CE 250 final ncsu

Dimensions

mass, length, time, current, temp, luminous int., substance

environmental impacts for which this source of pollution is a major contributor: coal plant

acidification, smog formation, climate change

environmental impacts for which this source of pollution is a major contributor: automobile exhaust

smog formation, climate change

environmental impacts for which this source of pollution is a major contributor: farmland runoff

eutrophication

The 'design and defend' approach employed by some engineers most closely resembles what level of stakeholder engagement

informing

stakeholders are provided info through a series of public meetings. only favorable details are shared

this does not meet the criteria

stakeholders are given a chance to express their preferences. preferences are taken into account in decision making

involving

the decision to increase our discount rate when analyzing furture climate damages leads to

valuing future climate damages less

the main purpose of the ISO life cycle assessment

to establish a set of common guidelines or methods for conducting a study

according to the ISO what are the four main parts of a proper life cycle assessment

goal and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, interpretation

you are considering two different material options for a highway, what is the best functional unit for an LCA to compare environmental impacts

mile-year

you work at a logistics company in charge of transporting aggregate to locations along the east coast. you want to understand the environmental impacts, which is best functional unit

shipment-mile

which option resulted in highest life cycle greenhouse gas emissions

desalination

which process contributed most to life cycle gas emissions

it varied across water options

if sun shields were installed, which problem would still arise from fossil fuels

ocean acidification

climate change mitigation

replace a natural gas plant with a wind farm; eliminate fugitive methane emissions from oil and gas fields, improve the average fuel economy of light duty vehicles, allow workers to telecommute

examples of climate change adaptation

build additional power plants to overcome temp-induced capacity reductions; hire additional road workers to ensure short shifts during extreme heat; replace/reconstruct highway and bridge expansion joints; design stormwater systems to better accommodate heavy precipitation

ASCE visions expects civil engineers to

plan, design, construct and operate the built environment; be innovators and integrators of new ideas and technology

environmental engineering began in the early 1900s mainly focused on water quality

true

our common future predicts that we will have more environmental problems, poverty and hardship in the future

false

the un sustainable development goals that most directly apply to construction engineers are

9, 11

majority of examples given for wobbly stools came about because which pillar was ignored

environmental

dimensionless variables are defined by using several parameters

that are situated mathematically in such a way that their dimensions cross out

you are trying to estimate the number of dump trucks you need to move aggregate, an example of parameter uncertainty in your model may be

you do not have the means to precisely measure the volume of the aggreagate

you plan to use the divide and conquer technique to estimate the number of vehicles that are in raleigh on a given day, what term would be most suitable for the top term on the tree diagram

vehivles/day

examples of LULUs include

highway, hospital

other terms to describe eminent domain:

land acquisition, expropriation, compulsory purchase

which of these examples meets the definition of architectural exclusion:

not siting a bus stop in an affluent area; the removal of an intersection which limits the car travel, but not pedestrian travel from one neighborhood; a private gated community; the berlin wall; installing a low bridge overpass to limit public bus travel

architectural exclusion can result from the actions of private developers, local governments, or the federal government

true

consequences of municipal underbounding may include

lack of access to city services, exposure to unhealthy land uses

in the south africa water tariff example, flat rate tariff did which

charged the same rate per unit of water consumed

targeted credit required information wheras zero block did not

true

social cost of carbon

includes the monetized values of both the damages and benefits from global climate change, considers the impacts in future years, discounted to the present

a cap and trade policy typically allows industries which find it hard to reduce pollution to buy credits from other industries

true

per unit of electricity generated, which source would typically have the highest total damage costs from co2, so2, and nox emissions

coal-fired generation

the concept of interest refers to

time value of money

if inflation is higher than the market interest rate, that means the real interest rate is negative

true

the nominal interest is assumed to be an annual rate that does not account for any sub-annual compounding

true

arithmetic gradients have to be converted to present worth values first in any analysis

false

in present worth analysis; you need to find a common planning horizon if your projects have different lifetimes

true

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) depriciates an asset from it's initial value to its salvage value

false

an amortization table is necessary in order to determine the amount of a car or house payment is getting used to pay down the principal

true

a municipality is planning to apply a flat tariff for water consumption in order to cover the cost of the new plant. what are the potential downsides to such an approach

does not incentivize water conservation, low income households pay a higher share of their income for water

Earning a degree from an ABET accredited program is an important part of achieving a professional engineering license.

true

Ways to get involved with undergraduate research include: (select all that apply):

a.

