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WorksheetsUnit 4 Review-Environmental Concerns
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 8mins
Which river was so badly polluted that it caught fire several times?
Thames
Volga
Nile
Cuyahoga
What was the impact of the British Clean Air Act of 1956?
provided money for air-pollution research
set clean-air standards
limited the burning of soft coal
created agencies to monitor air pollution
What became a significant problem during the Industrial Revolution?
destruction of stratospheric ozone
outdoor air pollution
indoor air pollution
loss of biodiversity
Which change was a consequence of building the Inco Superstack?
an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions in the Sudbury area
a decrease in sulfur dioxide emissions in the Sudbury area
a decrease in the production of nickel and copper
an increase in the production of nickel and copper
Which policy has been a cost-effective way to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions?
banning the emissions of sulfur dioxide entirely
burning high-sulfur coal
enacting cap-and-trade legislation
implementing scrubber technology on all power plants
What is a disadvantage of burning solid waste?
Electricity is generated.
The volume of solid waste is reduced.
The mass of solid waste is reduced.
Air pollution is created.
What would happen to dead organic material if there were no decomposers?
Organic matter would build up on Earth’s surface to unmanageable levels.
Decomposition would occur much more slowly.
Nutrients would build up to toxic levels in an ecosystem.
Oxygen would be leached from Earth’s soils.
Which choice describes a way that composting benefits the soil?
locks up carbon and nitrogen so that it can’t be released
keeps moisture levels low
makes nutrients more accessible to organisms
maintains a moderate temperature within soils
How do invertebrates affect the oxygen levels of compost and soil?
Invertebrates consume all of the oxygen in the soil.
Burrows create spaces for oxygen to flow through the soil.
Invertebrate respiration adds oxygen to the soil.
They occupy the gaps between soil particles, leaving no room for oxygen.
What economic method is often used to guide policy makers in making pollution regulations?
supply-demand analysis
determining point of diminishing returns
cost-benefit analysis
What set up the temperature inversion that caused the Great Smog of London in 1952?
tornado
anticyclone
cyclone
cold front
Which factor is not involved in creating tropospheric ozone?
NOx
hight temperatures
sunlight
CFCs
Which event did not cause the reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions from Sudbury's smelters?
passing regulations requiring reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions
building the Inco Superstack
improving emission-control technology
permanently closing the nickel mines
Which effect of acid deposition most affects human health?
Acids remove nutrients from the soil and cause malnutrition in crops.
Acids remove lime from the soil.
Acid rain damages human skin.
Acidic soils liberate toxic metals.
Which technology is used to deal with yard waste?
composting
landfill
waste-to-energy combustion
recycling
Why are decomposers important in the cycling of nitrogen and carbon?
Decomposers store all the carbon they consume in their bodies.
When they break down organic matter, decomposers bind carbon and nitrogen to inorganic particles.
Decomposers convert nitrogen and carbon into unusable forms.
Breaking down organic matter releases carbon and nitrogen back into the soil.
Which choice describes how acid precipitation affects nutrients in soils?
Nutrients become displaced from soil particles and drain into waterways.
Acid precipitation increases the rate of decomposition in soils, increasing nutrient levels.
Nutrients react with acid precipitation to form pollutants.
When acid precipitation lowers the pH of soils, it causes nutrients to bind with soil particles.
What happens to fish populations in lakes and rivers when the water’s pH drops below 4.2?
Dissolved oxygen levels increase rapidly, which ultimately poisons fish..
Some fish die, while others can survive the lower pH.
A decreasing pH triggers rapid breeding events in fish species.
All fish in the lake or river die.
Lowering sulfur dioxide emissions would have the greatest impact upon which environmental phenomena?
ozone hole
acid rain
tropospheric ozone
global climate change
Which choice is beneficial to human health and the environment?
tropospheric ozone
acid rain
sulfur dioxide
stratospheric ozone
Which choice contributes to global warming?
ozone hole
acid rain
tropospheric ozone
greenhouse gases
An incident in Donora, Pennsylvania, led to which action?
banning the use of CFCs
banning the burning of coal
conducting cost-benefit analyses
enacting air pollution laws
Which gas is not a greenhouse gas?
carbon dioxide
sulfur dioxide
water vapor
methane
What is the most common method of solid waste disposal in the United States?
composting
landfill
waste-to-energy combustion
recycling
Which device is used to reduce gaseous emissions from a mobile source?
scrubber
filter
column of liquid
catalytic converter
