Deck 11: Water Resources

Question 1

Which of the following describes the problem known as groundwater mining?

A) falling groundwater levels due to excessive pumping
B) removal of aquifer material that reduces the supply of groundwater
C) aquifer become too saline in areas of heavy irrigation
D) pumping groundwater from one area and transporting it to another
E) using groundwater to process large ore deposits

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Due to geology, some regions have to rely entirely on surface water. Which of the following is a common technique used to expand surface water supplies?

A) water diversions
B) drilling wells
C) cloud seeding
D) desalinization
E) enhanced evaporation

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the environmental problem associated with desalinization?

A) disposing of the concentrated saltwater
B) increased water temperatures
C) finding an appropriate source of seawater
D) finding an appropriate source of freshwater
E) acid rain downwind of the plants

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What best describes the problem known as saltwater intrusion?

A) heavy pumping allows saline water to migrate into freshwater aquifers
B) disruption of marine ecosystems when freshwater discharges into the ocean
C) disposing wastewater from desalinization plants causes hypersaline seawater
D) injecting seawater into freshwater aquifers for treatment and storage
E) injecting freshwater into saline aquifers for treatment and storage

Question 5

When groundwater recharge is less than discharge it can cause land subsidence to occur.

Question 6

In terms of supplying sufficient quantities of drinking water, which of the following is the most important property of an aquifer?

A) high permeability (conductivity)
B) high ion exchange capacity
C) low compressibility
D) low shrink-swell
E) low evaporation

Question 7

What best describes the direction that groundwater flows in the subsurface?

A) from areas of high hydraulic head to low hydraulic head
B) from areas of infiltration to areas of evaporation
C) away from streams and lakes
D) from unconfined to confined aquifers
E) from saturated to unsaturated aquifers

Question 8

Which of the following statements regarding streams and groundwater is NOT true?

A) when a stream goes dry it means the adjoining aquifer will also go dry.
B) when the water table is higher than a stream channel, groundwater flows into the stream.
C) groundwater baseflow is what allows streams to keep flowing during dry periods.
D) infiltrating water contributes to the supply of groundwater.
E) when the water table becomes lower than a stream channel, the stream can run dry.

Question 9

Which of the following earth materials would NOT make for a good aquifer?

A) shale
B) sandstone
C) fractured granite
D) soluble limestone
E) sandy sediment

Question 10

Which of the following are common water desalinization techniques?

A) distillation and reverse osmosis
B) ionization and precipitation
C) distillation and precipitation
D) ionization and reverse osmosis
E) evaporation and ionization

Question 11

Desalinization is desirable because it is an energy-efficient process.

Question 12

Which of the following activities use the greatest amount of water in the United States?

A) irrigation and electrical generation
B) industrial and municipal supply
C) industrial and irrigation
D) irrigation and municipal supply
E) electrical generation and industrial

Question 13

What is the basic mechanism that naturally creates freshwater within the hydrologic cycle?

A) evaporation
B) reverse osmosis
C) precipitation
D) runoff
E) infiltration

Question 14

What best explains why confined aquifers make for a safer water supply compared to unconfined aquifers?

A) unconfined aquifers are open to the surface environment.
B) the water in confined aquifers is naturally filtered.
C) confined aquifers do not have an overlying aquitard for protection.
D) confined aquifers have greater water pressure.
E) unconfined aquifers have greater water pressure.

Question 15

When water is pumped from a well it creates a cone-of-depression. What is the basic reason this sometimes causes problems?

A) it reverses the natural direction of groundwater flow
B) it causes increased pressure within the aquifer
C) it causes the water table to become flat
D) it slows the natural rate of groundwater flow
E) it causes the potentiometric surface to merge with the water table

Question 16

Solar energy drives the hydrologic cycle.

Question 17

Where is the majority of Earth's freshwater being stored?

A) glacial ice
B) atmosphere
C) lakes
D) groundwater
E) rivers

Question 18

What is the basic difference between modern water wells and older hand dug wells?

A) older wells are much larger in diameter
B) older wells capture a greater amount of rainfall
C) modern wells can be used in deserts
D) modern wells do not dry up
E) older wells do not dry up

Question 19

Xeriscaping is a water conservation technique commonly used in landscaping. What best describes xeriscaping?

A) use of native vegetation
B) use of low-evaporation soils
C) use of high-water content soils
D) replacing porous surface materials with solid surfaces
E) use of x-rays to reduce evaporation

Question 20

Groundwater recharge occurs every time it rains.