Deck 10: Oceans

Question 1

Which of the following foods requires the most water to produce?

A) A cup of coffee
B) A glass of milk
C) A hamburger
D) A tomato

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a nonpoint source of pollution?

A) An industrial facility
B) Water released from a paint manufacturer
C) Fertilizer- enriched runoff
D) Municipal sewage treatment plant

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following natural processes would have to occur for water in the oceans to become fresh water available for human use?

A) Evaporation and infiltration
B) Evaporation and precipitation
C) Precipitation and infiltration
D) Transpiration, purification, and precipitation

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a freshwater lake, the zone is characterized by a shallow depth and the presence of rooted vegetation.

A) profundal
B) littoral
C) limnetic
D) thermocline

Question 5

Which of the following would cause a rising water table?

A) Decreasing infiltration
B) Groundwater depletion exceeding the recharge rate
C) Increased precipitation
D) Increased runoff

Question 6

Groundwater as a water source may be better than surface water because .

A) groundwater is a self- replenishing resource that cannot be exhausted
B) groundwater is more easily located than surface water
C) groundwater may be naturally purified by percolation through soil
D) surface water is not naturally self- replenishing

Question 7

Depletion of groundwater supplies can cause which of the following?

A) Land subsidence
B) A rise in the water table
C) The overabundance of surface waters
D) The flooding of wetlands

Question 8

All of the following processes involve the flux of water into the atmosphere except .

A) sublimation
B) transpiration
C) percolation
D) evaporation

Question 9

A specific example of nonconsumptive use of water is .

A) disposal of sewage wastewater
B) cattle- grazing operations on federal lands
C) commercial forestry
D) agriculture

Question 10

The city of Orangeville, Iowa, gets all of its water from groundwater aquifers. Each of the city's 6,000 residents uses an average of 200 gallons of water daily. If the city wishes to use its water sustainably, what would the total daily recharge rate of its aquifers have to be?

A) 200 gallons per day
B) 1.2 million gallons per day
C) 6,000 gallons per day
D) 120 thousand gallons per day

Question 11

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from this graph depicting recovery after wetland restoration?

A) Soil organic matter and nutrient absorption are much easier to accomplish than improvements in biomass.
B) Soils are more important to wetland restoration than are plants.
C) It takes 10 to 20 years after wetland restoration for a wetland to be fully functional.
D) Plant biomass recovers relatively rapidly in restored wetlands.

Question 12

Where will you find a riparian zone?

A) In an area that has been heavily eroded because of the removal of vegetation
B) In an aquifer
C) Along a waterway
D) Between topsoil and the water table

Question 13

The graph depicts rainfall and stream discharge during a flood event along Peachtree Creek on December 24, 2002. Which of the following can be inferred from the graph?

A) Creek levels subsided as quickly as they rose.
B) Water levels in the creek returned to base levels by the end of the day.
C) Most of the rain fell during the time period from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. (17:00).
D) Creek water levels peaked 3 hours after the rain fell hardest.

Question 14

Artificial wetlands .

A) can help purify water and also provide wildlife habitat
B) purify water for use as bottled drinking water
C) are the major program for replacing lost natural wetlands
D) are a source of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh

Question 15

A watershed is .

A) a term used to describe water stored underground
B) an inland basin that connects to another inland basin
C) a river that drains into the sea
D) the area of land from which rainfall drains into rivers or lakes

Question 16

All of the following are predicted to occur in the near future except:

A) More battles over water rights will arise between urban centers and agriculture.
B) Large urban areas around the globe will grow quickly without the infrastructure needed for providing safe drinking water.
C) Water conservation measures will allow the Ogallala Aquifer to become replenished.
D) Lake Mead may dry up.

Question 17

Most of the water on Earth is found .

