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WorksheetsHMH Unit 1 Lesson 4: Environmental Engineering
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 11mins
Which of these technologies would most likely be developed with the help of an environmental engineer?
a desalination plant
a camera for a phone
a remote steering device
a battery powered speaker
The nesting site of a bird population is threatened by human impacts. A team of environmental engineers is working on a solution to the problem. The engineers have already brainstormed several possible solutions. Which of these steps should they perform next?
Build and test a prototype of each possible solution
Refine each of the solutions based on the results of testing.
Redefine the problem to clarify the most important criteria
Evaluate the solutions in regard to the constraints and most important criteria.
An engineer is designing a collar to track the movement of a coyote population. The engineer is performing a cost-benefit analysis of her collar. Which of these would be a cost?
The collar is easy to apply
The collar can be reused many times
The collar does not bother coyotes to wear
The collar is made of materials that are difficult to mine.
What is the first step that should be completed in the engineering design process?
Design a prototype
Clearly define the problem
Refine and optimize the solution
Develop several possible solutions.
Which statement best describes technology?
the use of electricity to improve communication
the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
the use of devices for accurate recording and measurement
the design of materials with properties suited to specific applications
An engineer used a decision matrix to evaluate different designs. In the matrix, she weighted the design criteria from 0 to 6. What is the purpose of weighting the criteria of the designs?
to prioritize the most important criteria
to ensure that all criteria are treated equally
to help find new solutions to existing problems
to clearly define the problem the design must solve
The design of wind turbines has changed greatly over the years. Which statement best explains why engineers have redesigned wind turbines so many times?
to make them shorter and heavier
to increase their impact on birds and bats
to harness the wind's energy more efficiently
to limit the use of new materials in the turbines’ construction
Which of these would best help an engineer consider the environmental impact of the materials and wastes that result from producing a design?
decision matrix
life-cycle analysis
delimiting the problem
brainstorming solutions
An engineer is studying applications of a biological process. He is using bacteria as a model organism to study the process. Which statement best explains why he would use a model to study a process?
to avoid having to brainstorm applications of the project
to test how the process will work under different conditions
to prevent any future changes from being made to the process
to be sure that the process is the only possible solution to the problem
An engineer has developed a new device to filter water for drinking. Which of these would be considered a constraint of the water filter?
Its use and transportation should be easy.
It should be able to remove viruses from the water
It should filter out a variety of different pollutants.
the material it is made from must cost less than $10
A team of engineers is developing a facility for disposing of hazardous waste safely. Choose a constraint and a criterion that the team may have for this facility.
Criteria- the facility should be able to hold 2 tons of waste
Criteria- the total building cost should be no more than $200,000
Constraint- the facility should be able to hold 2 tons of waste
Constraint- the total building cost should be no more than $200,000.
An engineer is designing a machine that will be used in a desalination plant. He builds a prototype of the machine, which is smaller than the machine will be. Identify two reasons why the engineer might choose to build this prototype.
the engineer would want to see if any improvements need to be made
if the prototype works, the engineer can just use this instead of the full scale machine
the engineer would want to see if it works as expected
because building models is cool
Describe one way environmental engineering helps to reduce the impact that a dam has on a fish population.
engineers can design a dam to harness energy for the city
Engineers are more concerned with harnessing energy for the city than helping the fish populations
Engineers have built fish ladders to allow fish to cross from one side of the dam to the other
Scientists have engineered fish to be able to jump over the dam to get to the other side
Which of these would be an example of a tradeoff in the "optimizing solutions" step of the engineering design process?
A solution doesn't meet the criteria so the criteria is changed
For a design to work as well as possible, the cost of the design may need to increase.
The criteria doesn't work with the constraints, so the constraints need to be removed.
Explain how improving our understanding of the biology of ecosystems can help people reduce the negative impacts of societies on ecosystems.
