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ITT Envir. Sci. SeptQ Final Exam Q&A Review w/ Answers in Bold

Course SC4730, Visualizing Environmental Science, Berg Text Book Ref.: Chapters 1 thru 18

Chapter 1 – Environmental Issues

1) Which of the following is not included in sustainable human activities or behaviors?

2) What is an example of sustainable consumption?

3) Nonrenewable resource is to renewable resource as _________ is to __________?

4) Environmental sustainability does not imply ______________________?

Chapter 2 – Sustainability Concepts

1) Environmental justice is reflected in ______________________?

2) Why is the deep ecology worldview impractical for widespread adoption?

3) Why is it difficult to attain environmental sustainability based on the Western worldview?

4) Which of the following statements reflects the Western worldview?

5) Which of the following is not associated with poverty?

Low life expectancy

Inadequate access to health care

Illiteracy

6) For a country to progress from a less-developed country to a more-developed country, the country would have to_______________?

7) Which of the following is key to the elimination of world poverty and stabilizing global population?

Globalization

Pollution Control

Urbanization

Chapter 3 Environmental History

1) The sensible and careful management of natural resources is called:

2) Setting aside undisturbed areas, maintaining them in a pristine state, and protecting them from human activities that might alter their “natural” state is referred to as:

3) The desire to conquer nature and put its resources to use in the most lucrative manner possible is called:

4) The following people all contributed to our understanding of the environment. Which one was the first head of the U.S. Forest Service and supported expanding the nation’s forest reserves?

5) The Yosemite and Sequoia national parks were established, largely in response to the efforts of naturalist:

6) What contribution to our understanding of the environment did Wallace Stegner provide?

7) When did many U.S. naturalists first become concerned about conserving natural resources?

8) A person who values natural resources because of their usefulness to us, but uses them sensibly and carefully is called a(n):

9) A person who believes in protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration is called a(n):

10) Why is the National Environmental Policy Act the cornerstone of U.S. environmental law?

11) How do environmental impact statements (EISs) provide such powerful protection of the environment?

a) they must thoroughly analyze the environmental consequences of anticipated projects on soil, water, and organisms

b) they must include possible alternatives to the proposed action that would create fewer adverse environmental effects

c) they provide for public scrutiny

12) Which of the following terms describes the process of evaluating and presenting to decision makers the relative benefits and costs of various alternatives?

full cost accounting

13) The figure below illustrates how economics depend on natural capital for sources of raw materials and sinks for waste products. Sinks are associated with the end of the process, which occurs after which step?

consumption

14) Why are national income accounts incomplete estimates of national economic performance? 1. they don’t take into account natural resource depletion 2. they don’t take into account the cost and benefits of pollution control 3. none of these

1 and 2

15) Pollution control laws that work by setting limits on levels of pollution are referred to as:

pollution regulation

Chapter 4 Environmental Health

1) The probability of harm occurring under certain circumstances is referred to as:

2) How does risk assessment help determine adverse health effects?

a) it determines the probability of harm occurring under certain circumstances

b) it helps determine whether we should reduce or eliminate a particular risk and, if so, what we should do

c) it helps estimate the probability that an event will occur and lets us set priorities and manage risks in an appropriate way

3) The study of chemicals with adverse effects on health is referred to as:

4) Which of the following statements about chronic toxicity are correct?

The effects of toxicants following exposure is prolonged and generally produces damage to vital organs.

5) Which of the following terms refers to an agent (usually a microorganism) that causes disease?

pathogen

6) A scientist who investigates the outbreaks of both infectious and noninfectious diseases in a population is referred to as a(n):

7) How is the incidence of disease related to human activities that alter the environment?

a) development activities may bring more humans into contact with new or rare disease-causing agents

b) the disruption of natural environments may give disease-causing agents an opportunity to thrive

c) development projects may increase the population and distribution of disease-carrying organisms, thereby increasing the spread of disease

8) Mercury is a substance that is extremely stable and may take many years to break down into a less toxic form. This is an example of:

9) A group of persistent toxicants that bioaccumulate in organisms, and travel thousands of kilometers through air and water and contaminate sites far removed from their source are called:

10) What is the purpose of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants?

11) In toxicology, what is a graph called that shows the effect of different doses on a population of test organisms, and is used to determine the health effects of environmental pollutants?

12) Any substance (chemical, radiation, or virus) that causes cancer is called a:

carcinogen

13) Which of the following chemicals will have a highest LD50?

aspirin, caffeine, cocaine

14) When the effect of a chemical mixture is exactly what you would expect given the individual effects of each component of the mixture, then the mixture is said to be:

additive

15) Why are children particularly susceptible to toxicants?

a) children have higher metabolic rates than adults

b) children are still growing and developing

c) children weigh less than adults

all of these

Chapter 5 Ecology

1. Which of the following terms describes the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their abiotic environment?

