Deck 8: Water Resources and Water Pollution

Question 1

Water found in the spaces of soil, gravel, and rock is called

A)infiltration.
B)percolation.
C)groundwater.
D)runoff.
E)surface water.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

During which of the following processes does water move in a direction different from the others?

A)percolation
B)transpiration
C)infiltration
D)precipitation
E)rain

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Porous water-saturated layers of underground rock, sand, or gravel are known as

A)aquifers.
B)recharge areas.
C)watersheds.
D)cones of depression.
E)lakes.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following are examples of organic chemicals that act as water pollutants when not managed properly?

A)oil, gasoline, and plastics
B)heat and cold
C)lead, mercury, and arsenic
D)acids, bases, and salts
E)soil and silt

Question 5

The Aral sea disaster led to which one of the following?

A)salinization, fish and wildlife kills, and human health problems
B)fish and wildlife kills, increased crop yields, and human health problems
C)human health problems, increased irrigation projects, and increased water pollutants
D)increased crop yields, fish and wildlife kills, and decreased pesticide use
E)decreased pesticide use, increased water pollutants, and salinization

Question 6

What is the most precise and efficient irrigation method?

A)precision application sprinklers
B)flood
C)drip
D)canals
E)center pivot sprinklers

Question 7

Large dams and reservoirs

A)reduce danger of flooding upstream.
B)are inexpensive to build.
C)cannot be used for outdoor recreation.
D)can be used to provide electric power.
E)improve ecosystem services.

Question 8

What is the best solution to groundwater depletion?

A)Grow more water intensive crops, waste less water, and lower the price of water.
B)Limit number of wells, grow more water-intensive crops, and build rain gardens.
C)Subsidize water conservation, waste less water, and limit the number of wells.
D)Lower the price of water, build rain gardens, use permeable paving materials.
E)Waste less water, lower the price of water, and subsidize water conservation.

Question 9

Which areas of the world are already facing and will most likely continue to face the most water scarcity?

A)Arctic and Antarctic
B)Eastern and Western Europe
C)Asia, Africa and the Middle East
D)United States and Canada
E)Australia and New Zealand

Question 10

What percent of the earth's water supply is readily available as liquid freshwater?

A)0.024%
B)1.0%
C)2.3%
D)7.8%
E)15%

Question 11

Throughout the world, the most water is used for

A)agriculture.
B)industrial processes.
C)heating and cooling.
D)transportation.
E)urban uses.

Question 12

In the United States, areas deemed as water hotspots are most concentrated in the

A)Northeast.
B)Midwest.
C)Southeast.
D)Southwest.
E)metropolitan areas of both coasts

Question 13

According to water resource experts, what is the fundamental cause of water waste?

A)lack of water-saving technology
B)cheap methods of desalination
C)low cost to users
D)subsidies for local farmers
E)evaporation

Question 14

The people of Bangladesh depend on moderate annual flooding to

A)maintain soil fertility for rice growing.
B)cover the countryside with water.
C)reduce the human population.
D)bring tourists dollars into the economy.
E)bring millions of dollars in aid for flood victims.

Question 15

Nitrates and phosphates are examples of

A)infectious agents.
B)oxygen-demanding wastes.
C)heavy metals.
D)plant nutrients.
E)sediment.

Question 16

The most serious water problem in the Southwest is

A)flooding.
B)shortage of runoff.
C)agricultural contamination.
D)overuse by industry.
E)over-irrigation.

Question 17

The disastrous affects of a large scale water transfer project was demonstrated in which water body?

A)Mediterranean sea
B)Black sea
C)Aral sea
D)Red sea
E)Bering sea

Question 18

The top of the zone of saturation is called the

A)confined aquifer
B)unconfined aquifer
C)recharge area
D)water table
E)confined recharge area

Question 19

Natural flooding is caused mostly by

A)rapid melting of snow or heavy rainfall.
B)removal of vegetation.
C)destruction of wetlands.
D)thermal expansion of oceans.
E)dam or levee failure.

