APES Unit 7

Radon levels for an average home over one year.

Which of the following is the most likely reason for the trend shown in the graph of fluctuating indoor radon levels over the course of a year?

• Home windows are often closed during summer months, causing the levels of radon in the house to build up.

• Barometric pressure changes from summer storms can cause radon levels to increase.

• Radon levels tend to increase in the colder months because of the difference in temperature inside and outside the home, which creates a vacuum pulling radon into the home at a higher rate.

• Increased levels of radon are linked to burning biomass indoors, which increases in winter months when more biomass is burned for cooking and heating.

Radon levels for an average home over one year.

Which of the following is most likely responsible for the indoor air pollutant shown in the graph?

• Cracks in the basement foundation

• Synthetic fiber in carpets and furniture

• Leaking water

• Pet hair

The graph shows the average distance traveled by individuals in a population in an urban area in the southwestern United States. Based on the data, which of the following months most likely experiences the highest levels of photochemical smog?

• July

• August

• November

• December

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

In addition to a nearby mountain range, which of the following environmental conditions would be required for the process in the diagram to occur?

• A cool sea breeze and a high pressure system

• A warm mountain breeze and a low pressure system

• A cool sea breeze and a low pressure system

• A cool mountain breeze and a high pressure system

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-3

Which of the following best describes the process shown in the diagram above?

• Less-dense, cool air rises up and mixes with the denser warm air above it, increasing the amount of thermal pollution in the atmosphere.

• Less-dense, warm air creates a temperature inversion between more-dense layers, trapping pollutants near the ground.

• Dense, warm air from the mountains on the right pushes into the less-dense, cool air mass, causing an inversion layer.

• Movement of air currents over urban areas decreases the amount of photochemical smog during summer months.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS3-4

A researcher wants to determine if ponds and lakes downwind of a coal-burning power plant are affected by the plant’s emissions. Which of the following would be the best parameter from the water in the ponds and lakes to measure in order to determine the effect of the plant’s emissions on the aquatic ecosystems?

• pH

• Biological oxygen demand (BOD)

• Carbon dioxide

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS2-6

An air pollution expert set up a monitoring program to determine the amount of particulate matter (PM) leaving a farmer’s field after crops were harvested and the soil was bare. She set up high-volume air samplers 10 meters from each edge of the square field and collected samples weekly for two months. When she looked at her data, she was surprised by how much the PM levels varied, both from site to site on a given date and over time at each site. Which of the following parameters would have been best to measure to help explain the variation in her results?

• Percent of cloudy days over the two months

• Particle size of the soils in the field

• Depth of the organic matter in the soil

• Wind direction and speed

Which of the following devices is correctly paired to the air pollutant it would be used to measure?

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Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

Scientists want to examine the effects of a coal-burning power plant on the pH of a lake that is downwind of the power plant. They take samples from a lake that is not downwind of the power plant to serve as a control. However, they did not realize that the lake they chose as a control group was a geothermal hot spring with acidic water.

Which of the following best describes how their choice of control group could affect the results of their experiment?

• Using this control would not have an effect on the outcome because the high temperature of the hot spring reduces the acidity of the water in the lake.

• The coal-burning power plant would appear to have a much larger effect on the pH of the experimental group because the pH in the control lake would be elevated from the acidic water.

• The coal-burning power plant would not appear to have a large impact because the pH levels of the two lakes would be similar.

• The coal-burning power plant would affect both lakes because the Coriolis effect and weather patterns would circulate pollutants in the atmosphere.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS2-6

Which of the following is most responsible for the change in the emissions of volatile organic compounds ( VOC ) from 1970 to 2020 as shown in the graph?

• A decrease in the number of vehicles fitted with catalytic converters and an increase in the number of hybrid vehicles beginning in 1970.

• A decrease in the average driving distance in the United States from 1970 to 2020 that resulted from increased urbanization.

• An increase in air emission standards that began in 1970 that regulated corporate average fuel economy ( CAFE ) standards.

• An increase in VOC emissions from car exhausts that resulted from increased driving distances from 1970 to 2020.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3