Deck 13: Water Resources

Question 1

What percentage of groundwater and surface water withdrawn in the U.S.was used to cool electric power plants?

A)41%
B)37%
C)13%
D)9%
E)3%

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Colorado River provides water and electricity to what percentage of the U.S.population?

A)2%
B)5%
C)8%
D)10%
E)15%

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What percentage of water withdrawn from lakes, streams, and rivers is used by cities and residences?

A)10%
B)20%
C)50%
D)70%
E)80%

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What percentage of the world's reliable surface runoff is currently being withdrawn?

A)10%
B)18%
C)22%
D)34%
E)45%

Question 5

Indirectly used water, that is, water consumed to produce food and other products, is called

A)surface runoff
B)virtual water
C)non-renewal aquifers
D)water table
E)groundwater

Question 6

There are four major problems associated with the use of the Colorado River's water.Which one of the following is not one of those problems?

A)Mexico and the U.S.have agreed to take more water than is in the river
B)The river does not have much of a flow considering its size.
C)The river gets most of its water from mountain snow melt.
D)Water seldom makes it to the mouth of the river.
E)The Colorado River basin includes some of the driest areas in the U.S.

Question 7

What percentage of the earth's surface is covered by water?

A)86%
B)71%
C)67%
D)58%
E)52%

Question 8

The land from which surface water drains into a particular lake, river, or other body of water is called

A)the zone of saturation
B)watershed
C)an aquifer
D)surface water
E)the bedrock

Question 9

Most of the water in the Colorado River comes from which of the following sources?

A)Great Salt Lake
B)snow melt in the Rocky Mountains
C)glaciers in Canada
D)aquifers in Wyoming
E)lakes in Montana

Question 10

Which of the following is false?

A)Recharging of groundwater is a slow process.
B)The water table moves down in dry weather.
C)Some caverns have rivers flowing through them
D)Groundwater is stationary, it does not move.
E)The water table is the top of the zone of saturation.

Question 11

Affluent lifestyles use a lot of water.For example, how much water does it take to make one automobile?

A)450,000 gallons
B)392,600 liters
C)104,000 gallons
D)45,000 liters
E)45,000 gallons

Question 12

By 2013 at least 36 U.S.states are likely to face water shortages for all of the following reasons, except

A)drought
B)cooling temperatures
C)population growth
D)urban sprawl
E)waste of water

Question 13

Access to water issue for all of humanity. The authors list four of those issues. Which of the following is not one of those issues?

A)scientific issue
B)global health issue
C)economic issue
D)national and global security issue
E)environmental issue

Question 14

In the United States what percentage of direct water use is lost due to water leaks?

A)27%
B)22%
C)17%
D)16%
E)14%

Question 15

What percentage of China's major cities are already facing water shortages?

A)25%
B)33%
C)50%
D)67%
E)100%

Question 16

At a certain depth, the area where the spaces in soil and rock are completely filled with water is called

A)the zone of saturation
B)the water table
C)an aquifer
D)surface water
E)the bedrock

Question 17

The United States unnecessarily wastes approximately how much of the water it withdraws from groundwater and surface supplies?

A)30%
B)40%
C)50%
D)60%
E)70%

Question 18

By the year 2025 how many of the world's people are likely to lack access to clean water?

A)1 billion
B)2 billion
C)3 billion
D)4 billion
E)7.9 billion

Question 19

The geological layer, consisting of underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock, where groundwater flows, is called

A)the zone of saturation
B)the water table
C)an aquifer
D)surface water
E)the bedrock

Question 20

What percentage of the world's water supply is liquid freshwater that is available to living organisms?

A)24%
B)20%
C)10%
D)0.024%
E)0.000024%

Question 21

Withdrawing too much water from an aquifer can cause all of the following except

A)droughts
B)land subsidence
C)sinkholes
D)freshwater contaminated with saltwater
E)making aquifers impossible to recharge

Question 22

Four of the following are disadvantages of dam and reservoir systems; one is not.Choose the one that is not.

