Deck 13: Water Resources

Question 1

What percentage of the world's water supply is liquid freshwater that is available to living organisms?

A) 24%
B) 20%
C) 10%
D) 0.024%
E) 0.000024%

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is the land from which surface water drains into a particular lake,river,or other body of water?

A) the zone of saturation
B) watershed
C) an aquifer
D) surface water
E) the bedrock

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What percentage of water withdrawn from lakes,streams,and rivers is used by cities and residences?

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 50%
D) 70%
E) 80%

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Indirectly used water,that is,water consumed to produce food and other products,is called ____.

A) surface runoff
B) virtual water
C) non-renewal aquifers
D) water table
E) groundwater

Question 5

There are four major problems associated with the use of the Colorado River's water.Which one of the following is not one of those problems?

A) Mexico and the U.S.have agreed to take more water than is in the river
B) The river does not have much of a flow considering its size.
C) The river gets most of its water from mountain snow melt.
D) Water seldom makes it to the mouth of the river.
E) The Colorado River basin includes some of the driest areas in the U.S.

Question 6

At a certain depth,the area where the spaces in soil and rock are completely filled with water.What is this called?

A) the zone of saturation
B) the water table
C) an aquifer
D) surface water
E) the bedrock

Question 7

The United States is withdrawing groundwater from aquifers at a rate that is ____ times faster than it can be recharged.

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 10

Question 8

In the United States what percentage of direct water use is lost due to water leaks?

A) 27%
B) 22%
C) 17%
D) 16%
E) 14%

Question 9

The Colorado River provides water and electricity to what percentage of the U.S.population?

A) 2%
B) 5%
C) 8%
D) 10%
E) 15%

Question 10

Most of the water in the Colorado River comes from which of the following sources?

A) Great Salt Lake
B) snow melt in the Rocky Mountains
C) glaciers in Canada
D) aquifers in Wyoming
E) lakes in Montana

Question 11

What percentage of the earth's surface is covered by water?

A) 86%
B) 71%
C) 67%
D) 58%
E) 52%

Question 12

The geological layer,consisting of underground caverns and porous layers of sand,gravel,or bedrock,where groundwater flows,is called ____.

A) the zone of saturation
B) the water table
C) an aquifer
D) surface water
E) the bedrock

Question 13

Aquifers provide drinking water for how much of the world's population?

A) 25%
B) 33%
C) 50%
D) 67%
E) 75%

Question 14

Access to water is an issue for all of humanity.Which issue is not one of the four that the author has cited with regard to this access?

A) scientific issue
B) global health issue
C) economic issue
D) national and global security issue
E) environmental issue

Question 15

More modern countries use more water.For example,how much water does it take to produce one small car?

A) 450,000 gallons
B) 392,600 liters
C) 104,000 gallons
D) 45,000 liters
E) 45,000 gallons

Question 16

What percentage of the world's reliable surface runoff is currently being withdrawn?

A) 10%
B) 18%
C) 22%
D) 34%
E) 45%

Question 17

What percentage of China's major cities are already facing water shortages?

A) 25%
B) 33%
C) 50%
D) 67%
E) 100%

Question 18

According to a 2010 study,what percentage of groundwater and surface water withdrawn in the U.S.is used to cool electric power plants?

A) 41%
B) 37%
C) 13%
D) 9%
E) 3%

Question 19

There are several advantages of withdrawing groundwater.Which of the following is not one of these?

A) pollution is quickly removed
B) can be used for drinking and irrigation
C) exists almost anywhere
D) renewable if not overpumped
E) cheaper to extract than most surface waters

Question 20

By the year 2025,how many of the world's people are likely to lack access to clean water?

A) 1 billion
B) 2 billion
C) 3 billion
D) 4 billion
E) 7.9 billion

Question 21

Tapping deep aquifers for water sources creates several concerns.Which of the following is not one of these?

A) They are nonrenewable on a human time scale.
B) Little is known about their geological or ecological impacts.
C) Many cross country borders without international agreements.
D) Most are heavily polluted.
E) The costs of tapping these are unknown.

Question 22

Desalination has a number of problems.What is not one of these?

A) reduces soil salinization on irrigated lands
B) has a high energy cost
C) kills marine organisms through water sterilization chemicals
D) requires disposal of resulting salty wastewater
E) requires massive amounts of energy to pump seawater through pipes

Question 23

Withdrawing too much water from an aquifer can cause several issues.Which of the following is not one of these?

A) droughts
B) land subsidence
C) sinkholes
D) freshwater contaminated with saltwater
E) making aquifers impossible to recharge

Question 24

Farmers could not grow lettuce in the arid interior of California without ____.

