Water Resources and Water Pollution Quiz

What is an aquifer?

• B. Water stored beneath the Earth’s surface in sediment and rock formations

• D. Fresh water on Earth’s land surface

• C. The area of land that is drained by a river

• A. An underground formation that contains groundwater

What is the water table?

• A. An underground formation that contains groundwater

• B. Water stored beneath the Earth’s surface in sediment and rock formations

• C. The top of the groundwater zone; fluctuates up and down depending on weather and removal/replenishment rates

• D. The area of land that is drained by a river

What is the difference between the saturated and unsaturated zone?

• A. The amount of space between the particles that make up a rock

• C. The top of the groundwater zone; fluctuates up and down depending on weather and removal/replenishment rates

• B. The ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it

• D. Underground areas of soil/rock where fresh water fills spaces between particles

How does water end up as ground water?

• C. Through the process of percolation

• D. Through the process of precipitation

• B. Through the process of condensation

• A. Through the process of evaporation

What is the result when water is pumped faster from a well than the aquifer near the well can be recharged?

• D. Groundwater monitoring wells

• A. Land subsidence and sinkhole development

• B. Saltwater intrusion

• C. Depletion of the aquifer

What is potable water?

• D. The artificial application of water to the land or soil

• C. Safe to drink; drinkable

• B. A bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease

• A. Water that collects on the surface of the ground

What is the main cause of water pollution?

• B. Mining

• C. Agriculture

• A. Industrial facilities

• D. All of the above

What is point-source pollution?

• A. Pollution from diffuse sources

• B. Pollution from a specific identifiable location

• C. Pollution from agricultural areas draining into a river

• D. Pollution from urban and industrial runoff

What is the leading cause of water pollution in streams and rivers?

• C. Bacterial biodegradation

• D. Overloading with pollutants

• B. Chemical runoff from agricultural areas

• A. Urban and industrial runoff

What is the primary sewage treatment process?

• D. Reverse osmosis

• C. Microfiltration

• B. A biological process

• A. A physical/mechanical process