A)disrupts migration of some fish
B)displaces people behind the dam
C)leads to devastating flooding if there is a failure
D)reduces water loss through evaporation
E)reduces nutrients released downstream

Question 23

The main goals of a dam and reservoir include all of the following, except

A)produce electricity
B)clean the water
C)supply water for irrigation
D)provide recreational activities
E)reduce downstream flooding

Question 24

Which of the following is not true of the disaster that befell the Aral Sea?

A)Surface level of the sea has dropped by 22 meters.
B)Caused by a water diversion project.
C)Shrinkage of the Aral Sea has altered local climate.
D)Populations of local animal species have remained stable.
E)Salt and sand from the dry sea bottom spread as far as 300 kilometers.

Question 25

Because of greatly increased irrigation, Africa's Lake Chad has shrunk by ____% since the 1960s.

A)43
B)55
C)77
D)86
E)97

Question 26

Which of the following is the most efficient means of water delivery to crops?

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

The term subsidence refers to

A)failure of the groundwater supply
B)sinking of ground when water has been withdrawn
C)living on very little money
D)intrusion of salt water into a freshwater aquifer
E)money paid by the government to farmers

Question 28

The advantages of withdrawing groundwater include all of the following except

A)pollution is quickly removed
B)can be used for drinking and irrigation
C)exists almost anywhere
D)renewable if not overpumped
E)cheaper to extract than most surface waters

Question 29

The United States is withdrawing groundwater from aquifers at a rate that is ____ times faster than it can be recharged.

A)2
B)3
C)4
D)5
E)10

Question 30

To address the water supply problems in the Colorado River basin, experts call for the 7 states using the river water to do all of the following except

A)slow urban population growth and development
B)lower the price of water taken from the river
C)switch water thirst crops to less arid areas
D)prohibit use of water on golf courses and lawns
E)eliminate subsidies for agriculture in this region

Question 31

All of the following are proposals for improving desalinization except one. Chose the one that is not a proposal.

A)ships that carry desalination equipment operating offshore
B)desalination plants operated by solar energy
C)desalination plants using ocean wave energy
D)build desalination plants next to coastal energy plants to use their cooling water
E)let natural evaporation remove the water in large shallow basins

Question 32

Which of the following is not a problem of desalination?

A)reduces soil salinization on irrigated lands.
B)high energy cost
C)chemicals used to sterilize the water kill marine organisms
D)resulting salty wastewater must be disposed of
E)pumping seawater through pipes requires lots of energy

Question 33

The water table for parts of the massive Ogallala aquifer has dropped as much as ____ meters as a result of the water being withdrawn for irrigation.

A)5
B)10
C)15
D)20
E)30

Question 34

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

A)leakage
B)long showers
C)old toilets
D)dishwashers
E)cheap prices

Question 35

Aquifers provide drinking water for how much of the world's population?

A)25%
B)33%
C)50%
D)67%
E)75%

Question 36

Farmers could not grow lettuce in the arid interior of California without which of the following?

A)desalinization
B)winds coming off the Pacific Ocean
C)El Nino southern oscillation
D)government subsidies
E)cheap prices for lettuce seeds

Question 37

Saudi Arabia gets 70% of its drinking water from

A)deep aquifers
B)water imports
C)dammed rivers
D)desalinization
E)lakes

Question 38

Which of the following is not true of the Colorado River basin?

A)much needed sediment is washed to coastal wetlands
B)80% of water withdrawn from the Colorado River goes to irrigation
C)government subsidies have led to inefficient use of irrigation water
D)water is leaking to the ground below the river
E)there is a high evaporation rate

Question 39

Tapping deep aquifers for water sources creates all of following concerns except

A)they are nonrenewable on a human time scale
B)little is known about geological or ecological impacts
C)many are found under more than one country with not international agreements
D)deep aquifers are heavily polluted
E)costs of tapping deep aquifers are unknown

Question 40

One method of desalination uses high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane filter.This method is called

A)diffusion
B)distillation
C)reverse osmosis
D)active transport
E)passive transport

Question 41

Which of the following is not one of the solutions for water waste?

