Water Pollution Practice Test

Question 1

What is a positive effect of an ocean upwelling?

Answer 1

creates an area of high nutrient levels

Question 2

When freshwater is not readily available, desalinated water may be used. Where is this most likely to happen?

Answer 2

the Middle East

Question 3

Students studying a river found high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. They concluded that …

Answer 3

untreated animal waste entered the river

Question 4

A certain chemical has a concentration of 10 ppm in water. Which statement most accurately discribes its concentration?

Answer 4

There are 10 molecules of the chemical in one million molecules of water.

Question 5

Which of the following is the most successful solution to the problem of fish mortality caused by dams?

Answer 5

building fish ladders around the dam

Question 6

Photic

Answer 6

A

Question 7

Benthic

Answer 7

D

Question 8

Littoral

Answer 8

C

Question 9

Aphotic

Answer 9

B

Question 10

What health threat is associated with water from plumbing in older homes?

Answer 10

lead

Question 11

Which of the following laws created the Superfund program?

Answer 11

CERCLA

Question 12

The Coriolis Effect and prevailing winds contribute to the formation of gyres in the oceans. Which direction do the gyres flow in the Northern Hemisphere?

Answer 12

clockwise

Question 13

Artesian Well

Answer 13

9

Question 14

Confined Aquifer

Answer 14

5

Question 15

Unconfined aquifer

Answer 15

6

Question 16

water table

Answer 16

4

Question 17

impermeable layer

Answer 17

2

Question 18

Oxygen-depleted zones of the oceans, such as the one at the mouth of the Mississippi River, are most likely caused by …

Answer 18

excessive fertilizer use in the watershed, leading to eutrophication

Question 19

The Clean Water Act established all of the following guidelines EXCEPT

Answer 19

demanded that an environmental impact statement be prepared for any major development

Question 20

Many synthetic chemicals, such as PCBs, act as estrogen mimics. In an ecosystem, these persistant chemicals would most likely have the greatest effect on which of the following?

Answer 20

secondary consumers

Question 21

Researchers are evaluating the waste treatment facility located on the Moose River in the northeastern United States. They are sampling the river and its tributaries at several locations, as shown on the map below.

Answer 21

Fecal coliform measured at site B

Question 22

The goal of the second stage of a waste water treatment plant is to …

Answer 22

Lower the amount of dissolved organic material in the water

Question 23

Type of water pollution that involves erosion and causes an increase in the turbidity of the water.

Answer 23

sediments

Question 24

Includes toxic substances such as lead and mercury.

Answer 24

chemical pollution

Question 25

Phosphorous and nitrogen – lead to a buildup of algae in the water and may eventually cause a loss of oxygen

Answer 25

nutrient pollution

Question 26

Animal waste, human waste, or plant materials

Answer 26

organic pollutants

Question 27

Disease causing agents. E.coli is an example.

Answer 27

pathogens

Question 28

changes in water temperature

Answer 28

thermal pollution

Question 29

Which of the following is the best example of gray water?

Answer 29

water that has been used for bathing and for washing cloths

Question 30

what percent of water is used for agriculture

Answer 30

70 percent

Question 31

what percent of freshwater is used for household use

Answer 31

10 percent

Question 32

what percent of freshwater is used for industry

Answer 32

20

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a negative impact of dams on ecosystems?

Answer 33

generation of low pollution electricity / hydroelectric power

Question 34

Largest oil spill in the world, 1991, deliberate act of war, 330 million gallons

Answer 34

Kuwait / Persian Gulf

Question 35

Worst oil spill in US History, 2010

Answer 35

BP Deepwater Horizon

Question 36

20 million gallons spilled in Prince William Sound in Alaska

Answer 36

Exxon Valdez

Question 37

100,000 barrels of crude oil from an oil drilling rig in the Pacific, 1969

Answer 37

Santa Barbara

Question 38

68 million gallons entered the English Channel in 1978

Answer 38

Amoco Cadiz

Question 39

Which of the following is the best example of an economic approach to reduce overfishing for a fish species with a declining population?

Answer 39

The federal government sets a catch limit (per person or per boat) for the species and imposes a tax on any extra fish that are caught.

Question 40

Which organism produces most of the food in an aquatic ecosystem?

Answer 40

phytoplankton

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT true about confined aquifers?

Answer 41

They are polluted more easily than unconfined aquifers

Question 42

Which of the following best describes a way that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) cause harm in the environment?

Answer 42

Persistent organic pollutants are soluble in fat, so they accumulate in an organisms’ fatty tissues

Question 43

Which of the following choices gives the correct orrder of processing sanitary waste in a sewage treatment plant?

Answer 43

solid separation - breakdown of organics by bacteria - disinfection

Question 44

a deep lake with clear water, low productivity, high oxygen levels

Answer 44

oligotrophic

Question 45

has high levels of organic matter, murky water, thick layer of decomposing matter at the bottom, low levels of dissolved oxygen

Answer 45

eutrophic

Question 46

a productive lake that has some organic matter, medium nutrient levels, decomposing matter is accumulating at the bottom of the lake

Answer 46

mesotrophic

Question 47

The Thermohaline Circulation is also know as...

Answer 47

the Global Conveyor Belt

Question 48

Which of the following is not an environmental function of wetlands?

Answer 48

increasing runoff

Question 49

Which of the following correctly explains what happens to the level of oxygen in the water when organic waste is put into the water?

Answer 49

The levels would decrease because of the bacteria feeding off the waste and using oxygen to live.

Question 50

Which diagram represents the conditions of El Nino?

Answer 50

B

Question 51

Which of the following is a direct economic advantage associated with aquaculture?

Answer 51

Aquaculture produces large amounts of seafood for human purchase and consumption year-round.

Question 52

Which of the following is a disadvantage of fish farming?

Answer 52

It can lead to large die-offs due to disease.

Question 53

The release of a large amount of sewage and other organic wastes into a river would likely result in a sharp

Answer 53

increase in the biological oxygen demand

Question 54

Human waste in rural areas

Answer 54

septic tank

Question 55

Household waste in urban areas

Answer 55

sewage treatment plant

Question 56

Animal waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

Answer 56

manure lagoon

Question 57

runoff / storm water from neighborhoods

Answer 57

retention pond

Question 58

Which of the sources below would produce non-point source pollution?

Answer 58

runoff from a large area of farmland near a river

Question 59

linked to cancer, nervous system damage, organ damage, and even death may bioaccumulate in large fish

Answer 59

heavy metals

Question 60

water used for cooling in power plants and factories is released back into the environment at a higher temperature

Answer 60

thermal pollution

Question 61

industrial chemical used to make plastics and resins used to store food and beverages with health effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and young children

Answer 61

BPA (Bisphenol A)

Question 62

result of erosion, increases turbidity

Answer 62

sediments

Question 63

causes eutrophication and presence of pathogens

Answer 63

raw sewage

Question 64

carcinogen used in production of plastics, banned in 1979

Answer 64

PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenol)