1) Average global temperatures have risen by approximately how much over the 20th century?
a. 0 °C
b. 1 °C
c. 3 °C
d. 5 °C
2) By how much do scientists estimate that global sea level rose in the 20th century?
a. Zero
b. 6-9 inches
c. 3-4 feet
d. 21-23 feet
3) Why is Earth warm enough to support life?
a. Infrared radiation leaving Earth’s surface is absorbed by gases in the lower atmosphere.
b. Radiation from the sun is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere.
c. X-rays and gamma rays excite gas molecules in the lower atmosphere.
4) Peak solar irradiance (what is emitted by the sun) occurs in which wavelengths?
a. Infrared
b. Gamma
c. Microwave
d. Visible
5) Peak Earth irradiance occurs in which wavelengths?
a. Infrared
b. Gamma
c. Microwave
d. Visible
6) A greenhouse gas is one that
a. Absorbs shortwave/visible radiation
b. Absorbs longwave/infrared radiation
c. Reflects shortwave/visible radiation
d. Reflects longwave/infrared radiation
7) Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
a. Carbon dioxide
b. Chlorofluorocarbons
c. Nitrogen
d. Water vapor
8) Without the atmosphere’s natural greenhouse effect, Earth’s temperature would be
a. 10-20 °C warmer
b. 30-40 °C warmer
c. 10-20 °C cooler
d. 30-40 °C cooler
9) Stabilizing CO2 emissions is equivalent to stabilizing its concentrations.
a. True
b. False
c. Insufficient information
10) The ozone layer (“good” ozone) is located in the
a. mesosphere
b. stratosphere
c. thermosphere
d. troposphere
11) Ground-level “bad” ozone is located in the
a. mesosphere
b. stratosphere
c. thermosphere
d. troposphere
12) The Chapman mechanism describes the balance of
a. O, O2, O3
b. O2, CO, CO2
c. O3, CFCs
d. O3, OH, HO2
13) In atmospheric chemistry, a heterogeneous reaction occurs with
a. a compound and M
b. a compound and UV light
c. a gas and a solid
d. a radical and a non-radical
14) Which of the following is directly responsible for the catalytic destruction of ozone?
a. CCl3F
b. Cl
c. Cl2
d. ClONO2
15) Which of the following is a form of inactive chlorine?
a. CCl3F
b. Cl
c. Cl2
d. ClONO2
16) Which of the following is a form of active chlorine?
a. CCl3F
b. Cl
c. Cl2
d. ClONO2
17) The severity of the Antarctic ozone hole is worst during the Southern Hemisphere
a. winter
b. spring
c. summer
d. fall
18) You drink 1 L of water containing 2 ppb of lead. This is an example of
a. hazard identification
b. dose-response assessment
c. exposure assessment
d. risk characterization
19) Which term is used to characterize the toxicity of carcinogens?
a. hazard index
b. lowest observed effect level
c. potency factor
d. reference dose
20) Uncertainty factors in calculating the reference dose (RfD) account for all of the following EXCEPT
a. bioconcentration
b. interspecies variation
c. intraspecies variation
d. lack of human data
21) The unit of “ppm” in a liquid solution refers to
a. mass per mass
b. mass per volume
c. moles per mass
d. moles per volume
22) 1 ppm =
a.
b.
c.
d.
0.001 ppb
0.001 ppt
1000 ppb
1000 ppt
23) In a liquid solution, 1 ppm =
a. 1 g/L
b. 1 mg/L
c. 1 g/L
d. 1 kg/L
24) Natural rainwater in unpolluted areas is
a. Acidic
b. Basic
c. Neutral
25) In an acidic solution
a. [H+] > [OH-]
b. [H+] = [OH-]
c. [H+] < [OH-]
d. Not enough information
26) Which pollutant may be responsible for algal blooms in surface water?
