C) natural marsh

D) corporate sponsorship system

E) living machine

26) Best available technology (BAT) standards are standards set for

A) nonpoint pollution.

B) toxic substances.

C) radioactive waste, specifically.

D) organic compounds.

27) Plants that take up heavy metals found in water would be an example of

A) containment of pollutants.

B) tertiary sewage treatment.

C) bioremediation.

D) wetland treatment.

E) in vitro extraction techniques.

28) The residence time for an average water molecule in the ocean is about ________ years.

A) 2

B) 60

C) 850

D) 3000

E) 12000

29) A(n) ________ is all the land drained by a particular river.

A) reservoir

B) water table

C) watershed

D) recharge zone

E) aquifer

30) Many cities in the American Southwest rely on sources of drinking water that contaminated with ________.

A) arsenic

B) lead

C) coliform bacteria

D) DDT

31) An oligotrophic lake would be very productive.

32) Domestic water conservation in the United States would save about 20% of the water we now use. Therefore, we need to come up with better technology to avoid strict restrictions in the future.

33) The heating of natural waterways by power plants and other industrial facilities is a form of water pollution.

34) The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) was established as a part of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

35) Raw sewage would contribute to the biochemical oxygen demand of a stream and cause fewer organisms to be present.

36) Application of fertilizer to farm fields is an example of cultural eutrophication.

37) A TMDC measures the toxicity of a metal found in a water body.

38) The hydrologic cycle distributes water across the globe. Which part of the hydrologic cycle refers to the water vapor released by plants?

A) transpiration

B) precipitation

C) evaporation

D) fog

E) water table

39) How much of the total water on the planet is fresh, nonfrozen, surface water?

A) 0.02%

B) 2.4%

C) 12.0%

D) 87.2%

E) 0.8%

40) Which of the following is a nonpoint source of water pollution?

A) runoff from streets during a large rain event

B) a mine discharging acidic effluent

C) a drainpipe from an industrial factory

D) an effluent pipe from a sewage treatment plant

E) an oil spill