Deck 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution

Question 1

Disadvantages to withdrawing groundwater include all of the following except

A) groundwater is more expensive to extract than surface water.
B) sinking of land (subsidence) when water is removed.
C) saltwater intrusion into drinking water near coastal areas.
D) reduced water flows into streams, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands.
E) increased cost, energy use, and contamination from deeper wells.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Water supply can be increased by

A) water diversion projects.
B) construction of dams and reservoirs.
C) improved efficiency of water use.
D) withdrawn groundwater.
E) all of these answers

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Water covers about ____ of Earth's surface.

A) 51%
B) 61%
C) 71%
D) 81%
E) 91%

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The hydrologic cycle is responsible for ____ water.

A) collecting
B) purifying
C) recycling
D) distributing
E) all of these

Question 5

The most serious water problem in the Southwest is

A) flooding.
B) shortage of runoff.
C) agricultural contamination.
D) overuse by industry.
E) home overuse.

Question 6

Which of the following is not a factor causing water scarcity?

A) Drought
B) Too many people using the reliable water supply
C) Lack of funds to drill deep wells and build dams
D) Lack of funds to create water purification and distribution systems
E) Equal distribution of available water

Question 7

Global water shortages could result in all except

A) water conflicts and water wars.
B) negotiations and agreements.
C) increased water prices.
D) increased dam building and irrigation projects.
E) hydrological poverty.

Question 8

Water found in the spaces of soil,gravel,and rock is called

A) infiltration
B) percolation
C) ground water
D) run off
E) surface water

Question 9

The top of the zone of saturation is called the

A) confined aquifer
B) unconfined aquifer
C) recharge area
D) water table
E) confined recharge area

Question 10

In the United States,areas deemed as water hot spots are found in the

A) Northeast
B) Northwest
C) Southeast
D) Southwest
E) Equal distribution of water resources negates any shortages within the United States.

Question 11

The areas of the world that suffer the most water shortage and drought are

A) Arctic and Antarctic.
B) Eastern and Western Europe.
C) Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
D) U.S.A. and Canada.
E) Australia and New Zealand.

Question 12

The Ogallala Aquifer is all but which of the following?

A) A fossil aquifer and has a slow recharge rate
B) Being used faster than it is being recharged
C) Will be depleted by 2020 if current withdrawal rates continue
D) Located in the United States
E) Doesn't exist

Question 13

Water does all of the following except

A) helps dilute pollutants.
B) acts as a vital resource to agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.
C) maintains Earth's climate.
D) sculpts the earth's surface.
E) does not act as a necessary vital resource.

Question 14

The best way to preserve clean,usable water supplies is to

A) decrease the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
B) conserve water.
C) fund and implement more water clean up projects.
D) build more dams and water transfer projects.
E) plant and introduce native aquatic species into polluted water bodies.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Recharging of water is a slow process.
B) Aquifers that get very little recharge are nonrenewable resources on a human time scale.
C) The water table falls in dry weather and rises in wet weather.
D) Groundwater is stationary and does not move.
E) There are confined and unconfined aquifers.

Question 16

Throughout the world,the most water is used for

A) agriculture.
B) industrial processes.
C) heating and cooling.
D) transportation.
E) urban uses.

Question 17

Overuse of groundwater can lead to

A) saltwater intrusion.
B) subsidence.
C) aquifer depletion.
D) depletion of a nonrenewable resource.
E) all of these answers

Question 18

All of the following are true about the earth's water supply except

A) We have substitutes for this natural resource.
B) Only a tiny fraction of the earth's freshwater supply is easily accessible to us.
C) About 97% of the water on earth is in the salty ocean.
D) We disrupt the hydrological cycle when we cut down forest.
E) Differences in annual precipitation and economic circumstances make water unavailable to many people.

Question 19

During which of the following processes does water move in a direction different from the others?

A) percolation
B) transpiration
C) infiltration
D) precipitation
E) rain

Question 20

Porous water-saturated layers of underground rock,sand,or gravel are known as

A) aquifers.
B) recharge areas.
C) watersheds.
D) cones of depression.
E) lakes.

Question 21

Natural flooding is caused mostly by

A) rapid melting of snow or heavy rainfall.
B) removal of vegetation.
C) destruction of wetlands.
D) thermal expansion of oceans.
E) none of these answers

Question 22

People like to settle on floodplains for all of the following reasons except

A) good transportation.
B) flat sites for crops and buildings.
C) security.
D) fertile soil.
E) recreation and aesthetic beauty.

