1. Which of the following people is INCORRECTLY matched with his/her environmental contribution?

A. Rachel Carson: Silent Spring
B. John Muir: Sierra Club
C. Paul Ehrlich: The Population Bomb
D. Theodore Roosevelt: Civilian Conservation Corps

Answer; D. Theodore Roosevelt: Civilian Conservation Corps

2. DDT was sprayed in a Long Island salt marsh over a period of years for mosquito control. A portion of the food web is as follows:

algae -> shrimp-> American eel -> Atlantic needlefish -> ring-billed gull

In which organism would biological magnification be MOST evident?

A. American eel

B. Ring-billed gull

C. Algae

D. Shrimp

Answer; B. Ring-billed gull

3. Which of the following statements about biogeochemical cycles is true?

A.They only include processes conducted by or within living organisms.
B.They pertain only to the abiotic environment.
C.They describe the movement of water and other materials through an ecosystem.
D.They only pertain to exchanges and interactions that occur within the atmosphere.

Answer; C.They describe the movement of water and other materials through an ecosystem.

4. Which of the following would be a symptom of acute toxicity?

A. asthma

B. arthritis

C. dizziness

D. cancer

Answer; C. dizziness

5. Which of the following series is organized in successive steps according to the levels of organization used by ecologists?

A. population -> ecosystem -> community
B. population -> community -> ecosystem
C. species -> community -> biosphere
D. species -> ecosystem -> population

Answer; B. population -> community -> ecosystem

6. Corporations and governments began to take NEPA seriously after which of the following events?

A. Further legislation was added to strengthen NEPA.
B. The publication of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring.
C. The creation of the EPA.
D. Environmental groups began suing individuals and organizations based on environmental impact statements.

Answer; D. Environmental groups began suing individuals and organizations based on environmental impact statements.

7. The most common method of determining whether a chemical causes cancer is to expose groups of laboratory animals, such as rats, to various large doses and count how many animals develop cancer at the different levels. All of the following are problems with this approach in terms of understanding the health risks to humans EXCEPT:

A. This method is indirect and uncertain as human and rats are different organisms and may respond differently to exposure to the same chemical.

B. For expediting the research process, in lab settings rats are exposed to massive doses of suspected carcinogens relative to body size whereas humans are usually exposed to much lower amounts.

C. For ethical reasons, rats in lab settings are given very small doses of suspected carcinogens relative to body size whereas humans are usually exposed to much higher amounts

D. Risk assessment assumes that we can extrapolate from studies in rats to determine the expected rates of cancer in humans but extrapolating from one species to another and from one dose level to another is uncertain and may overestimate or underestimate a toxicant’s danger.

Answer; C. For ethical reasons, rats in lab settings are given very small doses of suspected carcinogens relative to body size whereas humans are usually exposed to much higher amounts

8. How might the clearing of roads and pristine areas like the one shown below lead to an increase in infectious disease?

Graphic

A. Cars on the road can carry the diseases to cities.
B. Typhoid and cholera can spread from wild animals to drinking water.
C. The creation of drainage ditches provides habitat for disease carrying mosquitoes.
D. There is an increased risk of sewage leaking into the water supply.

Answer; C.The creation of drainage ditches provides habitat for disease carrying mosquitoes.

9. Which of the following statements BEST describes emerging diseases like swine flu?

A. Infectious diseases that were not previously found in humans and typically jump from an animal host to humans.
B. Infectious diseases that existed in the past but for a variety of reasons are increasing in incidence.
C. Infectious diseases that were previously found in humans and typically jump from a human host to animals.
D. Non-infectious diseases that have transformed into infectious diseases.

Answer; C. Infectious diseases that were previously found in humans and typically jump from a human host to animals.

10. Which of the following statements about dose-response curves is FALSE?

A. A dose-response curve shows the effect of different doses of a toxicant on a population.
B. Doses lower than the threshold level will have no measurable effect on organisms.
C. The smaller the LD50, the more toxic the chemical.
D. Studies of the dose-response curves of toxicants gives us assurance that for all chemicals there is a threshold level of the chemical so small amounts of chemical pollution pose no health risks.

Answer; A. A dose-response curve shows the effect of different doses of a toxicant on a population.

11. Who wrote Man and Nature, one of the first books discussing human impact on global environmental change?

A. Paul Ehrlich
B. Rachel Carson
C. George Perkins Marsh
D. John Muir

Answer; C. George Perkins Marsh

12. Chemical A has a toxicity level of 1 and chemical B has a toxicity level of 2. If a mixture of the two chemicals has a toxicity level of 4, what can we say about the results of the mixture?