a. Heat
b. Nitrogen
c. Oxygen demanding waste
d. Pesticides
27) Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a measure of
a. Metals
b. Nitrogen and phosphorous
c. Oxygen demanding waste
d. Salts
28) Given Henry’s constant and the partial pressure of oxygen (O2), a measure of its concentration in air, you
can calculate the
a. Oxygen demanding waste
b. Concentration of dissolved O2 in water
c. Total amount of pollution in water
d. Total suspended solids
29) You fill a bottle with water from the Duck Pond and leave it sitting in your backpack for 10 days. Which of
the following is true?
a. DO at 10 days > initial DO
b. DO at 10 days < initial DO
c. DO at 10 days = initial DO
d. Not enough information
30) Over the course of a BOD test, what happens to the concentration of organic matter?
a. increases
b. remains constant
c. decreases
31) What order reaction does the graph show?
a. 0th
b. 1st
c. 2nd
d. 1st and 2nd
32) What order reaction does the graph show?
a. 0th
b. 1st
c. 2nd
d. Not enough information
33) Which type of reactor has no flow through it?
a. Batch
b. Continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR)
c. Plug flow reactor (PFR)
34) Decay of pollutants in the environment is most typically modeled as what order reaction?
a. Zeroth
b. First
c. Second
d. Third
35) D is the
a.
b.
c.
d.
difference between DOsat and DO
DO at the critical point
initial deficit plus the minimum DO
minimum DO
36) The critical point is where
a. Some effluent mixes with the river
b. DO is lowest
c. DO is highest
d. DO is saturated
37) In predicting oxygen sag in a river, what type of model is applied at the initial mixing point?
a. Batch
b. Continuously mixed stirred tank (CSTR)
c. Plug flow reactor (PFR)
38) In predicting oxygen sag in a river, what type of model is applied downstream of the mixing point?
a. Batch
b. Continuously mixed stirred tank (CSTR)
c. Plug flow reactor (PFR)
39) The solubility product describes equilibrium between the
a. acid and base
b. aqueous and gaseous phases
c. aqueous and solid phases
d. gaseous and solid phases
40) If KAB is the solubility product of compound AB, what can we say if [A][B] < KAB?
a. the solid AB is present
b. the solid AB is not present
c. not enough information
41) Is the following relationship possible: [A][B] > KAB?
a. yes
b. no
c. it depends
42) Deoxygenation of lakes leading to a soupy green appearance is due to
a. overfertilization of adjoining crop lands
b. nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the lake
c. fertilizer dumped directly into the lake
d. the decline in decomposers in the lake
43) The first to die off because of lack of oxygen are most likely to be the
a. algae
b. bass
c. carp
d. catfish
44) All of the following are true about algal blooms EXCEPT they:
a. are the result of run-off of fertilizer from adjacent lands
b. will lead to an increase in decomposition
c. will lead to an increase in the amount of dissolved oxygen present
d. will often cover large amounts of the surface of the lake
45) Eutrophication is due mainly to
a. low pH
b. high pH
c. excess nutrients
d. insufficient nutrients
46) It is valid to apply a CSTR model to a lake during the
a. spring and summer
b. spring and fall
c. spring and winter
d. summer and winter
47) How does the actual/linear velocity compare to the Darcy velocity?
a. actual velocity is higher
b. actual velocity is lower
c. it depends
48) If you get your water from a well, it comes from the
a. capillary fringe
b. saturated zone
c. unsaturated zone
d. water table
49) Which type of porous media has the highest porosity?
a. clay
b. gravel
c. sand
50) Darcy’s Law relates flow rate to the
a. Darcy velocity
b. hydraulic gradient
c. porosity
d. water table
51) Where would you expect to find a DNAPL underground?
a. mixed throughout the unsaturated zone
b. at the bottom of the unsaturated zone
c. mixed throughout the saturated zone
d. at the bottom of the saturated zone
52) Coagulation and flocculation work by all of the following mechanisms except
a. neutralization of surface charge
b. growth of a precipitate
c. rapid mixing
53) A sedimentation basin can best be modeled by what type of reactor?
