Deck 24: Human Impacts, Biodiversity, and Environmental Issues

Question 1

The presence of chemicals or particles in air that have adverse effects on living organisms is termed

A) acid rain
B) eutrophication
C) pollution
D) global warming
E) denitrification

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Freshwater is most likely to be polluted

A) by oil spills in ocean water moving inland
B) as a result of eutrophication
C) primarily by contaminants from aquifers moving to surface waters
D) from runoff associated with urban areas' chemicals used in farming in rural areas
E) by radioactive waste seeping from nuclear reactors

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The main human activities that have raised atmospheric CO₂ levels are

A) succession and adaptive radiation
B) home development on grasslands and wetlands
C) drainage of wetlands along rivers and oceans
D) deforestation and burning fossil fuels
E) negligible because CO₂ levels have risen and fallen naturally regardless of human activity

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Eutrophication of a lake most likely is the result of

A) an increase in oxygen content of the water
B) elevated nitrogen and oxygen gas levels in the water
C) an increase in atmospheric pressure associated with surface waters
D) competitive exclusion
E) excessive concentrations of organic and inorganic nutrients

Question 5

Certain gases in the upper atmosphere allow sunlight to pass through to Earth's surface, but prevent heat from escaping. This is known as

A) global positioning
B) desertification
C) the greenhouse effect
D) thermal inversion
E) eutrophication

Question 6

What percent of Earth's water is fresh water?

A) <1
B) 5
C) 10
D) 25
E) 40

Question 7

"Earth's fever" refers to

A) a rise in the temperature of Earth believed to be due to greenhouse gases
B) the potential pandemics that many scientists believe could occur at any time with the burgeoning human population
C) current disease epidemics, mainly those associated with disease spreading from animals like birds and livestock to humans
D) Earth's crust
E) potential volcanic eruptions in locations that have not experienced such activity in many years

Question 8

Which one of the following statements is TRUE regarding the water on Earth?

A) When humans divert water from one region to another, they always ensure that it does not have an effect on normal migration patterns of other species.
B) Most of the water on Earth is frozen in glaciers and ice caps.
C) Residents of the less industrialized countries typically use more water than residents in industrialized countries.
D) Some semiarid and desert regions of the world have reached carrying capacity for humans due to the shortage of water.
E) Water is considered a renewable resource because it is plentiful in all regions of Earth.

Question 9

Which one of the following statements is TRUE regarding rural poverty?

A) Less than 25% of the world's population lives in rural poverty.
B) The problems of land use in rural areas are similar to those in cities.
C) Those in impoverished rural communities will often cut down all trees for fuel and shelter.
D) The use of communal lands in impoverished rural areas is carefully monitored.
E) Few individuals living in rural areas depend on the local environment for sustenance.

Question 10

The largest hole in the ozone layer occurs in the stratospheric layer over

A) the Amazon rainforests
B) the eastern coast of the United States
C) the western coast of the United States
D) Africa and South America
E) Antarctica

Question 11

Power plants are undergoing a process known as "scrubbing" that is expected to reduce the extent of

A) acid rain
B) smog
C) deforestation
D) the greenhouse effect
E) ozone depletion

Question 12

Which of the following pollutants is generally stored in dry locations because they remain a potential problem for thousands of years?

A) radioactive waste
B) PANs (peroxyacyl nitrates)
C) CFCs
D) heavy metals
E) gasoline and oil

Question 13

The ozone layer can be destroyed by pollutants such as

A) sulfur dioxide
B) CFCs
C) carbon monoxide
D) hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides
E) carbon dioxide and oxygen

Question 14

The greenhouse effect is a natural and important phenomenon because it

A) removes smog from affected areas
B) maintains the surface temperature on Earth
C) reverses the effect that CFCs have on the ozone layer
D) decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the stratosphere
E) reverses the effects of deforestation

Question 15

All of the following statements accurately describe eutrophication EXCEPT which one?

