Deck 20: Water Pollution

Question 1

Of the following organisms, the group that is least likely to cause disease is

A)bacteria
B)protozoa
C)algae
D)parasitic worms
E)viruses

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to the Global Water Policy Project, most cities in developing countries discharge ____ of their untreated sewage directly into rivers, streams, and lakes whose waters are then used for human consumption.

A)10─20%
B)20─30%
C)40─50%
D)50─60%
E)80─90%

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following statements about lakes is true?

A)Stratified layers of lakes are characterized by vertical mixing.
B)Stratification increases levels of dissolved oxygen, especially in the bottom layer.
C)Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination by plant nutrients, and toxic substances
D)Lakes have more flushing than streams.
E)Changing of water in lakes takes days to weeks.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In most developed countries, large fish kills and contamination of drinking water may be caused by all of the following except

A)malfunctioning sewage treatment plants
B)accidental release of toxic industrial chemicals
C)deliberate release of toxic industrial chemicals
D)accidental release of predatory exotic species
E)pesticides and plant nutrients from agricultural sources

Question 5

To be considered safe for drinking, a 100 milliliter sample of water should contain ____ colonies of coliform bacteria.

A)0
B)5
C)10
D)100
E)200

Question 6

All of the following are cleanup methods of controlling cultural eutrophication, except

A)using advanced waste treatment
B)treating plant growth with herbicides
C)harvesting excess weeds
D)pumping air through reservoirs to avoid oxygen depletion
E)removing algae using algaecides

Question 7

Lake Washington, near Seattle, was degraded by the growth of which of the following?

A)coliform bacteria
B)protozoans
C)snails
D)aquatic plants
E)cyanobacteria

Question 8

In cultural eutrophication, fish die from

A)acid deposition
B)decreasing solar energy used in photosynthesis
C)toxic substances in the water
D)increased sediment reducing habitats
E)loss of space

Question 9

Oxygen sag curves occur when

A)water levels are high
B)bacteria break down biodegradable wastes
C)when water flows quickly
D)when water is cool or cold
E)salt and fresh water mix

Question 10

Which of the following is a nonpoint source of water pollution?

A)a sewage treatment plant
B)an electric power plant
C)an active or inactive coal mine
D)a logged forest
E)a factory

Question 11

Which of the following is a point source of water pollution?

A)offshore oil wells
B)livestock feedlots
C)urban lands
D)croplands
E)parking lots

Question 12

To be considered safe for swimming, a 100 milliliter sample of water should contain ____ or fewer colonies of coliform bacteria.

A)0
B)5
C)10
D)100
E)200

Question 13

A body of water can be depleted of its oxygen by

A)viruses and parasitic worms
B)organic wastes
C)sediments and suspended matter
D)organic compounds such as oil, plastics, solvents, and detergents
E)inorganic wastes

Question 14

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates how many people on earth do not have access to clean drinking water?

A)1 out of 100
B)1 out of 50
C)1 out of 20
D)1 out of 10
E)1 out of 7

Question 15

The degradation of Lake Washington resulted from the introduction by sewage treatment plants of which of the following?

A)phosphorus
B)nitrogen
C)oxygen
D)chlorine
E)fecal material

Question 16

Which of the following is by far the leading cause of water pollution?

A)mining
B)factories
C)sewage treatment plants
D)agriculture activities
E)ocean-going shipping

Question 17

When researchers studying Lake Washington got no action from treatment plant managers, they did which of the following?

A)went on to something new
B)went to the Washington State legislature for help
C)went to the EPA for help
D)educated the public
E)wrote more scientific articles

Question 18

Which of the following is not a preventative method of reducing cultural eutrophication?

A)banning the use of phosphate detergents
B)stopping the runoff of fertilizer from agricultural fields
C)advanced waste treatment
D)harvesting excess weeds
E)soil conservation and land-use controls

Question 19

The natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary, or slow moving stream is called

A)oligotrophy
B)spring/fall overturn
C)upwellings
D)red tides
E)eutrophication

Question 20

A good indicator of water quality is the number of

A)ducks
B)fish
C)turtles
D)coliform bacteria
E)protozoa

Question 21

More than 140 million people, living in 70 countries worldwide, are drinking water that has arsenic concentrations of ____ times the accepted level.

A)2-10
B)2-20
C)3-50
D)5-100
E)10-1000

Question 22

What percentage of the 100,000 medium to large lakes near major U.S.population centers have some degree of cultural eutrophication?

A)three-fourths
B)five-eighths
C)one-half
D)one-third
E)one-quarter

Question 23

The world's third-largest dead zone is found in the Gulf of Mexico and is caused by agricultural runoff carried by

A)the Cuyahoga river
B)the Amazon river
C)the Mississippi river
D)the Colorado river
E)the Rio Grande river

Question 24

The majority of the oil pollution of the ocean comes from

A)blowouts (rupture of a borehole of an oil rig in the ocean)
B)tanker accidents
C)environmental terrorism
D)runoff from land
E)normal operation of offshore wells

Question 25

The Great Lakes possess ____% of all the surface fresh water in the United States.

