Multiple Choice Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
|
|
1.
|
Which of the following is a true statement about surface water?
a. | All large cities use surface water as a water source. | b. | Drought conditions
reduce the amount of surface water worldwide. | c. | Sluggish waters make natural lakes poor water
sources. | d. | It makes up less than 1 percent of all water on
Earth. |
|
|
2.
|
Most of Earth’s fresh water is
a. | suspended in atmospheric cloud formations. | b. | held in reservoirs
behind large dams. | c. | solidified at the North and South
Poles. | d. | stored in large underground rock structures. |
|
|
3.
|
Earth’s surface water is found in
a. | lakes. | c. | streams. | b. | rivers. | d. | All of the
above |
|
|
4.
|
What is the relationship between groundwater and surface water?
a. | Surface water percolates through the soil to form groundwater. | b. | There is no
relationship between surface and groundwater; they form independently. | c. | Groundwater filters
through the soil to form surface water. | d. | Surface water is found in lakes directly above
underground water sources. |
|
|
5.
|
What is the purpose of adding chlorine to water during the water treatment
process?
a. | to filter and remove large debris | b. | to form flocs that bacteria and other
impurities will cling to | c. | to kill bacteria that have accumulated, as well
as prevent future bacterial growth | d. | to remove unwanted
gases |
|
|
6.
|
How is fresh water used in industry?
a. | in manufacturing processes | c. | to generate
power | b. | in the disposal of waste products | d. | All of the
above |
|
|
7.
|
Many areas of the world without adequate fresh water have become habitable
because
a. | rainfall patterns have changed. | b. | water management projects have diverted water
to the area. | c. | icebergs have been towed in to provide fresh water. | d. | water conservation
has been implemented. |
|
|
8.
|
Which of the following is one way a person could conserve water?
a. | take a long bath instead of a shower | b. | wash laundry in small, partial
loads | c. | use a low-flow showerhead and take short showers | d. | water your lawn
daily and at mid-day |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following represents nonpoint-source pollution?
a. | unlined landfill | b. | polluted wastewater from a chemical
plant | c. | leaking oil tanker | d. | runoff from agricultural
feedlots |
|
|
10.
|
Parasitic worms would be classified as which type of water pollutant?
a. | pathogen | c. | inorganic chemicals | b. | organic matter | d. | heavy metals |
|
|
11.
|
Polluted groundwater is difficult to clean because
a. | groundwater is deep in the ground and dispersed through large areas of
rock. | b. | pollutants cling to the materials that make up the aquifer and contaminate the clean
water. | c. | the recycling process of groundwater can take hundreds or thousands of
years. | d. | All of the above |
|
|
12.
|
Most of the pollutants in the ocean come from
a. | commercial boats and personal watercraft. | b. | spills from oil
tankers. | c. | activities on land. | d. | leaking underground storage
facilities. |
|
|
13.
|
The largest watershed in the United States is the
a. | Mississippi River. | c. | Colorado River. | b. | Yukon River. | d. | Rio Grande. |
|
|
14.
|
When neighborhood residents noticed a large number of dead fish in a local
creek, they traced the problem to a nearby gas station. It turned out that a tank of gasoline had
developed a leak. This is an example of
a. | point-source pollution. | c. | thermal
pollution. | b. | nonpoint-source pollution. | d. | groundwater pollution. |
|
|
15.
|
Most large cities get water for households and industries from
a. | deep wells. | c. | pumps connected to springs. | b. | rivers and
lakes. | d. | removing salt from
sea water. |
|
|
16.
|
What is an inexpensive solution to providing everyone with more fresh water to
use?
a. | desalination | c. | water conservation | b. | drilling more wells into
aquifers | d. | building more
dams |
|
|
17.
|
Some communities have banned detergents containing high levels of phosphates
because
a. | phosphates cause chemical reactions that raise the temperature of river and lake
water, disrupting ecosystems. | b. | phosphates are not efficient
cleansers. | c. | excessive phosphates in lakes may begin a process that causes fish to suffocate and
die. | d. | phosphates kill algae and disrupt normal food webs in
lakes. |
|
|
18.
|
Which of the following might occur as a result of plastic trash accumulating in
the ocean?
a. | Turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish, ingest them, and die of intestinal
blockage. | b. | Sea birds are strangled by plastic six-pack rings. | c. | Sea mammals, such as
seals, become tangled in clear plastic fishing lines and drown. | d. | All of the
above |
|
|
19.
|
Which of the following is most likely to cause conflict between two countries
that share a river?
a. | The “upstream” country drills a large number of new water
wells. | b. | The “upstream” country builds a series of new dams. | c. | The
“downstream” country uses an increasing amount of water for
irrigation. | d. | New industries dump pollutants into the river near the delta where the river empties
into the ocean. |
|
|
20.
|
Which of the following is not a true statement about the social and
environmental impact of dams?
a. | Dams are built to resolve disputes between neighboring countries. | b. | Environmental
concern is one reason for their decreased construction. | c. | Dams allow a
river’s natural power to be converted into useful energy. | d. | Land behind the dam
undergoes change because of the change in the flow of the river. |
|
|
21.
|
A true statement about aquifers is that
a. | their water levels remain stable because they recharge so
rapidly. | b. | they are hard to purify because the water collects in sand and
rocks. | c. | they are formed by underground rivers and leakage from deep
lakes. | d. | their water does not circulate in the water cycle because it cannot evaporate under
the ground. |
|
|
22.
|
An effective approach to preventing future shortages of usable water should
focus on
a. | emphasizing the additive effect of individual attempts to conserve
water. | b. | reducing the pollution of existing water sources by education and
enforcement. | c. | developing and refining new ways to produce fresh water such as
desalination. | d. | All of the above |
|
|
23.
|
The effects of water pollution on ecosystems
a. | are always immediate and highly lethal. | b. | result mostly from
point-source pollution sources. | c. | can magnify over time within food
chains. | d. | can be demonstrated by natural eutrophication. |
|
|
24.
|
A common feature of thermal pollution and artificial eutrophication is that they
both
a. | have sources that are difficult to identify and control. | b. | cause large mats of
algae to bloom in fresh water. | c. | are a result of power plants and other
industrial activity. | d. | decrease the amount of oxygen dissolved in
water. |
|