Question 20

What is a potential solution for reducing flood damage?

A)Draining wetlands to provide dry areas for building
B)Clearing forests to provide surface runoff with clear access to streams and rivers
C)Living on floodplains to allow surface runoff to quickly drain into rivers
D)Taxing development on floodplains
E)Eliminating disaster relief

Question 21

Which is the following helps to control cultural eutrophication?

A)adding nitrates to balance the excess phosphate
B)adding aquatic weeds to the water body to absorb excess oxygen
C)increasing fertilizer use
D)pumping remaining oxygen out of the reservoir
E)limiting or banning phosphates in detergents

Question 22

The leading nonpoint source of water pollution is

A)municipal landfills.
B)runoff from city streets and storm sewers.
C)agriculture.
D)industrial wastes.
E)leaks from offshore oil wells.

Question 23

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

A)primary-physical process
B)secondary-physical process
C)primary-biological process
D)secondary-chemical process
E)primary-chemical process

Question 24

Which of the following sewage purification systems uses solar greenhouses and artificial marshes?

A)living machines
B)compost toilets
C)primary sewage treatment
D)secondary sewage treatment
E)septic tanks

Question 25

What is the least expensive and most effective way to protect groundwater?

A)Pump it to the surface, clean it, and return it to the aquifer.
B)Inject microorganisms to clean up contamination.
C)Pump nanoparticles of inorganic compounds to remove pollutants.
D)Use methods to prevent contamination.
E)Use bottled water as a substitute.

Question 26

In rural and suburban areas, the systems most commonly used to treat raw sewage on personal property are

A)living machines.
B)compost toilets.
C)primary sewage treatments.
D)secondary sewage treatments.
E)septic tanks.

Question 27

Which of the following is true regarding lakes?

A)Stratified layers of lakes are characterized by vertical mixing.
B)Pollutants dilute better in lakes than in rivers and streams.
C)Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination.
D)Lakes are flushed more easily than streams.
E)Flushing of a lake usually takes days to weeks.

Question 28

Where does the majority of oil pollution in the ocean come from?

A)blowouts (oil escapes under high pressure from a borehole on the ocean floor )
B)tanker accidents
C)fisheries
D)runoff from land
E)cruise ships

Question 29

Which section of a stream is characterized by the absence of fish and found downstream from the release of oxygen-demanding wastes and heat?

A)clean zone
B)decomposition zone
C)septic zone
D)recovery zone
E)dead zone

Question 30

Chesapeake Bay is vulnerable because it is

A)shallow with a low flush rate.
B)deep with a low flush rate.
C)shallow with a high flush rate.
D)deep with a high flush rate.
E)of medium depth with a low flush rate.

Question 31

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

A)offshore oil well
B)livestock feedlot
C)urban land
D)cropland
E)logged forest

Question 32

In cultural eutrophication, game fish die from

A)acid deposition.
B)suffocation from lack of oxygen.
C)toxic substances in the water.
D)salinization.
E)habitat loss.

Question 33

What do excess organic wastes and plant nutrients deplete from water?

A)nitrogen
B)oxygen
C)particulate matter
D)minerals
E)iron

Question 34

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

A)sewage treatment plant
B)electric power plant
C)oil barge
D)logged forest
E)trash incinerator

Question 35

Water pollution in less-developed countries

A)is mainly caused by untreated sewage.
B)occurs less frequently than in more-developed countries.
C)does not include industrial wastes.
D)does not include agricultural runoff.
E)should improve soon.

Question 36

Marine life can recover from crude oil spills most rapidly in

A)cold and calm waters.
B)warm waters with rapid currents.
C)cold waters with rapid currents.
D)warm and calm waters.
E)estuaries.

Question 37

Of the following, the most ecologically responsible way to dispose of sewage sludge is by

A)incineration.
B)dumping it into the deep trenches of the ocean.
C)using conventional landfills.
D)treating it and using it as fertilizer.
E)taking it to a landfill.

Question 38

What is the natural process of nutrient enrichment of a water body?

