Science, Energy,
and the
Environment
Final Exam Review
Areas
Energy
Trash
Soil
• 1. All of the following are forms of indirect solar
energy except:
• a. wind
b. flowing water
• c. geothermal energy
d. firewood
• 2. Most commercial energy comes from
•
a. direct solar energy
•
c. extracting and burning fossil fuels
•
d. nuclear energy
b. indirect solar energy
• 3. To make decisions about energy alternatives, we
need to ask:
• a. What is the estimated net useful energy yield?
• b. How much will it cost to develop, phase in, and
use?
• c. What are the potential environmental and social
impacts?
• d. all of these
• 4. To reduce energy waste we must
•
a. increase energy consumption
b. improve energy efficiency
•
c. switch from fossil fuels
•
d. use only solar technologies
• 5. Reducing energy use and waste does all of the
following except:
•
a. extend the length of time fossil fuels will last
•
b. ease international tensions
•
c. improve global military security
•
d. cause an economic recession
• 6. Which of the following reasons is the worst
explanation for the lack of US interest in energy
efficiency?
•
a. Currently fossil fuels are cheap.
•
b. Other industrialized countries are not pursuing
strong energy-efficient policies.
•
c. Environmental pollution costs are not
reflected in the price of fossil fuels.
•
d. Harmful health costs are not reflected in the
price of fossil fuels.
• 7. Electric cars
•
a. are noisy
•
b. have been totally ignored
•
c. have batteries that last a car’s lifetime
d. require less maintenance
• 8. Renewable energy resources include all of the
following except
•
a. the sun
• b. the wind
• c. nuclear power
• d. Earth’s internal heat.
• 9. Developing renewable energy resources would
•
a. save money and create jobs
•
b. eliminate the need for oil imports
•
c. increase national security
•
d. all of the above
• 10. Cells that convert solar energy directly into
electricity are called
•
a. electrosolar chips
•
b. photovoltaic cells
•
c. helioelectric units
•
d. photoelectric cells
• 11. Tidal power plants
•
a. have high construction costs
•
b. run on water that flows in and out of coastal
bays
•
c. have few suitable sites
•
d. all of these
• 12. Wind power
•
a. is an unlimited source of energy at favorable
sites
•
b. offers quick construction time
•
c. has a moderate to high net useful energy
yield
•
d. all of these
• 13. Wind farms
•
a. may be noisy
•
b. may interfere with migratory birds
•
c. require backup energy if the wind is not
steady
•
d. all of these
• 14. Biomass includes
•
a. wood and wood products
•
b. manure
•
c. gaseous biofuels
•
d. all of these
• 15. A major disadvantage of using biomass energy
is
•
a. high moisture content which lowers the net
energy yield
•
b. higher nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide
emissions than other sources of energy
•
c. lack of versatility in its use and application
•
d. that it is not renewable.
• 16. Which of the following statements about
geothermal energy is false?
•
a. It is moderate net energy yields for large,
accessible sites.
•
b. Easily accessible geothermal sites are rare.
•
c. It releases much carbon dioxide.
•
d. It can further degrade forests and other
adjacent ecosystems.
• 17. Oil is widely used because it
•
a. is relatively cheap
• b. is easily transported
•
c. has a high net useful energy yield
• d. all of these answers
• 18. The fatal flaw of oil is that it
•
a. produces more carbon dioxide than any
other fuel
•
b. produces destruction of nature through oil
spills
•
c. can contaminate groundwater supplies
•
d. will be commercially depleted in the
relatively near future
• 19. ____ is the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn.
•
a. oil
b. natural gas
• c. coal
d. wood
• 20. The key advantage to using fuel cells even
though some use fossil fuels is
•
a. that they are cheap
• b. can be made commercially
•
c. are highly efficient
• d. are still in the developmental state
SOIL
Vocabulary, Issues, and Agriculture
• 21. Soil is composed of
•
a. mineral nutrients
• b. air and water
•
c. microscopic decomposers
• d. all of these answers
• 22. Soil indirectly provides humans with
•
a. medicines
• b. pure water
•
c. recycling services
• d. all of these answers
• 23. A cross-sectional view of the _____ in a soil is
properly termed a soil ______.
