Deck 38: Water in the Lithosphere

Question 1

The amount of water that falls to the surface in a given time period is termed:

A) intensity
B) duration
C) interception
D) permeability

Answer 1

A

Question 2

______ occurs when raindrops fall on vegetation and evaporates before penetrating the soil.

A) Intensity
B) Duration
C) Interception
D) Permeability

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Infiltration capacity depends on which of the following?

A) dryness or wetness of soils
B) vegetation coverage
C) intensity and duration of rainfall
D) land use such as cattle grazing
E) all of these

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which statement best describes the reduction of a soil's infiltration rate?

A) large spaces between pores
B) the formation of ice in soil pores
C) sparse vegetation
D) undersaturated, or dry, sediments

Question 5

Runoff, water moving over land surfaces, occurs when infiltration rates exceed the amount of water falling.

Question 6

The gradient or slope of a stream is calculated by:

A) multiplying the elevation of a point on a stream by the relief of the area
B) dividing the elevation of a point on a stream by the relief of the area
C) multiplying the change in elevation of two points of a stream by the stream length between those two points
D) dividing the change in elevation of two points of a stream by the stream length between those two points

Question 7

Where is the fastest velocity within a stream channel?

A) just below the surface
B) along the channel bottom
C) along the edges
D) both (b) and (c)

Question 8

The thalweg is:

A) a sea animal that lives in river systems
B) the shallowest part of a river system with the slowest velocity
C) the deepest part of a channel with the highest velocity
D) the center along the surface of a river

Question 9

What is the discharge of a river with a depth of 10 meters, width of 5 meters and a flow velocity of 5 meters/second?

A) 2.0 m/sec
B) 5.0 m²/sec
C) 25.0 m²/sec
D) 250 m³/sec

Question 10

Which of the following holds the greatest amount of freshwater?

A) rivers
B) lakes
C) soil
D) glaciers and ice sheets

Question 11

The lower zone in the ground in which all the pores are filled with water is termed:

A) saturated zone
B) phreatic zone
C) undersaturated zone
D) vadose zone

Question 12

Percolation in the vadose zone increases as soil becomes more compacted.

Question 13

Which sediment would make the poorest aquifer?

A) sand
B) clay
C) coarse pebbles
D) silt

Question 14

Groundwater in unconfined aquifers flows:

A) from valleys to hills
B) upwards through the soil
C) downward through the soil
D) from hills to valleys

Question 15

Perched water tables occur below the main water table.

Question 16

Which condition could lead to drawdown below the level of existing wells?

A) using water for agricultural purposes
B) recharge of water due to precipitation
C) growth of population in an area
D) both a and c

Question 17

In which sphere is water not present?

A) lithosphere
B) biosphere
C) hydrosphere
D) atmosphere
E) none of the above

Question 18

What two factors determine stream discharge?

A) Velocity and length of stream
B) Velocity and cross-sectional area of stream
C) Gradient and depth of stream
D) depth of stream and slope

Question 19

What feature is present where the water table intersects the Earth's surface?

A) artesian well
B) lake
C) aquiclude
D) spring
E) aquifer

Question 20

Which part of a stream would you expect to find the largest discharge?

A) the lower portion
B) the upper portion
C) the middle portion
D) near a bend
E) none of the above