A) desalinization
B) winds coming off the Pacific Ocean
C) El Nino southern oscillation
D) government subsidies
E) cheap prices for lettuce seeds

Question 25

According to water resource experts,the main cause of water waste is ____.

A) leakage
B) long showers
C) old toilets
D) dishwashers
E) cheap prices

Question 26

One of the most important and effective ways to reduce flooding is to ____.

A) preserve and restore wetlands
B) straighten and deepen streams
C) build floodwalls
D) encourage people to build on floodplains
E) build dams

Question 27

What is the most efficient means of water delivery to crops?

A) center-pivot sprinkler systems
B) low-energy precision-application (LEPA)sprinkler systems
C) trickle or drip irrigation
D) gravity-flow canal systems
E) diagonal-pivot systems

Question 28

What is not a good solution for reducing water waste in industry and homes?

A) Use water-thrifty native plants in lawns.
B) Use gray water to irrigate lawns and nonedible plants.
C) Raise the cost of water in water-short areas.
D) Condensing water vapor from indoor air.
E) Recycle water for use in industry.

Question 29

The term subsidence refers to

A) failure of the groundwater supply
B) sinking of ground when water has been withdrawn
C) living on very little money
D) intrusion of salt water into a freshwater aquifer
E) money paid by the government to farmers

Question 30

Four of the following are disadvantages of dam and reservoir systems;one is not.Choose the one that is not.

A) Dams and reservoirs disrupt migration of some fish.
B) Dams and reservoirs displace people behind the dam
C) Dams and reservoirs lead to devastating flooding if there is a failure.
D) Dams and reservoirs increases downstream flooding.
E) Dams and reservoirs reduces nutrients released downstream.

Question 31

One method of desalination uses high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane filter.This method is called ____.

A) diffusion
B) distillation
C) reverse osmosis
D) active transport
E) passive transport

Question 32

Developing countries use many low-tech methods for irrigation.Which of the following is not one of these?

A) rainwater harvesting
B) planting deep-rooted perennial crop varieties
C) mulching fields
D) using monoculture instead of polyculture farming
E) harvest fog with fog catcher nets

Question 33

Which of the following is not a primary goal of a dam and reservoir?

A) To produce electricity
B) To clean the water supply
C) To supply water for irrigation
D) To provide recreational activities
E) To reduce downstream flooding

Question 34

Satellites can be used by scientists to detect changes in ____.

A) water quality
B) groundwater supplies
C) aquifer density
D) water demand
E) irrigation efficiency

Question 35

Which of the following is not a good solution for water waste?

A) Use night irrigation.
B) Discourage organic farming.
C) Irrigate with treated urban waste water.
D) Line canals bringing water to irrigation ditches.
E) Avoid growing water-thirsty crops in dry areas.

Question 36

Which of the following is not true of the Colorado River basin?

A) Much needed sediment is washed to coastal wetlands.
B) 80% of water withdrawn from the Colorado River goes to irrigation.
C) Government subsidies have led to inefficient use of irrigation water.
D) Water is leaking to the ground below the river.
E) The evaporation rate is high.

Question 37

Which of the following is not true of the disaster that befell the Aral Sea?

A) Surface level of the sea has dropped by 22 meters.
B) The cause of the disaster was a water diversion project.
C) Shrinkage of the Aral Sea has altered local climate.
D) Populations of local animal species have remained stable.
E) Salt and sand from the dry sea bottom spread as far as 300 kilometers.

Question 38

One major human activities that has contributed to flooding is ____.

A) constructing dams
B) directing stream flow
C) destroying vegetation
D) irrigation
E) urbanization

Question 39

To address the water supply problems in the Colorado River basin,experts call for the seven states using the river water to take several actions.What is not one of these?

A) Slow growth and development of urban populations.
B) Lower the price of water taken from the river.
C) Switch water thirst crops to less arid areas.
D) Prohibit the use of water on golf courses and lawns.
E) Eliminate subsidies for agriculture in this region.

Question 40

Many proposals have been put forth for improving desalinization.Which of the following is not one of these?

A) operating ships that carry desalination equipment offshore
B) operating desalination plants by solar energy
C) using ocean wave energy for desalination plants
D) building desalination plants next to coastal energy plants to use their cooling water
E) letting natural evaporation remove the water in large shallow basins

Question 41

Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or evaporate is called ____.

A) perspiration
B) condensation
C) transpiration
D) run off
E) run in

Question 42

Areas such as the San Joaquin Valley and Mexico City have experienced subsidence because ____.

A) of a drought that lasted decades
B) the sediments were all clay
C) groundwater was overpumped
D) of urban growth that made the area sink
E) the main rivers were dammed

Question 43

Based on climate models,the southwestern United States and northern Mexico will likely have extended periods of extreme drought throughout the rest of this century.