A)35
B)95
C)75
D)55
E)45

Question 26

Which of the following is not a means of purifying water for drinking?

A)protecting watersheds from pollution
B)exposing water in a clear plastic bottle to intense sunlight
C)LifeStraws
D)PUR
E)centrifugation

Question 27

Drinking water for about ____ of the U.S.population and ____ of the rural populations comes from groundwater.

A)50%; 50%
B)50%; 95%
C)10%; 50%
D)10%; 95%
E)75%; 75%

Question 28

Agricultural and sewage runoffs cause harmful algal blooms, with the algal blooms causing all of the following except

A)release waterborne and airborne toxins
B)poison seafood
C)decrease agricultural yields
D)kill some fish-eating birds
E)reduce tourism

Question 29

How long does it take for pollutants to be flushed out of the Great Lakes into the ocean?

A)5 years
B)20 years
C)50 years
D)100 years
E)1000 years

Question 30

One fish in ____ taken from the Great Lakes is unsafe for human consumption.

A)ten
B)seven
C)five
D)four
E)three

Question 31

Over the 21ˢᵗ century, scientists expect to find many millions of ____ to become a major global health problem.

A)people
B)carcinogens
C)solar panels
D)leaking underground storage tanks
E)leaking solid waste landfills

Question 32

____ of the world's population lives on or near the coast.

A)20%
B)30%
C)40%
D)50%
E)60%

Question 33

What percentage of expensive bottled water is actually bottled tap water?

A)5%
B)10%
C)20%
D)30%
E)40%

Question 34

Less than ____% of the water entering the Great Lakes leaves the St.Lawrence River.

A)1
B)8
C)16
D)32
E)64

Question 35

Which of the following is a lesson we can learn from the story of Lake Washington near Seattle?

A)citizen action combined with scientific research works
B)reversing severe water pollution takes a long time
C)dumping wastewater treatment plants in the ocean is better than dumping in lakes
D)scientific research seldom gives the right answers
E)diluting wastewater with storm water runoff is a good idea

Question 36

What percentage of the people using coastal beaches in the United States developed ear infections, sore throats, eye irritations, respiratory disease, or gastrointestinal disease from swimming in seawater contaminated by infectious viruses and bacteria?

A)5%
B)10%
C)20%
D)40%
E)80%

Question 37

The only effective way to protect groundwater is to

A)prevent contamination
B)use monitoring wells
C)cover all wells carefully
D)treat all water from underground sources
E)use advanced sewage treatment

Question 38

The 2007 State of the Great Lakes report found all of the following problems still exist in the lakes, except

A)Native carnivorous fish are declining in most of the lakes.
B)There is continuing wetland loss and degradation of habitats.
C)New pollutants in the lakes including pharmaceuticals.
D)Populations of native species at the base of the food chain are declining.
E)Dissolved oxygen levels continue to decline.

Question 39

Contaminated groundwater can not cleanse itself for all of the following reasons, except

A)Groundwater does not move at all.
B)Contaminants are not dispersed effectively.
C)Lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen exist for decomposition.
D)Usually cold temperatures slow down reactions.
E)Contaminants are not diluted easily.

Question 40

Bottled water in the U.S.costs 240 to 100,000 times more than tap water, yet ____ of bottled water is contaminated by synthetic organic chemicals and bacteria.

A)one-tenth
B)one-fifth
C)one-third
D)one-half
E)three-quarters

Question 41

The Clean Water Act could be strengthened by all of the following strategies, except

A)prevention and control of toxic water pollution
B)more funding for integrated airshed and watershed planning
C)allowing citizens to bring lawsuits to ensure that water pollution laws are enforced
D)establishing national effluent standards
E)requiring states to do a better job of monitoring and enforcing water pollution laws

Question 42

The 1972 Clean Water Act has accomplished all of the following between 1972 and 2002, except

A)annual wetland losses decreased by 80%
B)US population served by sewage treatment plants increased from 32% to 74%
C)US streams are no longer polluted by runoff from animal wastes
D)Americans served by water systems meeting standards goes from 79% to 94%
E)US streams that are fishable and swimmable goes from 46% to 60%

Question 43

Parking lots are a major source of point source pollution for rivers and lakes.

Question 44

Stream pollution from industry and untreated sewage is a growing problem in developing countries.

Question 45

In a septic tank system, which of the following is not true?

A)Wastewater is pumped into a settling tank.
B)Grease and oil rise to the top in the tank.
C)Solids are decomposed by bacteria.
D)Bacteria-treated waste is discharged in an absorption field.
E)After leaving the absorption field, wastewater is cleaned and can be used again for human consumption.