Question 23

Large dams and reservoirs

A) reduce danger of flooding upstream.
B) are inexpensive to build.
C) cannot be used for outdoor recreation.
D) can be used to provide electric power.
E) all of these answers

Question 24

Homes and businesses can decrease water waste by all but which of the following methods?

A) Install compost toilets
B) Install low flow shower heads
C) Conserve water
D) Remove water meters
E) Xeriscaping

Question 25

The disastrous affects of a large scale water transfer project was demonstrated in which water body?

A) Mediterranean
B) Black sea
C) Aral sea
D) Pacific ocean
E) Irish sea

Question 26

Which of the following offers the least conservation of water?

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 27

All of the following would improve the Aral Sea situation except

A) charging farmers more for irrigation water.
B) introducing water-saving technologies.
C) shifting displaced fishermen to logging.
D) slowing the area's rapid population growth.
E) constructing wetlands and artificial lakes.

Question 28

Desalination

A) is expensive.
B) uses vast amounts of energy.
C) produces toxic wastes.
D) is more common in arid regions of the world.
E) all of these answers

Question 29

According to water resource experts,the fundamental cause of water waste is

A) lack of water-saving technology.
B) cheap methods of desalination make fresh water plentiful.
C) water is underpriced so that there is no incentive to conserve.
D) subsidies for local farmers.
E) evaporation.

Question 30

Which of the following statements about desalination is false?

A) The common methods of desalination are reverse-osmosis and distillation.
B) Desalination is expensive.
C) The greatest amount of desalination occurs in the wealthy nations.
D) Desalination is the best approach to solving irrigation problems.
E) Desalination removes dissolved salts from water.

Question 31

Flooding does all but

A) provide the world's most productive farmlands.
B) provide important breeding grounds for fish and waterfowl.
C) recharge groundwater.
D) reduce productive wildlife habitat.
E) maintain high water quality.

Question 32

Solutions to groundwater depletion include all but which one?

A) Grow plants that require minimal water needs on lawns and gardens
B) Set minimum stream flow levels
C) Subsidize water conservation
D) Lower the prices of water
E) Waste less water

Question 33

Ecological services of rivers include all but which one?

A) Protection of homes and buildings
B) Nutrient flow
C) Water purification
D) Wetland habitats
E) Renew and sustain wetlands

Question 34

Dams

A) deprive downstream areas of nutrients.
B) destroy agricultural land and scenic areas.
C) inhibit migration of fish.
D) control water supplies.
E) all of these answers

Question 35

The Aral sea disaster led to all but which one of the following?

A) Salinization
B) Fish and wildlife kills
C) Human health problems
D) Increased crops and irrigation projects
E) Increased concentrations of water pollutants

Question 36

Conserving water

A) reduces the burden on wastewater treatment plants.
B) reduces the need for dams.
C) decreases pollution of surface water.
D) saves money and energy.
E) all of these answers

Question 37

Withdrawing water from deep aquifers as a future water sources is associated with which of the following statements?

A) Deep aquifers are a non-renewable resource.
B) The ecological impacts of deep water extraction are largely unknown.
C) International agreements will be necessary to extract water beneath several countries.
D) All of these answers.
E) None of these answers.

Question 38

The most practical irrigation method in terms of both cost savings and efficiency is

A) precision application sprinklers.
B) flood.
C) drip.
D) canals.
E) center pivot sprinklers.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Lasers could be used to aid in contouring agricultural fields to increase even distribution of water.
B) Drought-resistant crops are available.
C) Clearing land will increase the land's water retention.
D) Small check dams of earth and stone can be used in developing countries to retain more water.
E) Drip irrigation systems waste less water than center-pivot sprinkler systems.

Question 40

Which of the following is not a strategy for using water more sustainably?

A) Lower water prices
B) Decrease government subsidies for supplying water
C) Protect forests, wetlands, and other natural systems that store water
D) Slow population growth
E) Increase government subsidies for reducing water waste

Question 41

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Rivers are more vulnerable than lakes to contamination by plant nutrients, oil, toxins, and pesticides.
B) Acid deposition and fallout represent a more serious hazard to lakes than rivers.
C) Eutrophication is a natural process and can occur without the influence of humans.
D) Human activities can accelerate the eutrophication process.
E) Eutrophication is caused by inputs of nutrients and silt from the surrounding land basin.

Question 42

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Because of their flow, most streams recover rapidly from pollution by heat and biodegradable waste.
B) In rapidly flowing rivers, dissolved oxygen is replaced quickly.
C) The amount of oxygen in rivers declines in dry seasons.
D) In rivers, the oxygen content increases as the water's temperature rises.
E) The amount of oxygen in rivers increases as the water's temperature falls.