Ecology, environment, population, biophere

2. Which of the following terms best describe a region that includes several interacting ecosystems?

b)biosphere

c) community

d) population

3. Which of the following ecological levels is the most inclusive?

a) ecosystem

c) community

d) population

4. Photosynthesis, where plants absorb the radiant energy of the sun and convert it to the chemical energy contained in the bonds of sugar molecules without creating or destroying the energy itself, is an example of this law.

5. An automobile engine, which converts the chemical energy of gasoline to mechanical energy, is between 20 and 30 percent efficient. In other words, only 20 to 30 percent of the original energy stored in the chemical bonds of the gasoline molecules is actually transformed into mechanical energy, or work. This is an example of:

the second law of thermodynamics

6. Which of the following organisms in the picture below is an herbivore, or primary consumer???

the moose cow in panel A

b) the Madagascar day gecko in panel B

c) the crab in panel C

d) the mushrooms in panel D

7. Organisms like bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms and waste products are called:

decomposers

8. How does energy flow through a food chain or food web?

linearly – in one direction

9. Bacteria are the only organisms involved in each of the following steps except for which one?

a) nitrogen fixation

b) nitrification

c) assimilation

d) ammonification

e) denitrification

10. Which cycle does not have an atmospheric component?

a) nitrogen cycle

c) sulfur cycle

d) carbon cycle

11. How is carbon returned to the atmosphere in the reverse process of photosynthesis?

by combustion

12. Which of the following factors contribute to an organism’s ecological niche?

a) physical

b) chemical

c) biological

all of these choices

13. A scientific study of five American warbler species revealed that individuals of each species spend most of their feeding time in different portions of spruces and other conifer trees. This is a Courseic example of ___________.

14. The acacia ant in the picture below gains shelter and nutrients from the acacia plant. In turn, it protects the plant from predators. This is an example of ___________.

mutualism

15. Which of the following statements about symbiotic relationships is true?

a) commensalism is a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit

b) in parasitism one organism benefits at the expense of another

c) in mutualism one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped

d) both organisms benefit in parasitism

Chapter 6 Ecosystems

1. Which of the following terms describes a large, relatively distinct terrestrial region with similar climate, soil, plants, and animals regardless of where it occurs in the world?

a) boundary

b) ecosystem

biome

d) habitat

2. The treeless biome in the far north that has harsh, very cold winters and extremely short summers, and consists of boggy plains covered by lichens and small plants such as mosses is called a ___________.

tundra

3. Which of the following is a region of coniferous forest in the Northern Hemisphere, located just south of the tundra?

a) tropical rain forest

boreal forest

c) temperate deciduous forest

d) temperate rain forest

4. A biome found in both temperate and tropical regions in which the lack of precipitation limits plant growth is referred to as a _____________.

desert

5. How do you distinguish between temperate rain forest and tropical rain forest?

temperate rain forests have cool weather; tropical rain forest weather is warm

6. Important environmental factors of aquatic ecosystems include:

a) salinity

b) amount of dissolved oxygen

c) availability of light for photosynthesis

7. Large, strong swimming organisms (ex: turtles and fish) are referred to as __________ in an aquatic ecosystem

8. How does a freshwater wetland differ from an estuary?

water in an estuary is brackish rather than truly fresh

9. Zonation characterizes standing-water ecosystems, such as lakes and ponds. In a lake, what is the limnetic zone?

shallow-water area along the shore

10. The mangrove forest in the Caroline Islands, Micronesia, is an example of what?

estuary

11. What is the term for aquatic organisms that are usually small or microscopic, and tend to drift or swim feebly and are carried about at the mercy of currents and waves?

Plankton

12. Floating aquatic organisms that photosynthesize must remain near the water’s surface, and vegetation anchored to lake floors or streambeds will only grow in relatively shallow water. Why?

water greatly interferes with the penetration of light

13. Which of the following are ecosystem services of salt marshes and mangrove swamps?

a) trapping sediment and pollution

b) supplying groundwater

c) breeding grounds and nurseries for important fishes

all of these choices

14. The cumulative genetic changes in populations that occur during successive generations are referred to as:

evolution

Chapter 7 Population

1. The branch of biology that deals with the number of individuals of a particular species found in an area, and how and why those numbers increase or decrease over time is called:

population ecology

2. Which of the following terms refers to the maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions?

biotic potential

3. Which of the following terms refers to the largest population a particular environment can support sustainably (long term) assuming there are no changes in that environment?

a) sustainable population

b) biotic potential

c) maximum population

carrying capacity

4. Which of the following statements about the history of human population growth is correct?

a) The death rate has increased significantly over the past few years

b) The population will never reach zero population growth.

c) The United Nations predicts the population will reach 4 billion by the year 2013.

d) It took thousands of years for the human population to reach one billion (around 1800).

5. What is the current human world population (as of 2007)?

6.6 billion

6. Why is it impossible to precisely determine the earth’s carrying capacity for humans?

a) it is difficult to make assumptions about standards of living and resource consumption

b) we don’t know what technological innovations may exist in the future

c) we don’t know if our increased food production is sustainable

all of these

7. The applied branch of sociology that deals with population statistics is referred to as:

demographics

8. Which of the following statements about human population is false?

a) Worldwide, the total fertility rate is well above the replacement level.

