Name: _________________________
PRACTICE TEST – Unit 7: Environmental Health and Toxicology
AP Environmental Science – February 11, 2014
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer and darken its bubble.
1. Information gathered by a scientist about the toxicity of
chemical X and chemical Y showed that they had
individual safe limits for fish at particular concentrations.
But when they were used together at the safe
concentrations, there were extensive fish kills. This is an
example of
(A) homeostasis
(B) synergism
(C) commensalism
(D) bioaccumulation
(E) antagonism
2. The major source of radon in houses in the United States
is
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
furniture and carpets
the underlying bedrock
the atmosphere
nuclear power plants
fossil fuel combustion
3. The major human health problem related to radon
accumulation is
(A) lung cancer
(B) heart disease
(C) pancreatic cancer
(D) cataracts
(E) malignant melanoma
4. For a certain insecticide, the LD-50 dosage level for rats
is determined to be 250 milligrams per kilogram of body
mass. On the basis of this information, which of the
following is the best prediction regarding the
consequences of receiving this dosage of the insecticide?
(A) Fifty percent of any rat population would be
sickened.
(B) Fifty percent of the population of any warm-blooded
animal would die.
(C) Fifty percent of any population of mosquitoes would
die.
(D) Five hundred out of every one thousand people
would experience acute effects.
(E) Five hundred out of every one thousand rats would
die.
5. Liver disease that develops due to long-time use of
alcohol and drugs would be an example of:
(A) chronic effect
(B) synergistic effect
(C) acute effect
(D) additive effect
(E) cumulative effect
6. Funding research to improve treatment of which of the
following infectious diseases would decrease global
death rates the most?
(A) Avian flu
(B) Influenza
(C) HIV
(D) Malaria
(E) SARS
7. Which of the following are characteristics of methyl
mercury?
I. Fat soluble
II. It biomagnifies in food chain
III. Low persistence in aquatic systems
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I and III only
8. This is caused by the biomagnification of mercury in fish.
(A) Minimata disease
(B) Eutrophication
(C) Kwashiorkor
(D) Sediment
(E) Calcium ions
9. Which of the following types of toxic compounds is
most often responsible for causing the growth of
cancerous cells?
(A) Teratogen
(B) Mutagen
(C) Irritant
(D) Allergen
(E) Oxidation agent
10. Farmers in the Midwest United States have discovered
that the local frog population is declining. Scientists
determine this is due to male frogs’ inability to produce
sperm. Which of the following is the likely cause?
(A) Exposure to arsenic from local metal smelting
plants.
(B) Inhalation of inorganic mercury from local power
plant emissions.
(C) High levels of atrazine in the water from
agricultural runoff.
(D) Absorption of high levels of nitric acid through
their skin.
(E) Increasing UV radiation in the Midwest
11. Ecologists have been studying populations in tropical
regions to determine the effects of DDT on aquatic
systems. Which population would you expect to show
the most effects?
(A) Phytoplankton
(B) Small benthic fish
(C) Zooplankton
(D) Larger schooling fish like tuna
(E) Predatory birds like pelicans
12. Which of the following consumer products would most
likely increase your exposure to bisphenol A?
(A) Wood paneling in the home
(B) Imported fruit from tropical regions
(C) Plastic food containers and water bottles
(D) Perfumes and hairsprays
(E) Oil-based paints
13. All of the following are reasons why tuberculosis (TB)
is still a growing threat in developing countries
EXCEPT:
(A) It spreads rapidly from person to person.
(B) There are very few screening and control programs.
(C) Strains of TB bacteria have developed antibiotic
resistance.
(D) People living in crowded conditions increases the
spread of the disease.
(E) There are no effective drugs currently offered to
treat TB.
14. Which statement best illustrates limitations to
determining the toxicities of environmental chemicals?
(A) Humans are not exposed to just one chemical; they
are exposed to a mixture of chemicals that may
produce synergistic effects.
(B) It is too expensive to test toxins that could be
harmful to humans.
(C) The wide genetic variability of humans limits
scientists’ ability to determine toxicity trends for
environmental chemicals.
(D) Recent legislation has limited the amount of animal
testing that can take place.
(E) It is difficult to determine what types of chemicals
humans are exposed to.
16. Which of the following is a likely reason why the
United States could ban DDT without seeing an
increase in malaria cases?
(A) Since the United States is a developed nation there
is adequate access to healthcare to prevent the
disease.
(B) Most children in the United States are vaccinated
against malaria.
