Exam 1 F96

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Humans & Their Environment

Exam 1, Fall 1996

Answers are at the end of the exam!

Multiple Choice. Choose the BEST Answer.

1. Compared with 25 years ago, water quality

A. has improved

B. has worsened

C. has stayed about the same

D. is impossible to determine

2. Current federal laws control water pollution from

A. industries

B. municipalities

C. farms

D. A & B

E. A & C

3. The major hazardous waste regulations today include the following Public Laws:

A. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

B. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

C. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act

D. All of the above

4. Recent changes in solid waste regulations have caused

A. many small landfills to close

B. a major increase in groundwater pollution

C. increased landfill operating and construction costs

D. both A & C

E. both A & B

5. Superfund, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, was passed by Congress after extensive national publicity due to:

A. the book Silent Spring

B. the Exxon Valdez grounding in Alaska

C. Love Canal

E. All of the above

F. None of the above

6. Which of the following statement is true?

A. Love Canal was an abandoned water canal in New York State

B. An elementary school was built on Love Canal

C. Hooker Chemical disposed of industrial chemicals in Love Canal

E. All the above

F. None of the above

7. The environmental regulations today include the following Public Laws:

A. Clean Air Act

B. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

C. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)

E. Clean Water Act

F. All of the above

8. The environmental regulations today include the following Public Laws:

A. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

B. Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Act

C. Industrial Solid Waste Disposal Act

D. A and B

E. A and C

9. The current solid waste disposal regulations

A. allow the dumping of solid waste in unlined pits until 1998

B. requires landfills to collect and treat contaminated waters

C. requires landfills to have liners to protect the groundwater

D. both A and C

E. both B and C

10. The current solid waste disposal regulations

A. require landfills to cover or cap filled areas to prevent water entry

B. allow the dumping of solid waste in unlined pits until 1998

C. allow landfills to discharge contaminated water into nearby streams

D. both A & B

E. both A & C

11. Negative environmental effects caused by humans are due to

A. the number of people on earth

B. resource consumption

C. technology and waste production

D. all of the above

12. 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

13. Congress has directed the US EPA to

A. protect human health

B. protect the environment

C. both A & B

D. neither A or B

14. 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

15. The world population is:

A. doubling about each century.

B. doubling about each millennia.

C. remaining constant.

D. doubling about each 40 years.

E. continuing to decline.

16. Decomposers

A. return nutrients to the soil

B. return carbon dioxide to the air

C. both A & B

D. neither A or B

17. The global greenhouse effect will

A. provide more snow for skiing in the Northeast

B. gradually increase the Earth’s temperature

C. gradually decrease the Earth’s temperature

D. decrease sea level, leaving port cities dry

18. Greenhouse gases

A. grow great tomatoes especially in the winter

B. trap excessive amounts of the suns energy

C. are used to grow flowers in Hawaii

D. will gradually cool the earth

19. With respect to water quality and water pollution today,

A. There are extensive regulations controlling emissions of water pollutants from industry

B. There are extensive regulations controlling emissions of water pollutants from municipalities

C. There are few if any regulations controlling pollutants from surface water runoff from cities and farms

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

20. Water quality regulations control

A. wastewater from cities and industries

B. non-point source pollution (runoff) from agriculture and city streets

C. all the above

D. none of the above

21. 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

22. A decrease in the soil’s potential for erosion is NOT due to:

A. the amount of rainfall

B. type of ground cover (plants, etc.)

C. type of soil

D. amount of macro nutrients present

23. The mineral fraction of soil contains:

A. Clay

B. Organic matter

C. Microorganisms

D. All of the above

24. What influence does pH have in soil?

A. type of microorganisms present

B. proportion of microorganisms present

C. availability of essential elements available to plants

D. All of the above

25. The ideal soil would be made up of:

A. ½ mineral fraction, ¼ air, ¼ water

B. ½ mineral fraction, ½ organic fraction

C. ¼ mineral fraction, ¼ organic fraction, ½ water

D. 1/3 nitrogen, 1/3 organic fraction, 1/3 water

26. The transportation industry in this country

A. causes land pollution

B. causes air pollution

C. causes water pollution

D. all the above

E. none of the above

27. Times Beach Missouri is

A. a famous vacation spot

B. a city the US EPA purchased because it was contaminated by Dioxin

C. currently being cleaned up by the US EPA

D. A & B

E. B & C

28. Microorganisms were discovered in 1673. About when was the germ theory proven?

A. At the same time

B. 100 years later

C. 200 years later

D. 300 years later

E. 100 years before

 

Fill in the blank in the following statements. For some, there may be more than one correct answer.

 

29. Name one natural habitat that has been reduced or altered due to human activity: __________________________________

30. Producers utilize energy from the _________ to convert abiotic materials into protoplasm.

31. Consumers are at the ___________ trophic level and above.

32. Most environmental laws and regulations are designed to protect ___________ _____________ and the environment.

33. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act is sometimes called _______________________.

 

Write a few sentences, one paragraph maximum, to discuss the following topics.

34. Discuss the significance of decomposers in the environment.

35. Discuss how mass transit reduces air pollution.

ANSWERS:

  1. A
  2. D
  3. D
  4. D
  5. C
  6. E
  7. F
  8. D
  9. E
  10. A
  11. D
  12. B
  13. C
  14. D
  15. D
  16. C
  17. B
  18. B
  19. D
  20. A
  21. B
  22. D
  23. A
  24. D
  25. A
  26. D
  27. E
  28. C
  29. old growth forests, wetlands, prairies
  30. sun
  31. second
  32. human health and the environment
  33. either is correct: Superfund or CERCLA