Highly developed countries have high infant mortality rates.

c) Highly developed countries have the lowest birth rates in the world.

d) Less developed countries have the shortest life expectancies.

9. Why is the replacement-level fertility usually given as 2.1 children instead of 2.0 children?

some infants and children die before they reach reproductive age

b) most couples have more than two children

c) 2.1 represents the average number of children a couple produces

d) people live longer and birth rates exceed death rates

10. Which of the following is the single most important factor affecting high total fertility rate?

a) high infant and child mortality rates

lack of health and family planning services

c) low status of women in many societies

d) important economic and societal roles of children in some cultures

11. How does education of women decrease the total fertility rate?

a) by delaying the first childbirth

b) by increasing the likelihood women will know how to control their fertility

c) by increasing women’s career options which provide ways of achieving status besides having babies

all of these

12. What is the relationship between fertility rates and marriage age?

women who marry later tend to have fewer children

13. Which of the following statements about human population is correct?

a) In general, women who don’t follow any religion have the highest total fertility rates.

In many cultures the pressure to have male children keeps the total fertility rate high.

c) Family planning usually increases fertility rates.

d) Increasing the death rate is an acceptable way of regulating population size.

14. The process whereby people move from rural areas to densely populated cities is called:

urbanization

15. What are some of the problems caused by rapid urban growth in developing countries?

a) limited capability to provide basic services

b) substandard housing

c) high unemployment

all of these

Chapter 8 Air Pollution

1. The gaseous envelope surrounding Earth is referred to as the:

atmosphere

2. What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?

nitrogen

3. Most clouds occur in the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface called the:

troposphere

4. The layer of the atmosphere that has no turbulence and where commercial jets fly is called the:

stratosphere

5. Various chemicals (gases, liquids, or solids) present in the atmosphere in high enough levels to harm humans, other organisms, or materials, are referred to as:

air pollution

6. Particulate matter is an example of:

primary air pollutant

7. What kind of gases are associated with acid deposition, corrode metals and damage stone and other materials?

sulfur oxides

8. Which of the following pollutants is formed in the atmosphere as a secondary pollutant?

ozone

9. Which of the following conditions is a temperature inversion?

a) local heat buildup in an area of high population

b) cold air layered over warm air

warm air layered over cool air

d) a dome of heated air that surrounds an urban area with pollution

10. Industrial smog refers to what form of traditional air pollution?

Smoke pollution

11. Heat from human activities such as fuel combustion is highly concentrated in cities. As a result, the air in these areas form:

urban heat islands

12. Which of the following are adverse health effects of air pollutants?

a) eye irritation

b) inflammation of the respiratory tract

c) increasing susceptibility to infection

all of these choices

13. Who oversees the Clean Air Act?

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

14. Which of the following statements about air pollution is false?

a) Many cities and towns in China have so many smokestacks belching coal smoke that residents only see the sun a few weeks of the year.

b) Lead pollution from heavily leaded gasoline is an especially serious problem in developing nations.

Environmental quality is usually a high priority in developing countries.

d) Respiratory disease is now the leading cause of death for children worldwide.

15. As developing nations become more industrialized, what is the effect on air quality?

quality decreases because more air pollution is produced

Chapter 9 Atmosphere and Climate

1. Which of the following statements about climate and weather is correct?

a) Weather refers to the conditions that occur in a place over a period of years and climate refers to the conditions in the atmosphere at a given place and time.

Climate is the average weather conditions that occur in a place over a period of years and weather refers to the conditions in the atmosphere at a given place and time.

c) Climate can change from one hour to the next and from one day to the next whereas weather changes slowly, over hundreds or thousands of years.

d) None of these statements are correct.

2. What are the two most important factors that determine an area’s overall climate?

temperature and precipitation

3. Based on the diagram below, approximately how much solar radiation is absorbed by Earth’s land, water, and atmosphere?

69%

4. Which characteristic of Earth causes the seasons?

Earth is inclined 23.5˚ on its axis.

5. What are the reasons for regional precipitation differences?

a) the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

b) geographic location

c) topographic features

all of these

6. What are the five main greenhouse gases?

carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbon, and tropospheric ozone

, and ozone

7. Which of the following is a way to mitigate global warming?

a) development of alternatives to fossil fuels

b) controlling the human population

c) planting and maintaining forests

all of these

9.Which of the following is a potential effect of global warming?

rise in sea level

b) weather patterns will become more predictable

c) mosquitoes and other disease carriers could become extinct

d) precipitation patterns will become more stable

10. What is the importance of the stratospheric ozone layer?

it shields Earth’s surface from much of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun

11. The picture below is a computer-generated image of part of the Southern Hemisphere. What does the purple area over Antarctica represent???

a) acid deposition

ozone depletion

c) global warming

d) precipitation

12. What are the primary chemicals responsible for ozone thinning in the stratosphere?

13. Which of the following are harmfu