Water Exam

An area that is highly productive with fresh water running into salt is a (an)

estuary

Water is most dense at

4.0 c

When groundwater is withdrawn faster than it can be recharged

overdraft

The California water project moves water from

northern California to southern California

The removal of vegetation, especially on hillsides, increase the risk of

flooding

The sole source of drinking water in south Florida is:

Biscayne Aquifer

The principal factor in the eutrophication of Lake Okeechobee is

phosphorus from agricultural & farm runoff

The amount of the nutrients, phosphorus, and nitrogen, in groundwater is usually:

greater in agricultural regions than in natural forest

During which of the following does water move in a direction different from the others?

evapotranspiration

The presence of Escherichia coli in the water indicates

agricultural waste as the source of pollution

The limiting element that determines the rate of the eutrophication for a fresh water system is

phosphorus

Scientist believe the most likely predator for zebra mussels are

ducks

A measure of the oxygen that is available to aquatic species is

DO

The residence time for water in rivers is

2-3 weeks

Most of the mercury at Minamata Bay was concentrated in

the cats

Overuse of groundwater in coastal areas would most likely result in

Saltwater intrusion

The single largest domestic use of water each year in the United States is

for showering and bathing

An oxygen free environment and organisms that can live there are termed

anoxic

What test is probably the best single indicator of water quality?

D.O.

Most of the earth’s fresh water supply is located in the

glaciers and ice caps

Nutrients in the soil being carried away by water draining through the soil is a process know as

leaching

What is the largest estuary in the United States?

Chesapeake Bay

The alien species poised to invade the Great Lakes is

quagga mussel

The major toxic inorganic water pollutants are

Pb & Hg

One effect of human alteration of the phosphorus cycle is

stimulation of explosive growth of algae and photosynthetic bacteria

The major omission in the 1972 Clean Water Act is

not regulating non-point sources of pollution

Which of the following is a non-point source for water pollution?

agricultural runoff from farmers’ fields

In the U.S., most sewage now receives

primary and secondary treatment

It is most economically and environmentally sound to focus water resource management on

increasing the efficiency of the way we use water

Thermal pollution may result in

thermal shock, decrease in DO, and increase in COD

Which of the following is not associated with eutrophication?

Increased concentration of toxins

When water is taken from a river or lake and transported long distances outside of its original watershed is it

diverted

Fecal coliform bacteria are

harmless microorganisms found in the intestines of warm blooded mammals used to trace infectious pathogens

Reverse osmosis is a process of desalination of water by

forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane

America’s greatest water supply problems are in

the West and Southwest because of increased demands from population growth and agriculture

One of the worst water mismanagement examples in the world occurred in central Asia and was caused by diverting rivers feeding the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world. The lake is the

Aral Sea

Why is sediment pollution a big problem in the Florida Keys?

Coral reefs are very susceptible to damage from sedimentation

Which statement is true about non-point source pollution?

Soil erosion is an important source of non-point source pollution

Solar energy drives the hydrologic cycle through

evaporation

In the presence of high humidity, smoke, dust, sea slats, spores and volcanic ash can

serve as condensation nuclei

What river made headlines in 1959 and again in 1969 when it became so polluted that it caught fire and burned for 8 days?

the Cuyahoga River in Ohio

Water, because of its ability to absorb heat and release it upon condensation

redistributes and stores heat, thereby moderating temperature fluctuations

What is BOD and should it be high or low in a healthy aquatic ecosystem?

Biochemical oxygen demand and it should be low

“Normal” rainfall is slightly acidic due to the presence of

Co2 in the atmosphere

Which is a soil pollution problem caused by irrigation agricultural lands in arid regions?

Soil salinization

Lakes, rivers, and coastal waters are under the protection of which law?

Clean Water Act

Which of the following offers the greatest conservation of water

Drip/micro irrigation

All of the following are available to improve water efficiency except

condensing water vapor from indoor air

Which of the following can be used to assess the biological diversity of an area?

genetic variation within each species and number of species present

This plant has been called the world’s “worst weed” and was introduced to Florida in the late 1800’s

water hyacinth

What is xeriscaping?

use of drought-resistant and water-conserving plants in landscaping

Lake overturn brings

oxygen to the lake bottom and nutrients to the surface

Reasons that human populations historically have settled in floodplains include which of the following?