A) underground
B) in polar ice caps
C) in oceans
D) in lakes and rivers

Question 18

The city of Orangeville, Iowa, gets all of its water from groundwater aquifers. Each of the city's 6,000 residents uses an average of 200 gallons of water daily. If the city's citizens wish to use water more sustainably, which one of the following would you recommend that its citizens do?

A) Stop using water for drinking and cooking
B) Stop flushing their toilets
C) Stop watering their lawns
D) Shut down all industry within the city

Question 19

All of the following are reasons why freshwater resources are so scarce except for the following:

A) Most of the planet's water is too salty to be used efficiently.
B) The majority of our freshwater resources is frozen and located far from human habitation.
C) Global warming has dried up most of our global freshwater resources.
D) Many of our freshwater resources are too polluted to be used safely by humans.

Question 20

The city of Orangeville, Iowa, gets all of its water from groundwater aquifers. If the residents of Orangeville cannot use its groundwater resources sustainably, all of the following potential consequences could occur except:

A) Nearby rural wells may begin to dry up.
B) The water table may lower, and surface waters may begin to dry up.
C) Pollutants in the groundwater aquifers may become more concentrated.
D) The land in the area may start to sink.

Question 21

All of the following are potential consequences of inadequate treatment of drinking water except .

A) contamination of groundwater resources with harmful bacteria
B) dehydration caused by drinking contaminated water
C) drinking water that contains feces
D) contraction of gastrointestinal disease

Question 22

A septic system is .

A) a second- level mechanism to remove bacteria at a wastewater treatment plant
B) a rural method of handling sewage
C) an early version of a wastewater treatment plant
D) a toxic or badly polluted waterway

Question 23

Define water pollution, point source, and nonpoint- source pollution. Explain which of the two (point source or nonpoint source) is more difficult to regulate and currently poses the greater threat to freshwater resources?

Question 24

Identify and describe the major fluxes of the hydrologic cycle.

Question 25

The fish in the lake at the local park are dying, so a professor from the local college comes to investigate. First, she measures the dissolved oxygen because she wants to check for the .

A) possibility of eutrophication
B) presence of bacteria
C) influence of acid precipitation
D) presence of heavy metals

Question 26

Which of the following pairs of processes are most similar?

A) Evaporation and percolation
B) Percolation and infiltration
C) Precipitation and infiltration
D) Transpiration and precipitation

Question 27

Which of the following human activities has been most problematic for wetlands around the world?

A) The alteration of ocean current circulation resulting in erosion of wetlands
B) Eutrophication caused by humans dumping pollutants into water
C) The draining and alteration of wetlands for agriculture and urban development
D) Boat traffic that causes excess oil and gas to be dumped in waterways

Question 28

Describe how excessive algae growth can occur in a freshwater ecosystem, and explain why it is a problem.

Question 29

The graph depicting stream discharge during the flood event along Peachtree Creek is called a .

A) hydrograph
B) aquagraph
C) precipitation graph
D) flow chart

Question 30

Which of the following would cause a rising water table?

A) Decreasing infiltration
B) Increased runoff
C) Increased precipitation
D) Groundwater depletion exceeding the recharge rate

Question 31

Humans use more fresh water for _ than for any other purpose.

A) drinking and cooking
B) agriculture
C) washing and home use
D) mining and industrial processes

Question 32

Your friend is an avid gardener. She is concerned about the overuse of freshwater resources and asks for your advice on how to conserve water while still being able to enjoy her hobby. Describe two water- conservation practices that your friend can incorporate into her gardening activities.

Question 33

The people of the central Great Plains depend on the _ aquifer for drinking water and agricultural needs.

A) Nebraska
B) Omaha
C) Ogallala
D) Trans Dakota- Texas

Question 34

Desalination plants, such as the one completed in Tampa Bay in 2008, _.

A) produce enough water for local agricultural crops such as corn
B) are needed to convert seawater into drinking water
C) produce water as inexpensively as groundwater supplies
D) are expensive and not a sustainable source of water, given today's technologies