•
a. horizons then profile
• b. horizons then sample
•
c. surface litter then sample
• d. surface litter then profile
• 24. Humus is
•
a. something you put on pita crackers
• b. indicative of poor soils
•
c. light colored or nearly white
• d. partially decomposed organic matter
• 25. The downward movement of water through soil
is called
•
a. infiltration
b. weathering
• c. porosity
d. accumulation
• 26. Which of the following types of soils has the least
pore space?
•
a. silt
b. loam
• c. clay
d. sand
• 27. Which of the following sites would be expected
to have the most rapid erosion rates?
•
a. agricultural land
b. forest
•
c. rangeland
d. construction sites
• 28. Conservation tillage reduces
•
a. labor costs
b. amount of erosion
•
c. water loss from soil
• d. all of these answers
• 29. Contour farming involves
•
a. converting a steep slope into a series of
terraces.
•
b. building a series of small dams
•
c. plowing at right angles to slopes
•
d. plowing straight down slope or straight up
slope
• 30. Planting crops in alternating rows of closegrowing plants
•
a. creates windbreaks
• b. is called strip cropping
•
c. is called crop rotation
• d. increases erosion rates
•
• 31. In alley cropping
•
a. crops are planted between hedgerows of
trees
•
b. terraces are built to prevent swift water runoff
•
c. plowing runs across slopes
•
d. special tillers are used so the topsoil is not
disturbed
• 32. Which of the following is not one of the three
major types of organic fertilizer?
•
a. green manure b. sewage sludge
• c. compost
d. animal manure
• 33. The term under nutrition refers to people who
•
a. eat less than the basic minimum of calories
per day
•
b. eat balanced meals
•
c. eat too much food
•
d. suffer from poor food quality
• 34. The term malnutrition refers to people who
•
a. eat less than the basic minimum of calories
per day
•
b. eat balanced meals
•
c. eat too much food
•
d. suffer from not eating the needed balance of
nutrition
• 35. A pest is any organism that
•
a. spreads disease
• b. interferes with human activity
•
c. competes with humans
• d. all of these
• 36. Pesticides kill
•
a. rodents b. weeds
• c. insects d. all of these
•
• 37. According to pesticide proponents, pesticides
•
a. work faster than alternate controls
•
b. increase profit for farmers
•
c. saves money and lives
•
d. all of these
• 38. Pesticide applications have threatened
•
a. honeybee colonies
• b. predatory birds
•
c. fish-eating birds
• d. all of these
• 39. Sustainable agriculture is characterized by a
major use of
•
a. massive irrigation projects
• b. fossil fuels
•
c. pesticides
• d. organic fertilizers
• 40. An individual can support the concept of
sustainable agriculture by
•
a. eating lower on the food chain
• b. developing a home garden
•
c. using biological pest control
• d. all of these answers
•
Waste and Recycling
3R’s, management, and issues
• 41. Which of the following questions is least likely to
be asked by an environmentalist?
•
a. Where do we put all of this waste?
• b. What strategies can turn the waste of one
industry into the resources for another?
•
c. What policies encourage products that last?
•
d. How can industries reduce the formation of
toxic by-products?
• 42. The top priority in pollution prevention
approach to solid waste would be
•
a. recycling
b. reusing
• c. reducing
d. burning
• 43. A low-waste approach
•
a. eliminates unnecessary packaging
b. makes a products last longer
•
c. uses less material
• d. all of these answers
•
•
•
•
•
44. Compost is most completely described as
a. manure
b. landfill by-products
c. pure garbage
d. soil conditioner & organic fertilizer
• 45. Which of the following substances can be
recovered from solid waste?
a. metals
b. plastics
• c. paper
d. all of these
• 46. Consumers of recycled products are most
effective when they maximize the amount of ______
waste in the products.
•
a. pre-producer b. post-producer
• c. pre-consumer
d. post-consumer
• 47. Environmentalists would most object to plastics
used in
•
a. lunch boxes
b. shampoo bottles
• c. packaging d. storage containers
• 48. Obstacles to recycling in the US include
•
a. environmental cost
•
b. inconvenience
•
c. tax breaks
•
d. all of these
• 49. Secondary recycling means
•
a. materials are remade into the same product
(paper to paper)
•
b. materials are remade into different products
(jeans to carpet)
•
c. materials are recycled before they are used
by a consumer
•
d. all of the above
• 50. The study of environmental science includes
•
a. anthrosphere
•
b. biosphere
•
c. hydrosphere
•
d. all of the spheres