A) Eutrophication may be accelerated by agricultural runoff containing fertilizers.
B) Eutrophication is a part of a natural process that converts freshwater into marsh.
C) Eutrophication is beneficial and enhances the diversity of life-forms in a body of water.
D) Eutrophication accelerates plant and algal growth at the expense of animal diversity.
E) Sewage and other organic nutrient pollutants can enhance eutrophication.

Question 16

Deep underground reservoirs of water are called

A) gorges
B) eutrophic zones
C) non-phototrophic zones
D) aquifers
E) seismic buffers

Question 17

According to public health officials, all of the following may be caused by water pollutants EXCEPT which one?

A) birth defects
B) nervous disorders
C) miscarriages
D) skin rashes
E) accommodation to allergies

Question 18

Stopping global warming will require commitment by all nations and will not be easy. One of the most promising strategies involves storing or burying CO₂ deep in the oceans, a process termed

A) denitrification
B) sedimentary cycle
C) carbon sequestration
D) complement fixation
E) carbon dioxide scrubbing

Question 19

Toxicants occurring in aquatic ecosystems are highly subjected to biological magnification, meaning the

A) pollutants take a long time to break down
B) pollutants occur in higher concentrations in tissues of organisms higher up the food chain
C) toxic chemicals specifically target primary producers, disrupting the entire food web
D) chemicals are converted to more toxic compounds once in the water
E) toxic chemicals accumulate in the upper (photic) zones of the water

Question 20

Gases such as nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are called greenhouse gases because they

A) block sunlight from reaching Earth
B) block specific wavelengths of sunlight from penetrating
C) permit sunlight to enter but trap the heat energy in the atmosphere
D) block both sunlight and heat energy from penetrating the atmosphere
E) stimulate photosynthesis in most plants

Question 21

Human activities have resulted in at least one-third of the landmass of Earth being altered in some way.

Question 22

Biomass fuels are least likely to be used in which one of the following countries?

A) United States
B) Brazil
C) Iceland
D) Vietnam
E) England

Question 23

Which one of the following actions of humans has not contributed to the worldwide reduction in biodiversity?

A) pollution
B) growth of cities
C) logging
D) clear-cutting of rain forests
E) biomass energy sources

Question 24

A thermal inversion occurs when a warm stagnant air mass traps a cooler air mass containing smog beneath it.

Question 25

Pollutants of water include both living organisms and nonliving materials.

Question 26

Increasing population density on marginal lands in rural areas has resulted in desertification, which reduces the ability of the land to sustain the population.

Question 27

Smog forms when pollutants in the air react with each other in the presence of sunlight and carbon dioxide.

Question 28

Which one of the following energy sources is NOT an alternative to fossil fuels?

A) hydroelectric power
B) wind farms
C) biomass fuels
D) nuclear energy
E) offshore drilling

Question 29

Commercial logging by European countries in the Ivory Coast has reduced the pristine 70 million acres of forests that once existed to about

A) fewer than 1 million acres
B) 5-7 million acres
C) 15-20 million acres
D) 30 million acres
E) 50 million acres

Question 30

Thinning of the ozone has already been detected in the stratospheric ozone layer.

Question 31

Most of the energy used by humans comes from which one of the following sources?

A) solar energy
B) nuclear energy
C) fossil fuels
D) hydroelectric power
E) geothermal power

Question 32

Despite an international agreement signed in 1987 to phase out the production of CFCs, depletion of the ozone will continue to affect Earth and its atmosphere for at least another one hundred years.

Question 33

________ is a biomass fuel.

A) Coal
B) Oil
C) Wood
D) Gas
E) Water

Question 34

Humans breathe in air that is comprised primarily of nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of carbon dioxide; trace amounts of thousands of pollutants are also present.