A)night irrigation
B)discourage organic farming
C)irrigate with treated urban waste water
D)line canals bringing water to irrigation ditches
E)avoid growing water-thirsty crops in dry areas

Question 42

One of the most important and effective ways to reduce flooding is to

A)preserve and restore wetlands
B)straighten and deepen streams
C)build floodwalls
D)encourage people to build on floodplains
E)build dams

Question 43

The United States has more than enough renewable freshwater.

Question 44

Developing countries use all of the following low-tech methods for irrigation, except

A)rainwater harvesting
B)planting deep-rooted perennial crop varieties
C)mulching fields
D)using monoculture instead of polyculture farming
E)harvest fog with fog catcher nets

Question 45

Water is a national security issue.

Question 46

Which of the following is not a way to reduce water waste in industry and homes?

A)use water-thrifty native plants in lawns
B)using gray water to irrigate lawns and nonedible plants
C)raising the cost of water in water-short areas
D)condensing water vapor from indoor air
E)recycling water for use in industry

Question 47

Despite the heavy withdrawals of water from the Colorado River, most of its water reaches the Gulf of California.

Question 48

Water percolating downward until it comes to an impenetrable layer of rock is called groundwater.

Question 49

Groundwater does not move at all.

Question 50

Below the relatively dry soil close to the earth's surface, the spaces in the soil, gravel, and rock are filled with water and called the water table.

Question 51

One of the major human activities that has contributed to flooding is

A)constructing dams
B)directing stream flow
C)destroying vegetation
D)irrigation
E)urbanization

Question 52

Two-thirds of the annual surface runoff in rivers and streams is not available for human use.

Question 53

Each day the average American directly uses about 69 gallons of water a day.

Question 54

Withdrawing water from a nonrenewable aquifer is similar to mining a nonrenewable mineral resource.

Question 55

Based on climate models the southwestern United States and northern Mexico will likely have extended periods of extreme drought throughout the rest of this century.

Question 56

In the United States, approximately one-half of the water used comes from groundwater sources and the other one-half from surface sources.

Question 57

Emerging shortages of water for drinking and irrigation in many parts of the world is one of the three most serious environmental problems the world faces during this century.

Question 58

Because there is so little freshwater, most of humanity manages what water they have in an efficient and helpful way.

Question 59

Since 1999, much of the United States, especially the arid southwest, has experienced severe drought.

Question 60

Global competition for water to grow food will result in food shortages and hunger among the wealthier nations of the world.

Question 61

Ninety percent of the water used by Las Vegas, Nevada, comes from the Colorado River.

Question 62

Government subsidies designed to increase crop production have discouraged depletion of the Ogallala aquifer.

Question 63

The United States is the world's largest user of water.

Question 64

Flood irrigation is the most efficient method of delivering water needed for crops.

Question 65

Many people living in arid southern California cities may have to move elsewhere because of water shortages in this century.

Question 66

Even though rises in sea level during this century may result in millions of Bangladeshi environmental refugees, the government of Bangladesh is not preparing for this possibility.

Question 67

Saudi Arabia intends to stop producing wheat by 2016 because of depletion of its major deep aquifers.

Question 68

Approximately 30% of irrigation water applied throughout the world does not reach the targeted crops.

Question 69

Reverse osmosis is the only practical method of desalination.

Question 70

Microirrigation is the most efficient way to deliver small amounts of water to crops.

Question 71

Israel has the world's largest number of desalination plants.

Question 72

Floods provide several important benefits.

Question 73

Despite advances in technology, desalination is still not cheap enough to make it useful for most irrigation or drinking water.

Question 74

The low cost of water to users due to government subsidies is a major cause of water waste.

Question 75

Water in reservoirs behind dams now hold 50 times more water than the total amount flowing in all of the world's natural rivers.

Question 76

Desalination is practical only for rich, water-poor countries.

Question 77

Currently, desalination plants meet about 12% of the world's water needs.

Question 78

Unless depletion of aquifers is slowed, an increasing number of the world's people will have to live on water from the oceans.

Question 79

Flushing toilets with water accounts for one-fourth of water use in the home.

Question 80

The southern part of the Aral Sea has lost 90% of its volume of water, destroying wetlands and eliminating large numbers of bird and mammal species.