Participating in the NCSU RISE program over the summer

b.

Applying for funded positions with faculty

c.

Taking CE499

The Accelerated Bachelors-to-Masters program allows you to double count up to six credit hours toward a graduate degree.

false

The Plan of Work: (select all that apply)

a.

Shows the set of electives that fulfills some requirements

b.

Shows the requisites for our courses

c.

Shows whether the courses are offered in the fall or spring

All critical path courses are offered both in the fall and spring semesters.

false

If you choose to Study Abroad or do a Co-op, careful planning is required to ensure timely degree completion.

true

When you have earned enough credits to achieve "senior status," you have met the requirements for Senior Design.

false

The Course Equivalency website tells you:

If a course taken at another university will count for an NC State requirement

Double counting CE courses is a good way to:

Not graduate, because it's not allowed.

The fundamental dimensions M, L, and T stand for:

mass, length, time

What are the dimensions of velocity?

[LT-1]

What are possible units for x when y has dimensions of [L-1M] and z has dimensions of [L2T-2], given the following equation (check all that apply)

4x = y2z

kg2/(s2), tonne2/(hr2)

For an equation to be dimensionally consistent, the dimensional exponents must:

be the same on both sides of the equation

The gravitational constant, G, is defined as 6.67 x 10-11 N.m2/(kg2). G has dimensions of ___.

M-1L3T-2

Two streams (A and B) converge. Stream A has a flow rate of 10 cubic meters per minute and has a concentration of a conservative pollutant of 312 micrograms per liter. Stream B has a flow rate of 10 cubic meters per minute and has no detectable levels of the pollutant. What is the downstream concentration of the pollutant?

156 micrograms per liter

Which of the following are dimensions (check all that apply):

temperature, length

Dimensional analysis can tell you if an equation is wrong, but is not sufficient to tell you that it is correct.

true

Which of the following is the possible unit for dimensions [ML2T-2]:

kg*m2/(s2)

The US population (~330 million) has nearly 4 million miles of public roads. What is the best estimate of miles of public roads in Wake County (~ population of 1,000,000)?

12,000 miles

What do the "leaves" represent in a tree diagram?

Subdivisions of the goal

You plan to use the divide and conquer technique to estimate the number of people who would use a proposed train station each year. What term would be suitable for the top of your tree diagram?

Passengers/year

You are trying to estimate the mass of concrete needed for a highway project. An example of structural uncertainty in your model may be:

You simplified your model to exclude on-ramps and off-ramps.

You are asked to estimate the number of major airports in the United States using proportional reasoning. You know that North Carolina has two major airports and a population of about 10 million. You also know that the US population is about 330 million, so you assume that the US has 33 times as many airports as North Carolina (i.e., roughly 66 major airports in the US). What was your invariant in your estimation?

Population/airport

In Lecture 1.5, the number of gas stations in the U.S. was estimated. Which of the following is a structural uncertainty?

A person is not necessarily a driver.

Proportional reasoning requires identifying an invariant.

true

You are trying to estimate your gas costs for the coming year. Which of the following contribute(s) parametric uncertainties? (select all that apply)

You are not sure about your vehicle miles traveled and need to make a guess., You make a guess in the average fuel economy (e.g., miles per gallon) of your car.

In a tree diagram, the notation "-1" indicates:

A term should be raised to -1 exponent

The US population (~ 330 million) has nearly 4 million miles of public roads. What invariant would you use to estimate the miles of public roads in Wake County (~ population of 1,000,000)?