The soil in floodplains is usually fertile, the terrain in floodplains tends to be flat, and floodplains are close to rivers for transport

Which of the following events first brought attention to the discharge of industrial waste into US rivers?

The Cuyahoga River catching on fire in the late 1960s

In a typical river, the oxygen sag curve is likely to be most severe during:

summer

Which of the following won’t reduce or eliminate the incidence of the “dead zones” in coastal waters:

require all waste lagoons to discharge directly into estuaries

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of:

the amount of oxygen that aerobic micro-organisms will need to decompose the organic waste

Arrange these water bodies in order in which they are best able to clean themselves of biodegradable wastes

river → lake → aquifer

Which of the following is an effective alternative to chlorine for disinfecting wastewater in a municipal treatment plant?

UV light

Which of these is a potential route of groundwater contamination

leaking storage tanks, seepage of contaminants from the surface, underground injection wells

One of these is NOT a naturally - occurring source of ground water contamination:

MTBE (Methyl tertiary butyl ether)

Which one of these is a current option for the clean-up of contaminated groundwater?

pump the water to the surface, treat it and return it back to the aquifer

The one measure that can tell the most about the overall quality of a surface water source

Dissolved oxygen concentration

The water feature which would be measured using a secchi disc or other turbidity test

sediment load

The measure which is the cause of cultural eutrophication

plant nutrients (NO3- and PO43-)

A consequence of thermal pollution

increased rate of metabolism for fish

An inexpensive method of providing potable water in developing countries is

solar stills

The water under the ice in a lake that has been frozen for several weeks was found to be supersaturated with oxygen

photosynthesis was occurring underneath the ice

Which of the following best explains why the maximum sustainable yield for ocean fisheries has been exceeded?

too many fish of reproductive age are harvested

Three common methods employed in the cleanup of oil spills are

large floating booms, skimmer boats, and genetically engineered bacteria

Which of the following is most likely to increases both the nutrient levels and the bacterial content of lake water?

runoff from a nearby hog farm

Alligators in a Florida lake polluted by high levels of dioxins (chlorinated hydrocarbons) had low testosterone levels and failed to reproduce. Scientist came to the conclusion that the dioxins were acting as which of the following?

endocrine disrupters

Sustainable use of forests in the United States would likely be encouraged by

cutting small groups of medium and large sized tress in uneven-aged forests

Of the following strategies to decrease the landfill volume of packaging material from food and other consumer products, the most energy efficient is

promoting the use of reusable containers for consumer goods

Which of the following best illustrates an abiotic component of the environment affecting a biotic component the environment?

low phosphorus content in soil limits the growth of vegetation

When logging is carried out in a watershed, a likely effect on the local streams is

an increase in water temperature

“Fixing nitrogen” refers to:

converting it to chemical forms that plants can utilize

What will likely occur from clearing mature, forested land and converting it into agricultural land that would be used for cattle grazing?

there will be a reduction in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide

What characterizes a population that is growing exponentially with time?

doubling in size over a finite time

The release of a large amount of sewage and other organic wastes into a rover would likely result in a sharp

increase in biological oxygen demand

What is an example of gray water?

water that has been used for bathing and for washing clothes

Which is a greenhouse gas that comes only from human sources?

chlorofluorocarbons

Why are decomposers in soils and waters important to ecosystems?

they recycle nutrients

In the zone of the atmosphere known as the stratosphere

the highest concentration of naturally occurring ozone forms

The crude growth rate, r, of a population is calculated by

dividing the doubling time by 70

What is an example of something that characteristically produces non-point-source pollution?

erosion from agricultural land

Member of an r-selected species characteristically:

reach sexual maturity quickly

Which of the following is the most successful solution to the problem of fish mortality caused by dams?

building fish ladders around the dam

An ecosystem includes:

communities, genuses, and populations

Leaching is when

water percolates through soil and dissolves some of its material

Adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is an

ecological service provided by coral reefs

A lake with an excessive supply of nutrients from human inputs is referred to as

culturally eutrophic

Water is

denser at 4C than at 20C

Water absorbs

relatively little heat as it vaporizes

Water’s melting point is

0C at one atmosphere of pressure

Tropical rainforest’s soils are

relatively poor in nutrients

Secondary sewage treatment removes

most of the biodegradable pollutants in the water

Secondary sewage treatment removes all

phosphates, nitrates, and heavy metals

Secondary sewage treatment requires

oxygen

In sewage treatment, sludge

can be used on cropland