Question 44

The southern part of the Aral Sea has lost 90% of its volume of water,destroying wetlands and eliminating large numbers of bird and mammal species.

Question 45

What is gray water?

A) used water from showers,sinks,dishwashers,and tubs
B) water that has been used for irrigation
C) water that can never be used again
D) water that is not needed
E) water that comes from the faucet

Question 46

In the United States,approximately one-half of the water used comes from groundwater sources and the other one-half from surface sources.

Question 47

Water in the spaces between soil,rock,and gravel is called what ____.

A) groundwater
B) capillary fringe water
C) perched water table
D) soil moisture
E) soil aquifer

Question 48

The removal of mangrove forests in coastal areas has resulted in ____.

A) more beaches along which water can collect
B) less seawater being held near the shore
C) increased flooding
D) a reduction in storm surges
E) a reduction in mangrove related deaths

Question 49

Large dam and reservoir projects ____.

A) have no real benefits other than water supply
B) can create new farmland
C) keeps dirty silt from polluting rivers
D) disrupt the migration and spawning of fish
E) can last forever

Question 50

Rainwater harvesting ____.

A) is only useful in areas where it rains all year round
B) cannot be used in urban settings
C) is expensive and technically difficult
D) involves pumping water from shallow aquifers that are recharged quickly by rain
E) collects rainwater from rooftops and stores it

Question 51

The Northern Aral Sea has partially recovered due to ____.

A) a dike that blocks the flow out of the Northern Aral Sea
B) a restriction on withdrawing any water from the Northern Aral Sea
C) rainwater harvesting
D) recharging the Sea with groundwater
E) increased rainfall in the northern region

Question 52

The delta for the Colorado River was destroyed by ____.

A) a hurricane
B) flooding
C) pollution
D) damming the river
E) overfishing

Question 53

Water is a national security issue.

Question 54

Because there is so little freshwater,most of humanity manages what water they have in an efficient and helpful way.

Question 55

Groundwater does not move at all.

Question 56

Emerging shortages of water for drinking and irrigation in many parts of the world is one of the three most serious environmental problems the world faces during this century.

Question 57

Withdrawing water from a nonrenewable aquifer is similar to mining a nonrenewable mineral resource.

Question 58

Ninety percent of the water used by Las Vegas,Nevada,comes from the Colorado River.

Question 59

Below the relatively dry soil close to the earth's surface,the spaces in the soil,gravel,and rock are filled with water and called the water table.

Question 60

How much more efficient would irrigation have to be for there to be enough water for domestic and industrial uses in southern California?

A) 80%
B) 70%
C) 50%
D) 30%
E) 10%

Question 61

About one of every ____________________ people in the United States is dependent on the Colorado River for water and electricity.

Question 62

Experts suggest that,worldwide,____________________ of the water people use is wasted through evaporation,leaks,and other losses.

Question 63

The largest single use of domestic water in the United States is ____________________.

Question 64

By 2050,some 60 countries,many of them in Asia,with ____________________ of the world's population,are likely to be suffering from water stress.

Question 65

In 2010,____________________ people lacked access to enough clean water to drink,cook,and wash.

Question 66

The low cost of water to users due to government subsidies is a major cause of water waste.

Question 67

Most of the water in the Colorado River comes from snowmelt in the ____________________.

Question 68

Even though rises in sea level during this century may result in millions of Bangladeshi environmental refugees,the government of Bangladesh is not preparing for this possibility.

Question 69

Agriculture consumes ____________________ of the water withdrawn in California,much of it used inefficiently for growing crops in desert-like condition of the southern half of the state.

Question 70

Groundwater overdrafts near coastal areas can contaminate aquifers with ____________________.

Question 71

Currently,desalination plants meet about 12% of the world's water needs.

Question 72

Groundwater in an aquifer typically moves only a(n)____________________ or so per year.

Question 73

Flushing toilets with water accounts for one-fourth of water use in the home.

Question 74

About ____________________% of the irrigation water applied throughout the world does not reach the targeted crops.

Question 75

Flood irrigation is the most efficient method of delivering water needed for crops.

Question 76

Desalination produces large amounts of wastewater that contains lots of ____________________,which can not be dumped into nearby oceans.

Question 77

Of the world's 177 longest rivers,only ____________________ of them run freely all the way to the sea.

Question 78

Access to water is a(n)____________________ because lack of safe water for drinking and sanitation is the world's single largest cause of illness.

Question 79

Agreements between the United States and ____________________ allocate water from the Colorado River that totals more than the river carries.

Question 80

A flood happens when water in a stream overflows its normal channel covers the adjacent area called a(n)____________________.