0.012 miles of road/person

Which of the following questions involve(s) Life Cycle Thinking? Select all that apply.

What is the most environmentally friendly way to package and transport food?

Is paper, plastic, or textile bags the most environmentally friendly option for carrying groceries?

Which building design results in the lowest overall environmental impact

According to the ISO Life Cycle Assessment Framework, Life Cycle Assessment is a one directional process.

false

In the ISO Life Cycle Assessment Framework, what are included in "Goal and scope definition?" Select all that apply.

Purpose of study

System boundary

Functional unit

Match the product system to the most suitable functional unit:

Hand sanitizer factory → 1000 ml hand sanitizer produced

Landfill → 1 ton of trash disposed

Subway (metro rail) → Passenger miles traveled

Thorough life cycle thinking considers which of the following:

All of the above

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of riding an electric bike vs taking a public bus. Why would you not choose "one mile of transport" as the functional unit for your study?

More than one person is typically riding the bus at any given time

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of incandescent lightbulbs and LEDs, which are far more efficient. Why would you not choose "1 kWh" as the functional unit for your study?

The lightbulbs' function is not to consume electricity

You are conducting an LCA to compare the environmental impacts of two pavement designs for a highway. Why might "one mile of highway" be an inadequate functional unit?

One pavement design may last longer than the other

ISO stands for International Sustainability Organization

false

When performing an LCA on a product, conforming to the ISO LCA Standard guarantees the same answer from different parties.

false

Ozone (O3) in the stratosphere leads to detrimental impacts on human health and ecosystems.

false

Match the pollutant with the environmental impact.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that reach the stratosphere lead to: → ozone depletion

Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides lead to: → acidification

Carbon dioxide emissions lead to: → climate change

Excess fertilizer runoff leads to: → eutrophication

Fuel combustion and energy use are the primary cause of (select all that apply):

Smog

Acidification

Tropospheric ozone formation is governed by complex chemical reactions, which are influenced by ambient concentrations of ___. Select all that apply.

NOx , VOCs

Which of the following are ozone-depleting substances? Select all that apply.

CFCs, HFCs, Halons

The "eq" in terms such as CO2-eq stands for:

Equivalents

We use "CO2-eq" to:

Bring the climate change impacts of different greenhouse gases to a common unit

Your life cycle inventory finds that the product is associated with the following pollutant releases:

1,000 kg of CO2 to the air and 10 kg of methane (CH4) to the air. The characterization factor of methane to air is 29.8 kg CO2 eq / kg CH4. The characterization factor of CO2 to air is 1 kg CO2 eq / kg CO2. What is the total life cycle climate impact of this product (in kg CO2 eq)?

1298

In life cycle assessment, characterization factors convert emissions of different pollutants into common units for a given environmental impact.

true

What is the main cause of ocean acidification?

CO2

Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas?

NO2

The best estimate of human-caused global surface temperature increase from pre-industrial levels to the most recent decade is:

1.07 °C

According to the IPCC Summary Report, 1983-2012 was likely the warmest 30-year period in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 1400 years (medium confidence).

true

Match the term and its meaning:

Climate Change Adaptation → The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities

Climate Change Mitigation → Actions to limit the magnitude of climate change, typically through reductions in human (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases or increasing the capacity of carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation)

All anthropogenic actions lead to increases in radiative forcings.

false

Annual cycles for global atmospheric CO2 concentrations are driven by:

The different mass of vegetation between the Northern and Southern hemispheres

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are used to:

Evaluate the impacts of different scenarios of greenhouse gas concentrations,

Evaluate the intensity of energy production as a function of economic productivity,

Determine the differences in global warming potential across disparate pollutants

According to the 2021 IPCC report, how certain is the scientific consensus that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, land, and oceans?

Unequivocal

Global surface temperatures have increased:

greater over the land relative to over the ocean