Water Pollution Quiz

Most of the oil that pollutes the ocean comes from:

• boats and personal watercraft

• spills from oil tankers

• runoff from cities and towns

• natural seeps

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

• discharge of untreated sewage from a broken pipe

• runoff from city streets

• precipitation containing air pollution

• runoff from farms

Animal feces would be classified as what type of water pollutant?

• biological pathogens

• thermal

• inorganic chemicals

• heavy metals

Bacteria are beneficial in the wastewater treatment process because:

• they help solid material to settle out of the wastewater

• they naturally break down organic matter from human waste

• they don’t require added oxygen

• they make it unnecessary to use chemicals to disinfect wastewater

DDT is used to kill mosquitoes, but causes problems in the environment because?

• It is radioactive

• Aquatic organisms mistake it for food

• It can kill other organisms and impact the food web of an ecosystem

• It is a pathogen

Which of the following might occur as a result of plastic trash accumulating in the ocean?

• Turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish and die of intestinal blockage

• Sea birds are strangled by plastic six-pack rings

• Sea mammals such as seals become entangled in clear plastic fishing lines and drown

• all of the above

Some communities have banned detergents containing high levels of phosphates because

• phosphates raise the temperature of river and lake water, disrupting ecosystems.

• phosphates are not efficient cleansers.

• phosphates in lakes may cause eutrophication, causing fish to suffocate and die.

• phosphates kill algae and disrupt normal food webs in lakes.

Water that is returned to a river from a power plant cooling tower is

• cooler than the river

• warmer than the river

What happens to sludge from a sewage treatment plant?

• It can be deposited in a landfill.

• It can be incinerated.

• It can be used as a fertilizer.

• All of the above

What is the first step of treating wastewater at a municipal sewage treatment plant?

• Bacteria breaks down organic matter.

• Solid waste material settles out.

• Pathogens are killed with ultraviolet light or chemicals.

• Water is removed from sludge.