ENGR 301I, Humans and Their Environment

Final Exam, Summer 1997

Name________________

Multiple Choice. Choose the BEST Answer. Two points each.

1. Compared to organisms at the second trophic level, those at the third trophic level have
A. more energy available
B. less energy available
C. about the same energy available
D. more carrots to eat
E. cannot determine comparative energy level

2. Ecology is the study of
A. organisms and their descendants
B. organisms and their surroundings
C. lakes and their chemistry
D. rivers and their tributaries

3. The world’s population reached one billion approximately what year?
A. 1050
B. 1250
C. 1450
D. 1650
E. 1850

4. The world population is currently about
A. 2 billion
B. 6 million
C. 6 billion
D. 20 billion
E. none of the above

5. Approximately what portion of the world population is below the age of 15?
A. 1/20
B. 1/15
C. 1/3
D. 1/2
E. 2/3

6. Concerning the mineral fraction of soil, clay is important because it:
A. has negative charges
B. has a large surface area
C. is organic
D. both a and b
E. has a small surface area

7. What makes up the organic fraction of soil?
A. silt and clay
B. plant and animal residues in varying stages of decay
C. sand

D. all of the above
E. none of the above

8. Which of the following is the most important addition made to soil?
A. fertilizer
B. lime
C. hydrogen ions
D. herbicide
E. insecticide

9. Pesticides include:
A. Herbicides
B. Insecticides
C. Fungicides
D. All of the above
E. Both A and B

10. The Delaney Clause was replaced last year. What did it regulate?
A. Pesticides in food
B. Pesticides in drinking water
C. Hazardous waste in industry
D. Hazardous waste from industry
E. None of the above

11. Which of the following is not a reason that per capita food production in developing nations is falling?
A. population increases faster than ability to increase food production
B. lack of willingness to work
C. lack of money to purchase food
D. third world debt is skyrocketing
E. lack of transportation and distribution system

12. In Dr. Stucky’s “categories with known potential” to increase food supplies to humans, inland fish farming is a good idea because:
A. fish have low cholesterol and high protein
B. species and habitat can be controlled
C. it virtually eliminates chemical contamination
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

13. In an agrarian society, children are seen as an economic
A. asset
B. liability

14. Who is credited with the discovery of microorganisms?
A. Thomas Anthrax
B. Robert Koch
C. Jonas Salk
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
E. Louis Pasteur

15. Who is credited with proving the germ theory of disease?
A. Thomas Anthrax
B. Robert Koch
C. Jonas Salk
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
E. Louis Pasteur

16. Which part is responsible for producing motion in bacteria?
A. nuclear membrane
B. capsomere
C. flagella
D. virion
E. nucleocapsid

17. Compared with 25 years ago, water quality
A. has improved
B. has worsened
C. has stayed about the same
D. is impossible to determine

18. Most of the water on Earth is contained in
A. the oceans and groundwater
B. the oceans and rivers
C. polar ice and rivers
D. rivers and lakes

19. About 70 municipalities use Mississippi River water for their drinking water. Which of the following is true?
A. Pesticides have never been detected in the Mississippi River.
B. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, pesticides have been eliminated in the Mississippi River.
C. There are many different pesticides present in the Mississippi River water.
D. The only pesticide detected in the Mississippi River is Atrazine.
E. None of the above.

20. Improperly treated drinking water can become contaminated with lead and copper while it remains in the pipes overnight. This contamination is caused by
A. bacteria
B. viruses
C. corrosion
D. trihalomethanes
E. trichlorochickenfat

21. There were no significant drinking water quality regulations in the US before the
A. Safe Drinking Water Act
B. Federal Water Pollution Control Act
C. Clean Water Act
D. Clean Water Restoration Act
E. None of the above

22. The average household uses approximately _____________ gallons of water per person per day.
A. 2 to 20
B. 20 to 80
C. 80 to 250
D. 250 to 500

23. After passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (also called the Clean Water Act) it was more difficult to get
A. industry to comply with the new requirements.
B. municipalities to comply with the new requirements.

24. The Clean Water Act
A. requires permits to discharge wastewater into navigable waters
B. does not allow discharge of wastewater into navigable waters
C. controls conventional, but not toxic substances
D. both B and C
E. both A and C

25. What is the most desirable method of dealing with municipal solid waste?
A. Land filling
B. Incineration
C. Energy recovery
D. Recycling
E. Avoidance

26. What is the least desirable method of dealing with municipal solid waste?
A. Land filling
B. Incineration
C. Energy recovery
D. Recycling
E. Avoidance

27. Solid waste landfills
A. are allowed to bury waste in unlined pits.
B. must collect contaminated water (leachate) and prevent groundwater contamination.
C. will be required to collect contaminated water (leachate) within the next few years.
D. are not regulated by federal or state laws.