Question 46

Which of the following types of sewage treatment are properly matched?

A)primary─biological process
B)secondary─mechanical process
C)advanced─physical and chemical processes
D)secondary─chemical process
E)primary─chemical process

Question 47

Climate change contributes to water pollution in some areas by altering the levels of precipitation.

Question 48

The individual matters in terms of what can be done to help reduce water pollution.All of the following are things we can do, except

A)Fertilize gardens and lawns with manure or compost instead of fertilizers.
B)Minimize use of pesticides.
C)Prevent yard wastes from entering storm drains
D)Do not flush unwanted medicines down the toilet.
E)Buy commercially produced foods.

Question 49

The polluted condition of the Ganges River, holy to Hindus, will get worse because the majority of the water comes from a glacier that is rapidly melting.

Question 50

On a larger scale, waterless, odorless composting toilet systems have all of the following advantages, except

A)converts human fecal material to soil-like fertilizer supplement
B)removes toxic and hazardous chemicals
C)saves large amounts of water
D)decreases energy used to pump and purify water
E)cheaper to install and maintain

Question 51

The Mississippi river was photographed in 1969 burning while flowing through a city.

Question 52

About ____ of U.S.lakes were tested unsafe for fishing, swimming, and other recreational uses.

A)25%
B)45%
C)65%
D)75%
E)85%

Question 53

Farmers can reduce agricultural runoff by all of the following, except

A)using slow-release fertilizers
B)keeping cropland covered with vegetation
C)planting buffer zones between cultivated lands and water
D)using no fertilizer on steeply sloped land
E)switching from row crops to animal feedlots

Question 54

WHO estimates that 3.2 million people─most of them children─die every year from inadequate clean water or from infectious diseases they get from contaminated drinking water.

Question 55

The oil company responsible for the oil spill of the Valdez was

A)Alaska
B)Gulf
C)Exxon
D)Sunoco
E)Texaco

Question 56

As a result of efforts of researchers and the public, the waste water formerly released into Lake Washington was diverted into nearby rivers.

Question 57

The most common problem encountered by seabirds coated with oil is

A)immediate death
B)vulnerability to predators
C)loss of buoyancy and insulation, causing deaths from exposure
D)poisoning by taking in the oil internally
E)starvation

Question 58

Excessive heat is considered a form of water pollution.

Question 59

One of the primary lessons that can be learned from the Core Case Study about Lake Washington is that citizen pressure on elected officials works.

Question 60

Agricultural activities are by far the leading cause of water pollution.

Question 61

Eutrophic lakes have murky, highly productive waters located closest to the wetland status in which many clear-water species cannot survive.

Question 62

Exxon Mobil, responsible for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, recovered most of the costs of fines and clean up from tax credits and insurance payments.

Question 63

Oil leaks into the world's oceans from industry and cities have dropped by almost 90%.

Question 64

Though it would be cheaper and as effective to protect watersheds around water sources rather than building treatment facilities, no major city has made the attempt to do so.

Question 65

Cold temperatures of groundwater slow down the chemical reactions that decompose wastes.

Question 66

Because of improved efforts at pollution prevention, the U.S.EPA lists only a handful of large lakes near major cities as having some degree of cultural eutrophication.

Question 67

Each year, because of harmful algal blooms, 200 or more oxygen depleted zones form in coastal regions around the world.

Question 68

Scientists fear the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico could reach a tipping point beyond which the ecosystem could collapse.

Question 69

Eutrophication is a condition in an aquatic ecosystem where high nutrient concentrations stimulate blooms of algae.

Question 70

Placing contaminated water in a clear plastic bottle and exposing it to the sun can kill infectious microbes in as little as three hours.

Question 71

The invasion by zebra mussels into The Great Lakes is an example of pollution.

Question 72

Developing countries dump the majority of their untreated sewage directly into freshwater ecosystems.

Question 73

The technology to convert sewer water into pure drinking water is inexpensive and faces little opposition.

Question 74

The EPA has cleaned up 350,000 underground tanks in the United States that were leaking gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, or toxic solvents.

Question 75

The potentially fatal condition known as "blue baby syndrome" in infants under 6 months old can result from agricultural pollution in drinking water.

Question 76

A recent report indicates 80─90% of the municipal sewage from most coastal developing countries, and some developed countries, is dumped untreated into the oceans.

Question 77

According to the World Health Organization and other scientists, the 10 ppb standard level for arsenic levels in drinking water is safe and perhaps even too cautious.

Question 78

Arsenic in the drinking water is not a concern in the United States.

Question 79

Eutrophication can be reversed if nutrient inputs are sharply reduced, but it takes a relatively long time to reverse the damage.

Question 80

The Exxon Valdez oil spill best illustrates point source water pollution.