Question 43

____ is the name for the natural process of nutrient enrichment of a water body.

A) Thermal inversion
B) Eutrophication
C) Point source pollution
D) Channelization
E) Flow

Question 44

The people of Bangladesh depend on moderate annual flooding to

A) maintain soil fertility for rice growing.
B) cover the countryside with water.
C) reduce the human population.
D) bring tourists dollars into the economy.
E) bring millions of dollars in aid for flood victims.

Question 45

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

A) Sewage treatment plant
B) Electric power plant
C) Oil barge
D) Logged forest
E) Trash incinerator

Question 46

Which of the following conditions in the Himalayan watershed contributes to flooding in Bangladesh?

A) Rapid population growth
B) Deforestation
C) Unsustainable farming practices
D) Development and farming on hillsides
E) All of these answers

Question 47

Which of the following statements about lakes is true?

A) Stratified layers of lakes are characterized by vertical mixing.
B) Pollutants dilute better in lakes than in rivers and streams.
C) Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination.
D) Lakes are flushed more easily than streams.
E) All of these statements are true.

Question 48

The section of a stream characterized by the absence of fish and found downstream of the release of oxygen-demanding wastes and heat is called the

A) clean zone.
B) decomposition zone.
C) septic zone.
D) recovery zone.
E) none of these answers

Question 49

The major sources of stream pollution in more-developed countries is/are

A) chemicals from industry and mining operations.
B) malfunctioning sewage treatment plants.
C) pesticides from cropland.
D) runoff from animal feedlots.
E) all of the above.

Question 50

Groundwater

A) is a major source of drinking water.
B) can be contaminated when wells are dug in areas naturally rich in arsenic.
C) contamination is not fully studied worldwide because aquifers can be expensive to locate, track and test.
D) can be contaminated by salt water intrusion.
E) is described by all of these answers.

Question 51

Nitrates and phosphates are examples of

A) disease-causing agents.
B) oxygen-demanding wastes.
C) organic plant nutrients.
D) inorganic plant nutrients.
E) sediment.

Question 52

Solutions for reducing flood damage include

A) draining wetlands to provide dry areas for building.
B) clearing forests to provide surface runoff with clear access to streams and rivers..
C) living on floodplains to allow surface runoff to quickly drain into rivers.
D) taxing development on floodplains.
E) all of these answers.

Question 53

Heat,organic wastes,and inorganic plant nutrients may all deplete dissolved ____ from water.

A) nitrogen
B) oxygen
C) particulate matter
D) minerals
E) hydrogen

Question 54

Which of the following is a point source of water pollution?

A) Offshore oil well
B) Livestock feedlot
C) Urban land
D) Cropland
E) Logged forest

Question 55

The leading nonpoint source of water pollution is

A) municipal landfills.
B) runoff from city streets and storm sewers.
C) agriculture.
D) industrial wastes.
E) leaks from offshore oil wells.

Question 56

Which of the following human activities contributes to flooding?

A) Urbanization
B) Deforestation
C) Overgrazing
D) Draining wetlands
E) All of these answers

Question 57

In cultural eutrophication,game fish die from

A) acid deposition.
B) suffocation from lack of oxygen.
C) toxic substances in the water.
D) salt.
E) loss of space.

Question 58

Water pollution in less-developed countries

A) is mainly caused by untreated sewage.
B) occurs less frequently than in more-developed countries.
C) does not include industrial wastes.
D) does not include agricultural runoff.
E) is characterized by all of these answers.

Question 59

All of the following are methods of controlling cultural eutrophication except

A) using advanced waste treatment systems.
B) adding aquatic weeds to the water body to absorb excess oxygen.
C) harvesting excess weeds.
D) pumping air through reservoirs to avoid oxygen depletion.
E) limiting or banning phosphates in detergents.

Question 60

Pollution in the Great Lakes became serious because of all but which one?

A) low flow rate
B) overfishing
C) invasion of aquatic species
D) untreated sewage
E) non-point and point source pollution

Question 61

The majority of the oil pollution in the ocean comes from

A) blowouts (rupture of a borehole of an oil rig in the ocean).
B) tanker accidents.
C) fisheries.
D) runoff from land.
E) normal operation of offshore wells.

Question 62

Marine life can recover from crude oil spills most rapidly in

A) cold and calm waters.
B) warm waters with rapid currents.
C) cold waters with rapid currents.
D) warm and calm waters.
E) estuaries.