28. The first substantial municipal solid waste control laws were contained in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, passed by the US Congress in 1976. When did the US EPA establish meaningful landfill disposal requirements?
A. the late 1970s
B. the early 1980s
C. the late 1980s
D. the early 1990s

29. What is the major waste product contained in municipal solid waste in the US?
A. yard waste
B. paper
C. glass
D. plastics
E. food

30. What waste stream is prohibited from Illinois landfills?
A. construction wastes
B. demolition wastes
C. yard wastes
D. aluminum cans
E. glass bottles

31. Today, landfills must protect the groundwater by installing
A. a clay liner at the bottom
B. a leachate (contaminated water) collection system at the bottom
C. a clay cover to prevent water entry after the landfill is closed
D. all the above
E. none of the above

32. The number of landfills has
A. decreased sharply in the past ten years
B. increased sharply in the past ten years
C. remained about the same

33. Which of the following is incorrect?
A. Current hazardous waste regulations control the transportation of hazardous waste
B. Current hazardous waste regulations control the storage of hazardous waste
C. Current hazardous waste regulations control the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste
D. Current hazardous waste regulations limit the amount of hazardous waste that can be generated

34. The first federal law to dramatically change the way industries disposed of hazardous waste was
A. The Hazardous Waste Control Act of 1970
B. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
C. Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
D. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
E. None of the above

35. What was Love Canal?
A. An abandoned water canal in New York State.
B. A place where hazardous waste was buried.
C. The location of an elementary school in Niagara Falls, NY.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

36. Hooker Chemical sold Love Canal to the Niagara Falls School Board. Which of the following statements about that sale is true?
A. They never told the school board there were chemicals buried there.
B. When the school board purchased Love Canal, Hooker Chemical placed a notice in the deed stating there were waste chemicals buried there. C. Hooker Chemical placed a notice about the chemicals in the local newspaper
D. None of the above.
E. Both B and C

37. Federal regulations to control the disposal of hazardous waste:
A. were enacted about 30 years prior to major amounts of hazardous waste being produced in the US
B. were enacted about 30 years after major amounts of hazardous waste were produced in the US
C. were enacted about the same time industry began to produce large quantities of hazardous waste in the US
D. have yet to be passed.

38. Non-aqueous phase liquids, or NAPLs, are
A. liquids that mix easily with water
B. liquids that do not mix well with water
C. none of the above

39. An example of a non-aqueous phase liquid is
A. gasoline
B. dry cleaning solvents
C. soft drinks such as Coke, Pepsi
D. none of the above E. all the above

40. The Clean Air Act
A. prohibits the discharge of air pollutants by industry
B. requires tetraethyl lead as a fuel additive
C. replaces the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
D. both A and C
E. none of the above

41. Which of the following are greenhouse gases?
A. chlorofluorocarbons
B. carbon dioxide
C. methane
D. nitrous oxides
E. all of the above
F. none of the above

42. Greenhouse gases
A. trap light as it comes directly from the sun
B. trap reflected light bouncing off the Earth’s surface
C. trap ozone as it reflects off the Earth’s surface
D. prevent ozone formation

43. Airborne lead from vehicle emissions
A. is a major problem in California and the east coast.
B. is a success story. In the US we have essentially eliminated airborne lead from auto emissions in the past 30 years.
C. is soon to be eliminated because of recent Clean Air Act Amendments.
D. has never been a real environmental concern.

44. What is the status of airborne lead from vehicle emissions in Mexico?
A. Mexico has already eliminated lead from auto emissions.
B. Mexico has recently adopted a plan to phase out vehicle lead emissions.
C. Mexico does not plan to eliminate airborne lead.

45. Carbon dioxide has increased in the atmosphere over the last few hundred years. How do scientists know this?
A. Past scientists have kept accurate records of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since the 1600s.
B. Scientists have cored old growth trees to obtain records of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
C. Scientists cored the polar ice caps to obtain centuries old air samples trapped within.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

46. Atmospheric ozone is
A. considered to be a pollutant in both the lower and upper atmosphere.
B. considered to be a pollutant in the lower atmosphere but necessary to block ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere.
C. considered to be a pollutant in the upper atmosphere but necessary to block ultraviolet radiation in the lower atmosphere.
D. not a pollutant anywhere.

47. The reduction in the ozone layer is caused by
A. refrigerants made of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).
B. halons used in fire extinguishers.
C. methyl bromide, an agricultural chemical.
D. none of the above.
E. all of the above.

48. The ozone layer protects the Earth from
A. harmful infrared radiation
B. harmful ultraviolet radiation
C. global warming
D. none of the above
E. all of the above

49. Which of the following statements is true concerning ozone layer depletion?
A. The US decided to stop producing the worst ozone depleting chemicals even though the rest of the world did not.
B. Over 150 nations have agreed to stop production of the worst ozone depleting chemicals.
C. Only India and China have so far agreed to stop production of ozone depleting chemicals.

50. Most global warming can be attributed to
A. ozone emissions.
B. CFC emissions.
C. carbon dioxide emissions.
D. PCB emissions.
E. Dioxin emissions.

Good luck with your fall classes or your career!