a. batch reactor
b. continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR)
c. plug flow reactor (PFR)
54) What is the correct order of processes in a typical water treatment plant?
a. sedimentation, coagulation/flocculation, disinfection, filtration
b. disinfection, filtration, coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation
c. coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection
55) During which stage of water treatment might alum be added?
a. coagulation/flocculation
b. disinfection
c. filtration
d. sedimentation
56) Which water quality problem is usually unique to groundwater?
a. arsenic
b. Cryptosporidium
c. hardness
d. trihalomethanes
57) Which of the following is NOT used as a disinfectant in water treatment?
a. calcium carbonate
b. chloramines
c. chlorine
d. ozone
e. UV
58) Which disinfectant provides a residual?
a. chlorine
b. ozone
c. UV
59) Which disinfectant provides a residual?
a. chlorine
b. ozone
c. UV
60) Which disinfectant provides a residual?
a. chlorine
b. ozone
c. UV
61) Which term refers to the wastewater constituents that can be retained by a filter?
a. suspended solids
b. total dissolved solids
c. total Kjeldahl nitrogen
d. volatile solids
62) Which term refers to a surrogate measure of the concentration of microorganisms in wastewater?
a. suspended solids
b. total dissolved solids
c. total Kjeldahl nitrogen
d. volatile suspended solids
63) Which of the following is an example of “suspended growth treatment,” in which the microorganisms are
suspended rather than attached?
a. activated sludge
b. rotating biological contactor
c. primary clarifier
d. trickling filter
64) Which of the following is not a part of an activated sludge process?
a. aeration
b. clarifier
c. coagulant dosing
d. return sludge line
65) Which step is mainly a physical process?
a. primary treatment
b. secondary treatment
c. sludge treatment
66) What is the main purpose of anaerobic digestion?
a. BOD reduction
b. grit removal
c. stabilization of solids
d. VSS reduction
67) Which of the following is NOT a criteria pollutant?
a. CO
b. CO2
c. O3
d. NO2
e. PM2.5
68) Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the sum of
a. N2 + NO + NO2
b. NO + NO2
c. NO + N2O
d. NO2 + N2O
69) In PM2.5, the “2.5” refers to
a. Particles larger than 2.5 µm
b. Particles larger than 2.5 mm
c. Particles less than 2.5 µg
d. Particles smaller than 2.5 µm
e. Particles smaller than 2.5 mm
70) Carbon monoxide originates mainly from
a. Combustion of fuels
b. Oxidation of carbon dioxide
c. Secondary reactions
d. Wind-blown sources
71) All of the following criteria pollutants cause respiratory irritation EXCEPT
a. Carbon monoxide
b. Ozone
c. Nitrogen dioxide
d. Particulate matter
e. Sulfur dioxide
72) Which criteria pollutant has both primary and secondary sources
a. Carbon monoxide
b. Lead
c. Ozone
d. Particulate matter
e. Sulfur dioxide
73) You look up one day and notice that the VT power plant’s plume is very narrow. The atmosphere is most
likely
a. neutral
b. stable
c. unstable
74) You look up one day and notice that the VT power plant’s plume is very dispersed and uneven. The
atmosphere is most likely
a. neutral
b. stable
c. unstable
75) Warmer air on top of cooler air is considered to be a/an
a. adiabatic lapse rate
b. inversion
c. neutral
76) The Gaussian plume equation is used to predict
a. concentrations in space
b. concentrations in time
c. emissions
d. violations of the NAAQS
77) In the Gaussian plume equation, Q is the
a. emission rate
b. turbulent diffusivity
c. volume flow rate
d. wind velocity
78) The dispersion coefficients are largest under what type of conditions?
a. neutral
b. stable
c. unstable
d. it depends
79) Radon comes from
a. cosmic rays
b. nuclear waste
c. reactions involving ozone
d. soil and water
80) Which device can be used to reduce SO2 emissions?
a. baghouse filter
b. cyclone
c. electrostatic precipitator
d. scrubber