Question 63

Some people swimming in coastal waters polluted with raw sewage may suffer from

A) ear infections.
B) sore throats.
C) gastrointestinal diseases.
D) eye infections.
E) all of these answers

Question 64

Of the following,the most ecologically responsible way to dispose of sewage sludge is by

A) incineration.
B) dumping it into the deep trenches of the ocean.
C) using conventional landfills.
D) treating it and using it as fertilizer.
E) none of these answers.

Question 65

Groundwater can be contaminated from all but which one?

A) abandoned hazardous waste dumps
B) industrial-waste storage lagoons
C) build-up of natural wildlife secretions
D) salt water intrusion
E) deep well disposal of hazardous wastes

Question 66

The only effective way to protect groundwater is to

A) prevent contamination.
B) use monitoring wells.
C) cover all wells carefully.
D) treat all water from underground sources.
E) pump more water into aquifers to dilute contamination.

Question 67

All of the following are true about the Federal Water Pollution Control Act except

A) The Act has led to improvements in surface water quality in the U.S.
B) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is also known as the Clean Water Act.
C) The Act is focused on water pollution prevention instead of pollution clean up.
D) The Act sets limits for permitees to discharge key pollutants.
E) The Act is considered to be too restrictive and costly by some stakeholders.

Question 68

The majority of the oil pollution in the ocean comes from

A) blowouts (rupture of a borehole of an oil rig in the ocean).
B) tanker accidents.
C) fisheries.
D) runoff from land.
E) normal operation of offshore wells.

Question 69

Which of the following marine ecosystems is least polluted from ocean dumping and coastal development?

A) Mangrove swamps
B) Deep-ocean trenches
C) Coral reefs
D) Wetlands
E) Estuaries

Question 70

The systems most commonly used in many developed nations to treat raw sewage on personal property is

A) living machines.
B) compost toilets.
C) primary sewage treatments.
D) secondary sewage treatments.
E) septic tanks.

Question 71

Which of the following statements about underground contaminants is false?

A) Degradable organic wastes do not decompose as rapidly underground as they do on the surface.
B) There are few decomposing bacteria to aid in degradation of wastes.
C) Waste products are diluted and dispersed quickly in underground aquifers.
D) It can take hundreds to thousands of years for contaminated groundwater to cleanse itself of degradable wastes.
E) In some coastal areas, groundwater has been contaminated by saltwater intrusion.

Question 72

Sustainable use of Earth's water resources involves

A) an integrated approach to managing water resources and preventing water pollution throughout each watershed.
B) continued subsidizing of the market price of water so that there is fair distribution of water.
C) emphasis on waste management over waste prevention.
D) discharge of hazardous wastes into deep wells.
E) emphasis on individual and community responsibility rather than cooperation among political entities.

Question 73

Oil spills can be cleaned up by using

A) floating booms.
B) skimmer boats.
C) oil decomposing bacteria.
D) chemical detergents.
E) all of these answers.

Question 74

Effects of coastal water pollution include

A) beach pollution.
B) shellfish contamination.
C) proliferation of vast colonies of human viruses.
D) harmful algal blooms that release waterborne and airborne toxins.
E) all of these answers

Question 75

Which of the following aquatic ecosystems is most capable of diluting,dispersing,and degrading large amounts of sewage,sludge,and oil?

A) Estuaries
B) Swift-flowing streams
C) Deep-water oceans
D) Coastal parts of the ocean
E) Slow-moving rivers

Question 76

Chesapeake Bay is vulnerable because it is

A) shallow with a low flush rate.
B) deep with a low flush rate.
C) shallow with a high flush rate.
D) deep with a high flush rate.
E) of medium depth with a low flush rate.

Question 77

Strategies to prevent and clean up coastal water pollution include

A) reduce inputs of toxic pollutants.
B) improve oil spill clean up technologies.
C) improve the design of oil tankers.
D) regulate coastal development.
E) all of these answers.

Question 78

The most effective and cheapest method of protecting groundwater is to

A) pump it to the surface, clean it, and return it to the aquifer.
B) inject microorganisms to clean up contamination.
C) pump nanoparticles of inorganic compounds to remove pollutants.
D) use methods to prevent contamination.
E) none of these answers

Question 79

Which of the following sewage purification systems uses solar greenhouses and artificial marshes?

A) living machines
B) compost toilets
C) primary sewage treatment
D) secondary sewage treatment
E) septic tanks

Question 80

Which of the following types of sewage treatment are properly matched?

A) primary-mechanical process
B) secondary-mechanical process
C) primary-biological process
D) secondary-chemical process
E) primary-chemical process