ENVS Exam 3 Study Guide

Reliance on the continued use of fossil fuels is not sustainable because fossil fuels are

not renewable and contribute to global climate change.

Fission and fusion reactions

convert the mass of the nuclear materials to energy.

Which one of the following fossil fuels produces the least amount of air pollutants?

Natural gas

Which of the following nuclear power accidents was caused by an earthquake strike?

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

If the radiation you received from your x-ray does pose a health risk, how can this radiation cause the greatest harm?

Your DNA in cells that were radiated may be damaged.

Fossil fuel can be defined as

Hydrocarbon deposits derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel

Which of these is a correct statement regarding a nuclear reactor?

Fuel rods contain uranium dioxide pellets, which undergo fission.

Which of the following statements about the second law of thermodynamics is correct?

According to the second law of thermodynamics energy conversions in fossil fuel systems always produce some amount of waste heat that cannot be fully utilized.

In nuclear _____, a large atom of one element is split into two atoms of different elements and emits ______.

fission; energy

How many commercial nuclear power plants are currently operating in Louisiana?

2

U.S. crude oil production peaked around 1970, declined for several decades, and then increased sharply after 2008. What best explains this resurgence?

Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing made previously difficult-to-extract oil resources economically recoverable.

Which one of the followings correctly explains the number of reactants and products involved in fission or fusion reactions?

Fission begins with one reactant and yields two atomic products and a release of energy

Compared to the generation of electricity using coal, nuclear power

generates no sulfur dioxide or carbon dioxide emissions.

Ionizing radiation takes a few forms. These forms include Alpha, beta, and neutron particles, and gamma and X-rays. Which of the following statements is true about radiation?

All of them.

In ENVS 1126, we watched the video How Does Fracking Work? Based on the video and our class discussion, which of the following activities associated with oil and natural gas production is most likely to trigger larger induced earthquakes?

Injecting wastewater into deep underground disposal wells.

The fossil fuels that we burn today were formed long ago from buried organic matter. However, only a small fraction of the original organic carbon remains in the coal, oil, or natural gas that is formed. Thus, it requires approximately 90 metric tons of ancient organic matter—so-called paleoproduction—to result in just 3.8 L (1 gal) of gasoline. The graph presents estimates of the amount of paleoproduction required to produce the fossil fuels humans used each year between 1750 and 2000. The red line represents annual human consumption of paleoproduction by fossil fuel combustion. The dashed line indicates current annual net primary production (NPP) for the entire planet. How many times greater was the total carbon content of the fossil fuel consumed in 2000 than in 1750?

1.7 x 106

Which of the following statements is true about the Combined Heat and Power (also called Cogeneration) technology?

Fule enters the engine that generates electricity while also capturing the heat from the engine to create domestic hot water or space heating.

Enrichment of nuclear fuel

increases the relative concentration of uranium-235 to only 3-5% to avoid a nuclear explosion at higher percentages.

In fluidized-bed combustion, coal is mixed with limestones mainly to

Neutralize sulfur dioxide

You sampled a level of radioactivity of soil from a radioactively contaminated site and monitored changes in the radioactivity level for 15 days. The following table shows your measurements. What would be the radioactivity of your sample on day 0?

Time (days)	0	1	5	10	15
Radioactivity (millicuries)	?	3.87	2	1	0.5

4

EROI or EROEI analysis can be used to analyze

The viability of energy production

Which of the following best describes the role of Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) in evaluating the environmental impact of fossil fuels?

LCA examines the environmental impact of fossil fuels across all stages, including extraction, transportation, combustion, and waste management.

Which one of the followings is used for nuclear fission in nuclear reactors?

235U

Which of the following statements is correct?

All of the above

134Cs and 137Cs have the same__________

number of protons.

Which of the following diseases is caused by a protozoan parasite?

Malaria

Arriving at the hotel for the meeting, a woman decides to get a workout in the pool. Upon stepping into the pool area, she quickly finds it difficult to breathe because of the high levels of chlorine in the air above the pool. This woman is experiencing

an acute reaction to the chlorine in the air.

Which of the following is a potential environmental disadvantage of hydroelectric dams?

They alter natural river flow, potentially disrupting ecosystems and downstream agriculture.

According to the 2025 Pew Research Center survey, 59% of U.S. adults favor expanding nuclear power. What does this finding suggest about public opinion?

A majority supports expanding nuclear power, but a substantial portion remains opposed.

A hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell uses

Hydrogen and oxygen and generates electricity and water.

Which of the following is a major goal of policies promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency?

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing fossil fuel consumption.

How do Photovoltaic (PV) cells generate electricity?

They absorb sunlight, causing electrons in the cell material to become energized and create an electric current.

Renewable energy can be defined as energy from

Natural sources that are not depleted when used

Initial testing on mice indicates that a new food coloring is a carcinogen. Now the researchers hope to examine the effects of different concentrations of the carcinogen on mice, in a type of

dose-response assessment.

Which of the following statements about renewable energy trends is NOT true?

