Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. Which of the following is an example of a renewable resource? a. cotton b. copper c. natural gas d. coal
____ 2. Renewable resources ____. a. can be replenished over months, years, or decades b. are all living resources c. have finite supplies that will one day be used up d. include iron, natural gas, and copper
____ 3. Which of the following is an example of a nonrenewable resource? a. cotton c. cattle b. trees d. uranium
____ 4. In which layer will liquid petroleum be found in the oil trap shown in Figure 4-1? a. layer F b. layer C c. layer D d. layer E
____ 5. Which layer in Figure 4-1 forms the cap rock for the oil trap? a. layer G c. layer D b. layer C d. layer F
____ 6. Which of the following lists presents forms of coal in the correct order from the first stage of development to the last stage of development? a. peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite b. bituminous, anthracite, peat, lignite c. anthracite, bituminous, lignite, peat d. peat, lignite, anthracite, bituminous
____ 7. Placer deposits form when ____. a. hot, metal-rich fluids cool underground b. heavy eroded particles settle out of moving water c. organic matter is compressed over millions of years d. magma cools in underground chambers

____ 8. Vein deposits are usually produced by ____. a. cementation and compaction b. hydrothermal solutions c. weathering d. density sorting
____ 9. The advantages of solar energy include the fact that it is ____. a. nonrenewable c. expensive b. non-polluting d. absent at night
____ 10. Harnessing the sun’s energy to produce heat or electricity is ____. a. non-polluting b. inexpensive c. possible only in coastal areas d. a major source of air pollution
____ 11. What is one of the drawbacks to the extensive use of solar energy? a. It is nonrenewable. b. Necessary equipment and installation are expensive. c. It is available only at night. d. It produces toxic pollution.
____ 12. The fuel for nuclear fission in nuclear reactors is ____. a. petroleum c. hydrogen b. carbon d. uranium
____ 13. Which of the following is a problem associated with the increased use of nuclear energy? a. cost of building safe nuclear facilities b. major hazards involved in nuclear waste disposal c. concern over the possibility of a serious nuclear accident d. all of the above
____ 14. How does nuclear fission produce energy? a. Moving water turns turbines to produce electricity. b. Controlled nuclear chain reaction produces heat, driving steam turbines to produce energy. c. Uncontrolled nuclear reaction produces heat, driving steam turbines to produce energy. d. Carbon atoms are bombarded by neutrons.
____ 15. Wind power generates ____. a. noise pollution b. air pollution c. water pollution d. soil pollution
____ 16. One problem with wind energy as a major source of electricity is ____. a. it is nonrenewable b. it causes major air pollution c. it does not work during the night d. the expense of large tracts of land in populated areas
____ 17. Hydroelectric power is produced by ____. a. falling water that turns a turbine b. tides that pour through a dam barrier c. hot water that comes from deep underground d. electric current that flows across a dam
____ 18. What is the source of geothermal energy? a. sunlight heating surface waters b. the splitting of atoms to release energy c. natural underground reservoirs of steam and hot water d. very hot minerals deep underground
____ 19. How is tidal power harnessed? a. by building a dam across a swiftly flowing river b. by bombarding uranium nuclei with neutrons c. by building a dam across the mouth of a bay or an estuary in a coastal area

d. by tapping into underground steam reservoirs
____ 20. Fresh water is used for which of the following? a. drinking c. cooking b. growing food d. all of the above
____ 21. Which of the following is an example of a nonpoint source of fresh water pollution? a. pesticide runoff from farm fields c. sewage treatment plant b. leaking toxic waste landfill d. factory waste piped into a stream
____ 22. What amount of Earth’s total water supply is usable fresh water? a. 25% c. 50% b. less than 1% d. 75%
____ 23. According to Figure 4-2, what is the single largest source of air pollutants? a. solid waste disposal b. transportation c. stationary source fuel combustion d. industrial processes
____ 24. According to Figure 4-2, what percentage of the major primary air pollutants is composed of nitrogen oxides? a. 13.6% c. 16.4% b. 49.1% d. 14.8%

____ 25. Which of the pollutants shown in Figure 4-2 are considered to contribute to the pollution problem known as acid precipitation? a. carbon monoxide and particulates b. carbon monoxide and sulfur oxides c. nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides d. nitrogen oxides and volatile organics
____ 26. What is the function of the atmosphere’s ozone layer? a. shields Earth from harmful solar radiation b. provides the oxygen needed by human life c. protects Earth from the sun’s heat d. removes pollution from the atmosphere
____ 27. The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide helps to ____. a. deflect harmful radiation from space b. increase precipitation in arid areas c. form clouds in the atmosphere d. maintain warmth near Earth’s surface
____ 28. Which of the following is NOT a land resource? a. soil c. iron b. forests d. wind
____ 29. One way that mining for mineral resources damages the land is by ____. a. adding greenhouse gases to the environment b. depleting the world’s ozone c. causing salinization d. increasing soil erosion
____ 30. In which decade were the first important laws passed to decrease water pollution? a. 1950s c. 1970s b. 1960s d. 1980s
____ 31. The Clean Water Act ____. a. required pollution control devices on cars and power plants b. established National Ambient Air Quality Standards c. set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants in drinking water d. required industries to reduce or eliminate point source pollution in surface waters
____ 32. Cars with hybrid and electric motors ____. a. use more fuel than conventional cars b. create less air pollution than conventional cars c. use solar panels for power d. are no longer produced
____ 33. What is the most important law passed to deal with air pollution? a. Clean Water Act b. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act c. Clean Air Act d. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
____ 34. Contour plowing is a soil conservation method that involves ____. a. plowing deeper into soil when planting b. never planting crops on hills c. plowing across hill slopes d. flattening hills to create flat land before plowing
____ 35. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 has resulted in ____. a. a decrease in the amount of recycling

b. an increase in the use of compost c. a decrease in the illegal and unsafe dumping of hazardous waste d. a reduction of the use of fossil fuel resources