A)thermal inversion
B)eutrophication
C)point source pollution
D)channelization
E)oligotrophication

Question 39

Sustainable use of the earth's water resources involves

A)an integrated approach to managing water resources and preventing water pollution throughout each watershed.
B)continued subsidizing of the market price of water so that there is fair distribution of water.
C)emphasis on waste management over waste prevention.
D)discharge of hazardous wastes into deep wells.
E)channel pollution into the oceans instead of lakes and rivers.

Question 40

The majority of the oil pollution in the ocean comes from

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

Question 41

A number of technologies have been developed to perform ____________________ including reverse osmosis and distillation, but it still only provides 0.3% of the world's water demand.

Question 42

Recovery from exposure to crude oil takes much longer than recovery from exposure to refined oil.

Question 43

The 2010 Gulf of Mexico blowout illustrates point source water pollution.

Question 44

Ear infections, sore throats, eye irritations, and gastrointestinal disease may result from summing in waters with raw sewage.

Question 45

Flowing rivers and streams can recover from degradable and non-degradable waste pollution by natural recovery processes.

Question 46

The land area from which surface water drains into rivers, lakes, and wetlands, is known as its ____________________.

Question 47

Bottled water is a sustainable alternative to tap water.

Question 48

Freshwater is naturally purified, recycled, and distributed in the ____________________.

Question 49

A large amount of the world's usable water comes from desalination.

Question 50

When a lot of water is pumped from an aquifer, or when there is a dry spell, the ____________________ sinks lower.

Question 51

Many less-developed countries dump the majority of their untreated sewage directly into freshwater ecosystems.

Question 52

The main cause of water waste is leakage in water distribution systems.

Question 53

Surface water from a watershed will become groundwater when it infiltrates the ground.

Question 54

Groundwater can be recharged laterally from nearby lakes, streams, and rivers.

Question 55

Cold temperatures of groundwater increase the chemical reactions that decompose wastes.

Question 56

California's water problems are exacerbated by the fact that most of the population lives in the south but most of the water supply is in the north.

Question 57

Water that is used to produce consumable items but not consumed directly is called ____________________.

Question 58

Water pollution threatens wildlife but not the health of human beings.

Question 59

The Great Lakes contain 95% of the fresh surface water in the United States.

Question 60

In the last three decades, the amount of water used in the U.S. has remained stable even as the population increased.

Question 61

Government ____________________ keep the price of water so low that consumers do not worry about water waste.

Question 62

Compare and contrast water pollution issues in more-developed nations with those in less-developed nations. How can both types of countries improve their water use and water pollution issues?

Question 63

Name at least three reasons explaining why the Great Lakes suffer from water pollution.

Question 64

What are three ways to increase the water supply in a region?

Question 65

Describe an example to illustrate the disastrous effects of large scale freshwater transfer projects in dry areas.

Question 66

What are some risks and rewards of living on a floodplain?

Question 67

____________________ are broad and diffuse areas of pollution that are difficult to identify and control.

Question 68

Labeling

In the accompanying oxygen sag curve, choose the zone in which population of organisms with high oxygen requirements will most likely be eliminated.

Question 69

Human activities can greatly accelerate ____________________ by increasing the rate at which nitrate- and phosphate- containing effluents enter aquatic ecosystems from their surrounding watersheds.

Question 70

Labeling

In the accompanying oxygen sag curve, choose the zone in which the breakdown of degradable wastes by bacteria starts to deplete the dissolved oxygen.

Question 71

America's largest estuary, the ____________________, has greatly reduced shellfish and fisheries harvests due to a high population, nonpoint source pollution, and the resulting eutrophication.

Question 72

What are three ecological services that rivers provide?

Question 73

What are some actions your household can take to directly conserve water today and every day. Provide at least six ideas.

Question 74

The Environmental Protection Agency administers the ____________________ that sets the standards for allowed levels of key water pollutants.

Question 75

Labeling

In the accompanying oxygen sag curve, choose the zone in which the water has recovered from oxygen-demanding wastes and heat.