Question 35

Creation of sustainable ecosystems cannot be achieved through

A) decreased human consumption of everything, and thus a lower production of waste
B) developing practices of recycling reusable materials
C) a reduction in world population growth
D) decreasing poverty so that people are not consumed by immediate needs (food, shelter) and can focus more on human's long-term impact on the environment
E) greater use of natural resources

Question 36

Destruction of the ozone due to pollutants is limited to layers located only above North America.

Question 37

A renewable energy source that taps into heat produced deep below ground is called

A) hydroelectric
B) geothermal
C) solar
D) "subterranean" wind
E) fossil fuel

Question 38

Heat is considered a type of water pollution because it increases the amount of oxygen in the water, which leads to the death of plants and the overpopulation of animals.

Question 39

Although it was one time hoped that nuclear energy would meet most human energy needs, this has not occurred due to expense and safeguards necessary to prevent meltdowns.

Question 40

Pollution of groundwater is generally a more serious concern than the pollution of surface water because groundwater is often a source of drinking water.

Question 41

Twenty-five percent of all prescription drugs sold in the United States are based on substances derived from fewer than 50 species of plants.

Question 42

Although humans have had a negative impact on biodiversity in the past, the present global extinction rate is 20 times lower now than at any other time in the past.

Question 43

CFCs are the primary air pollutants that destroy the ________.

Question 44

An increase in the current fertility rate of the human species will increase the human carrying capacity of Earth.

Question 45

Prolific growth of algae as a result of pollutants in a lake is an example of ________.

Question 46

Urbanization typically increases the extent of biodiversity.

Question 47

The use of biomass fuels is generally non-polluting.

Question 48

Some pollutants such as mercury or DDT become concentrated in the tissues of organisms higher on the food chain through a process referred to as ________.

Question 49

________ water is a slowly exchanging pool, and once it becomes polluted it is difficult to clean up.

Question 50

Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides combine with water vapor in the presence of sunlight to form a gray layer of ________.

Question 51

Creating a sustainable world will require stabilizing the human population growth rate and the global environment.

Question 52

A(n) ________ occurs when a warm, stagnant layer of air traps a cooler mass of air containing smog below it.

Question 53

Ozone in the ________ comprises a thin layer that protects the surface of Earth from ultraviolet radiation.

Question 54

The death of animal life in a shallow body of water in conjunction with a rapid increase in plant life is known as ________.

Question 55

Freshwater is most likely to become contaminated or polluted by ________ from urban and rural environments.

Question 56

As DDT accumulates in the tissues of carnivores at increasing trophic levels, the concentration increases; this is representative of ________.

Question 57

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that approximately ________% of rural wells and water systems have some type of pollutant in them.

Question 58

Biodiversity refers to the variety of richness of species on Earth.

Question 59

Sources of energy that are renewable and derived from plants are called ________.

Question 60

Explain how emissions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide create the greenhouse effect.

Question 61

One way to reduce the amount of raw materials consumed by humans is by ________ useable materials.

Question 62

Subsistence farming in tropical regions of the world results in habitat loss because of the practices of ________ and ________.

Question 63

Humans must work together to create a sustainable world. What can you do to contribute to this cause?

Question 64

The transformation of marginal lands into near-desert conditions unsuitable for future agriculture is referred to as ________.

Question 65

Humans have become so dependent on fossil fuels that despite an increasing body of evidence that indicates burning these fuels is destroying aspects of the environment, little change in the sources of fuels has occurred. What types of alternative fuels can be used to reduce negative impacts on the environment?

Question 66

Despite abundant vegetation, ________ make poor farmland because of little topsoil and scant soil nutrients.

Question 67

Damage to the ecosystem by the processes of desertification and deforestation occurs most commonly in ________ areas.

Question 68

________ provide valuable flood control because they can hold large volumes of water.

Question 69

________ refers to heat from deep underground sources used as a source of energy.

Question 70

Scientists have identified approximately ________ million species of organisms, but millions more are thought to exist.