Hydropower has grown faster than solar and wind power over the past decade.

Which of the following statements best describes how poverty can influence environmental health?

Poverty increases the likelihood of exposure to environmental hazards due to limited access to healthcare and resources.

Treating malaria with drugs is difficult because

malaria parasites have evolved resistance to some antimalarial drugs.

Based on the potential of different energy sources, which statement best summarizes the comparison between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources?

Renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, have a significantly higher potential than nonrenewable sources and could replace them in the long term.

Which of the following statements best describes the difference between traditional ethanol production and cellulosic ethanol production?

Cellulosic ethanol is produced from sources like crop residues and fast-growing grasses, which can grow in poor soils, while traditional ethanol uses crops like corn and sugarcane, which have higher land and water demands.

Which one of the following is considered an indoor air pollutant that affects human health in developed countries?

Radon

This graph compares the toxicity of four chemicals. Which chemical is least toxic?

D

Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases that

can be transmitted between animals and humans.

Why is DDT still permitted for limited use in some countries despite its environmental risks?

It can help control mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Which of the following statements about hydrogen on Earth is correct?

Much of Earth's hydrogen is chemically combined with oxygen in water (H₂O).

Which viral infection is particularly associated with birth defects when acquired during pregnancy?

Zika virus infection

Which of the following factors are most important in determining the health risk posed by a chemical?

Its toxicity, exposure, and dose.

Which of the following statements correctly differentiates between potential and kinetic energy?

Potential energy is stored energy, while kinetic energy is energy associated with motion.

Based on the projected trends in world primary energy consumption from 1950 to 2050, what can be inferred about the contribution of wind and solar energy?

Wind and solar energy are projected to significantly increase, especially after 2020, but will still constitute a smaller portion compared to fossil fuels by 2050.

Which of the following is a good example of a biological hazard to public health?

Rotavirus infections lead to deadly diarrhea in more than a million children each year.

Which of the following best defines "risk" in the context of environmental hazards?

The likelihood of harm from a hazard, influenced by exposure and vulnerability.

Increases in ocean temperatures often result in coral bleaching, in which

the symbiotic relationship between corals and their algae is disrupted.

Which statement is NOT true about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)?

Global warming during the 21st century is expected to speed up the AMOC

Which of the following are secondary pollutants?

Ozone, PANS, and aldehydes and ketones

Which of the following are true? Choose all true statements.

                 Greenhouse gases provide the earth with insulation that allows for human life, but too much will cause our planet to be too hot.           Greenhouse gases have three or more atoms in their molecules, which allows them to vibrate and resonate with certain wavelengths of infrared light.

What was one of the key messages from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its AR6 report published in 2023?

The IPCC emphasized the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and profoundly across all sectors to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.

Which of the following is a major anthropogenic source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)?

Unburned and partially burned hydrocarbons released in motor vehicle exhaust

The most widespread and serious pollutant(s) of the atmosphere include

all of the above

Which of the following statements about global warming is correct?

Warming is happening everywhere, but it is greatest at high latitudes of the Northern hemisphere.

Most of the weather of the world is based upon changes in the moisture, pressure, and/or temperature of the

troposphere

Which one of the following would be the most practical way to reduce levels of photochemical smog in a city that frequently experiences this problem?

reducing the number of automobiles that burn gasoline and the amount of evaporated gasoline

According to the figure showing the warming influence of major human-produced greenhouse gases from 1980 to 2025, which statement is correct?

The combined warming influence of these greenhouse gases increased by 56% from 1990 to 2025.

Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas?

N2

Which of the following is true?

CO2 levels are overall increasing but oscillate between seasons.

The abundant formation of hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere

removes many common pollutants from the troposphere.

Which of the following regions is most likely to experience industrial smog?

In an industrial city where coal is burned for electricity generation and steel production

In 1948 in Donora, Pennsylvania, the routine release of toxins into the air became a deadly fog because of

a thermal inversion and stagnant weather conditions.

Ozone in the UPPER atmosphere

is necessary to screen out ultraviolet radiation.

You watched a NASA video on global warming in your ENVS1126 class. Based on the video, which of the following best describes the "three pieces" in the global warming puzzle?

Greenhouse gases, the albedo effect, and the Sun’s energy heating the Earth

Based on our most recent understanding of the formation of tropospheric ozone, reducing ozone level in the troposphere requires the reduction of atmospheric levels of

nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

Factors that determine the level of local air pollution include

all of the above

Which of the following is not a direct cause of global warming?

increased use of aerosols in the US

Why does the carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels have lower levels of carbon-14 (¹⁴C) compared to atmospheric carbon dioxide?

Because the ¹⁴C in ancient organic matter decayed over millions of years while buried underground.

Which of the following statements regarding ozone depletion is FALSE?

Each chlorine atom in the stratosphere destroys one ozone molecule.

Which of the following is a natural soil buffer that is abundant in the midwestern United States and helps to reduce the amount of acidification of lakes in that region?

Limestone

Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the air. Rainwater having a pH of 3 is

10,000 times more acidic than pure water.