(C) The United States does not typically have the genus
of mosquito that carries the Plasmodium parasite.
(D) The United States replaced DDT with another
effective pesticide that keeps mosquito populations
down.
(E) People in developed nations have adequate access
to bug spray preventatives.
17. Scientists determined that the LD-50 for a particular
chemical toxin was a dosage level of 125 milligrams per
kilogram of body mass for a test population of rats.
Assuming that the toxic effect observed in rats is the
same for similar animals of larger size, what dosage level
would be needed to kill 50% of the population of
mammals who typically have a mas of 20kg?
(A) 2.5 g
(B) 25 g
(C) 250g
(D) 2,500g
(E) 25,000g
18. An organic chemical compound that is a known
carcinogen and commonly found in tobacco smoke is
(A) vinyl chloride
(B) phthalate
(C) mercury
(D) radon
(E) benzene
15. Which of the following is an example of a nontransmissible disease that is a leading killer worldwide
and in the United States?
(A) Asthma
(B) Liver disease
(C) HIV
(D) Cardiovascular disease
(E) Genetic disorders
19. Above is a dose-response curve for a toxic chemical.
What might be the units of the x and y axes, respectively,
and what might be calculated from the chart?
(A) Number of organisms; time; population growth
(B) Number of organisms; concentration; strength of
toxin
(C) Dose; percent of organisms dead; safety range of
drug or toxin
(D) Concentration; number of organisms dead; LD50
(E) Dose; population size; disease frequency
20. The greatest factor that contributes to whether or not a
toxicant will magnify in the environment is
(A) solubility
(B) persistence
(C) both solubility and persistence
(D) neither solubility nor persistence
(E) persistence and some other variable
27. The global incidence of infectious diseases is higher
(A) in developed countries compared to developing
nations.
(B) in warmer climates compared to cooler climates.
(C) in middle aged adults compared to children or the
elderly.
(D) than for non-transmissible diseases.
(E) in urban areas than in rural areas.
21. Which of the following is NOT a pathogen?
(A) Botulism bacteria
(B) Cold virus
(C) Malaria mosquito
(D) Athlete’s foot fungus
(E) Protist that causes giardia, an intestinal disorder
22. When arctic caribou begin to retain industrial toxins in
their fat cells, the toxins probably reached the caribou
because of
(A) plate tectonics
(B) local industries
(C) global distillation
(D) vulcanism
(E) radiation
23. This environmental crisis involved the release of toxic
methyl isocyante gas in a densely populated area.
(A) Love Canal
(B) Bhopal Crisis
(C) Exxon Valdez
(D) DDT
(E) Chenobyl
24. Toxicants which have the potential to interfere with the
endocrine system are called
(A) neurotoxins
(B) mutagens
(C) hormonally-active agents
(D) teratogens
(E) allergens
25. Which of the following is NOT caused by a waterborne pathogen?
(A) Schistosomiasis
(B) River blindness
(C) Cholera
(D) Malaria
(E) Giardia
26. Which of the following is an example of a physical
hazard?
(A) UV radiation
(B) coronavirus
(C) cigarette smoking
(D) asbestos
(E) malnutrition
28. Asbestos is a tiny mineral that forms long, thin
microscope fibers that are most often associated with
damage to which organ?
(A) lungs
(B) muscles
(C) brain
(D) skin
(E) liver
29. Researchers report that the threshold dose of a
particular chemical for humans is 1 ppm. This means
that
(A) ingesting a dose higher than 1 ppm will likely result
in death.
(B) this chemical is effectively harmless.
(C) adverse effects from this chemical only occur at
doses above 1 ppm.
(D) half of the population will be harmed by a dose that
greater than 1 ppm.
(E) natural environmental levels of this chemical
typically do not exceed 1 ppm.
30. Which of the following would likely increase the risk of
toxic effects from a chemical substance?
I. increasing the concentration of the chemical
II. increasing the frequency of contact with the
chemical
III. increasing the duration of contact with the
chemical
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I, II, and III
31. Which of the following pieces of legislation provides
the EPA with the authority to assess the risks from
various pesticides and place regulations on their use?
(A) Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938
(B) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act of 1947
(C) Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
(D) Clean Air Act of 1970
(E) Clean Water Act of 1970
32. Which of the following might be the best example of
synergistic effects of toxins?
