5 - UNIT REVIEW EXERCISES

Question 1

What effect does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have on regulating global temperature?
a. Promotes water evaporation, preventing temperature decrease.
b. Inhibits water evaporation, preventing temperature increase.
c. Radiates infrared heat, preventing temperature decrease.
d. Absorbs infrared heat, preventing temperature increase.

Answer 1

Absorbs infrared heat, preventing temperature increase

Question 2

Water starts it course through the hydrologic cycle when the Sun shines on moist lands and
bodies of water, causing
a. condensation.
b. transpiration.
c. evaporation.
d. migration.

Answer 2

evaporation

Question 3

The Earth’s crust is comprised of natural chemicals called minerals, each of which are
composed of different elements; within the rocks of the crust, the most abundant element is
a. oxygen.
b. nitrogen.
c. hydrogen.
d. carbon dioxide.

Answer 3

oxygen

Question 4

Which statement best describes an autotrophic organism?
a. Classified by their type of respiration.
b. May be further categorized as phagotrophs or saprotrophs.
c. Employ already formed organic compounds as a basis for food.
d. Self-nourishing organisms manufacture their own food entirely.

Answer 4

Self-nourishing organisms manufacture their own food entirely

Question 5

What is the controlling factor for growth and production of living organisms?
a. Nitrogen compounds.
b. Nutritional value of food.
c. Impact of the grazing consumer.
d. Food transfer between trophic levels.

Answer 5

Nutritional value of food

Question 6

Decomposition provides nutrition for plants and modifies the Earth’s surface by
a. producing nutrient-rich soil.
b. preventing deficiency diseases.
c. limiting growth and reproduction.
d. changing wastes into organic materials.

Answer 6

producing nutrient-rich soil

Question 7

What step in the exposure pathway links the release of a chemical from a source and its
contact with a receptor at the exposure point?
a. Source.
b. Exposure point.
c. Exposure route.
d. Environmental fate and transport.

Answer 7

Environmental fate and transport

Question 8

When assessing a site, what transport and fate mechanism addresses the normal migration
or movement of a contaminant through a medium?
a. Emission.
b. Dispersion.
c. Attenuation.
d. Advection/Convection.

Answer 8

Advection/Convection

Question 9

Which best illustrates an example of the fate and transport mechanism attenuation?
a. Biodegradation.
b. Soil gas migration.
c. Erosion via wind or water.
d. Impingement with soil particles.

Answer 9

Biodegradation

Question 10

The vapor pressure of a contaminant can essentially determine how
a. rapidly the contaminant is moving.
b. fast the contaminant will bioaccumulate.
c. rapidly the contaminant will evaporate into the air.
d. fast the contaminant is dispersing along the flow path.

Answer 10

rapidly the contaminant will evaporate into the air

Question 11

What two factors influence the direction and extent of contaminant transport in
groundwater?
a. Depth to groundwater and ground cover.
b. Soil characteristics and man-made objects.
c. Physical characteristics of aquifers and depth.
d. Groundwater hydrology and geologic composition.

Answer 11

Groundwater hydrology and geologic composition

Question 12

The access of a chemical to the lungs depends foremost on its physical state; for
particulates, penetration depends on
a. size.
b. shape.
c. reactivity.
d. temperature.

Answer 12

size

Question 13

Which example best illustrates the short-term effect of air pollution?
a. Gastrointestinal upset.
b. Nervous system damage.
c. Chronic respiratory disease.
d. Irritation to eyes, nose, and throat.

Answer 13

Irritation to eyes, nose, and throat