A. it was additive.
B. it was persistent.
C. it was synergistic.
D. it was antagonistic.

Answer; C. it was synergistic.

13. Which of the following criticisms or backlash against the environmental movement in the 20th century are TRUE?

1. In the late 1990s some conservative research groups criticized what they perceived as a biased presentation of environmental issues, particularly the promotion of environmental activism, in schools.
2. Many economists such as Julian Simon have countered the dangers of overpopulation by pointing out that technological advances outpace the negative impacts of population growth.
3. Most of the world’s religions have rejected environmental themes by pointing out that such ideas are contrary to their religious teachings.
A. 1 and 2
B. 2 only
C. 1 only
D. 3 only

Answer; C. 1 only

14. Which of the following processes plays an important role in the phosphorus cycle?

A. erosion
B. nitrogen fixation
C. combustion
D. cellular respiration

Answer; A. erosion

15. The nitrogen cycle is one of the most important and complex of the biogeochemical cycles. Why is nitrogen important?

A. It’s an Ozone depleting gas.
B. It’s an essential part of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids (DNA)
C. It’s the most toxic element to living organisms
D. Nitrogen dilutes the oxygen in the atmosphere causing respiratory problems

Answer; B. It’s an essential part of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids (DNA)

16. Herbivores are:

A. primary consumers
B. secondary consumers
C. decomposers
D. scavengers

Answer; A. primary consumers

17. Which of the following statements about malaria is FALSE:

A. Road clearing in the Amazon has disrupted the natural environment and created habitat for the mosquito larvae to thrive.
B. Mosquitoes do not cause malaria but are the agents of transmission of the disease.
C. It is a non-transmittable disease caused by synthetic chemicals.
D. It is an infectious disease caused by a protozoan parasite.

Answer; C. It is a non-transmittable disease caused by synthetic chemicals.

18. Which of the following would environmental economists consider natural capital?

A. Water purification by a cattail marsh.
B. A water treatment facility.
C. Increased agriculture made possible by irrigation.
D. A severe hurricane like Katrina.

Answer; A. Water purification by a cattail marsh.

19. The soil conservation service was formed after what environmental crisis?

A. soil contamination by toxic waste at love Canal in the 1970s.
B. severe erosion following windstorms in the 1930s.
C. mudslides in California following the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906.
D. severe erosion following forest fires in Yellowstone National Park in the 1980s.

Answer; B. severe erosion following windstorms in the 1930s.

20. Photosynthesis is:

A. A physical law, which states that when energy is converted from one form to another, some of it is degraded into heat, a less usable form that disperses into the environment.
B. The biological process that captures light energy and transforms it into the chemical energy of organic molecules, which are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water.
C. The measure of the amount of usable energy available to do work in the universe.
D. The process that involves potential energy being converted to kinetic energy.

Answer; B.The biological process that captures light energy and transforms it into the chemical energy of organic molecules, which are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water.

21. National income accounts are incomplete estimates of national economic performance because national income accounts do NOT include;

A. gross domestic product
B. net domestic product
C. estimates of imported goods and services
D. estimates of external costs such as natural resource depletion and the environmental cost of economic activities.

Answer; D. estimates of external costs such as natural resource depletion and the environmental cost of economic activities.

22. Which of the following is an endocrine disrupter?

A. CFCs
B. mercury
C. ozone
D. carbon dioxide

Answer; B. mercury

23. We measure toxicity by the dose at which adverse effects are produced. Which of the following statements about the dose of and response to toxic agents are true?

A. Lethal doses of particular toxicants for humans are known through doing laboratory tests on human subjects.
B. Doses are expressed in milligrams of toxicant per kilogram of body weight.
C. Sub-lethal doses usually produce acute toxicity whereas lethal doses produce chronic toxicity.
D. Response to a dose depends only on the type of toxicant and not the age or health of the organism.

Answer; B.Doses are expressed in milligrams of toxicant per kilogram of body weight.

24. Why have some plants evolved mutualistic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

A. The bacteria utilize nitrogen to produce energy for the plants; the plants provide the source of the nitrogen for the bacteria.
B. The bacteria transform nitrogen into forms useful forms for the plants; the plants provide water and a place for the bacteria to live.
C. The bacteria protect the plant from harmful effects of nitrogen compounds such as ammonia; the plants provide carbohydrates for the bacteria.
D. The bacteria provide natural immunities to the plants; the plants shelter the bacteria from predators.

Answer; B. The bacteria transform nitrogen into forms useful forms for the plants; the plants provide water and a place for the bacteria to live.

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