(A) the roles of nitrate, atrazine and DDT in
reproductive abnormalities of Lake Apopka
alligators
(B) pesticide drift and bioaccumulation
(C) acute vs. chronic exposure of various pollutants
(D) U and inverted U curves and their interaction
with the threshold dose
(E) Minamata disease at Chernobyl
33. Malaria is an example of
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
a physical hazard
a biological hazard
a chemical hazard
a cultural hazard
an ecological hazard
34. Methylmercury was the culprit in Minamata disease.
Which form of toxin is methylmercury?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
carcinogen
halogen
neurotoxin
pathogen
parasite
35. Fetal alcohol syndrome develops when mothers drink
alcohol during pregnancy. Which statement explains
the reason for dramatic effect on the health of the fetus
and minimal or minor effect on the health of the
mother?
(A) The mother’s diet of red meat causes this
problem in the fetus.
(B) Alcoholism is a transmissible disease that affects
the fetus.
(C) The smaller, quickly developing fetus is much
more susceptible to the dose of alcohol than the
mother.
(D) Other potentially fatal conditions in the fetus
cause this syndrome.
(E) Only the father’s alcohol consumption affects the
fetus, not the mother.
36. The US allows _________harmful chemicals into the
consumer marketplace compared to many European
countries, due to their regulative approach of
____________, which relies on__________________ .
(A) fewer, “wait and see”, rigorous EPA/FDA testing
(B) fewer, precautionary principle, rigorous
premarket
(C) more, precautionary principle, extensive
premarket industry self-reporting
(D) more, “innocent until proven guilty”, limited to
no premarket testing and then recall and rigorous
testing after problems are discovered
(E) similar numbers of, risk assessment, LD50 testing
on all industrial compounds.
37. Which of these is NOT a member of the Stockholm
Convention on POPs “dirty dozen”?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
DDT
PCBs
Dioxins
mercury
several other pesticides
38. Pollutants produced in warmer, temperate,
industrialized countries become concentrated in the
bodies of polar bears and Inuit Eskimos in the arctic.
This is a phenomenon which depends upon which of
the following?
(A) higher atmospheric evaporation rates in the
temperate regions.
(B) higher atmospheric deposition rates in the arctic
regions.
(C) atmospheric and oceanic currents transport
chemicals to the arctic.
(D) bioaccumulation and biomagnification
concentrate the chemicals in organisms at the top
of the food chain.
(E) all of the above contribute to the phenomenon of
global distillation.
39. Select the reason for the toxicity of dioxin.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
It is easily biodegradable.
It is persistent in the environment.
The LD50 is set at 100mg/kg
The daily dose is eliminated by the excretory
system.
(E) It causes thin egg shells in birds and reptiles.
40. An earthquake is an example of
(A) a physical hazard.
(B) a biological hazard.
(C) a chemical hazard.
(D) a cultural hazard.
(E) an ecological hazard.
41. Which of the following agents is a pathogen?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
PBDEs
DDT
POPs
Flavivirus
mosquitoes
42. Identifying the real or potential hazard, and determining
its probability and severity of impact are part of
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
LD50
risk assessment
toxicology
bioaccumulation
threshold level of toxicity
43. Which of the following statements explains why
someone who eats healthy food and does not smoke
may still develop lung cancer?
(A) Cancer only develops in older men after they
retire.
(B) Some people are genetically predisposed to lung
cancer.
(C) The threshold level of toxicity is not reached until
one abandons a healthy diet.
(D) Lung cancer occurs in predominately active,
healthy individuals.
(E) Lung cancer results from infection following a
hospital stay.
44. Select the reason that best explains why Guinea worm
disease is not a problem in developed countries.
(A) The main health risk in developed countries is
from chronic illnesses of old age.
(B) The LD50 of Guinea worm disease is higher in
developed countries.
(C) People have access to high quality health care to
treat this disease in developed countries.
(D) The water supply in developed countries is not
contaminated by the vector of this disease.
(E) Citizens of developed countries are routinely
vaccinated against Guinea worm infection.
45. Select the infection that has resulted from resistance to
standard antibiotics.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
MRSA
flu
HIV
Cholera
yellow fever
46. One human health consequence of rising global
temperatures is
(A) Mountain regions may be inundated with
increased infections.
(B) Diseases spread by vectors will become less
common.
(C) HIV will become resistant to traditional therapy.
(D) Influenza outbreaks may follow airline traffic.
(E) Tropical diseases will spread into new areas.
ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
B
B
A
E
A
B
D
A
B
C
E
C
E
A
D
C
A
E
C
C
C
C
B
C
D
A
B
A
C
E
B
A
B
C
C
D
D
E
B
A
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
D
B
B
D
A
E