PATTERNS AND PROCESSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

CHAPTER QUIZ

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1.  Some biogeographers suggest the next great extinction may be caused by:

  a. animals

  b. meteors

  c. humans

  d. insects

2.  Traditional as well as modern societies have had devastating impacts on their:

  a. cultural landscape

  b. ecosystems

  c. economies

  d. history

3.  Over the last 500 years both the rate and scale of human modification of the physical environment has increased dramatically is every way except:

  a. The cutting of trees

  b. Emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, and spilling oil into the oceans

  c. Dumping vast amounts of garbage into the oceans and use of pesticides in farming

  d. slash and burn agriculture

4.  Nearly  ?  of all freshwater used annually by all humanity is used in farming

  a. one-quarter

  b. one-third

  c. one-half

  d. three-quarters

5. Industry worldwide uses  ?   percent of available water?

  a. 10

  b. 20

  c. 30

  d. 50

6.  One of the great ecological disasters of the twentieth century has occurred in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in which water has been diverted from streams feeding the  ?  for irrigation.

  a. Red Sea

  b. Crimean Sea

  c. Black Sea

 d. Aral Sea

7.  The atmosphere does all of the following except:

  a. Provide oxygen and moderates temperatures

  b. Shield us from the destructive rays of the sun

  c. Carries moisture from the land over the oceans

  d. Posses an amazing self-cleaning capacity

8.   ?  pollution enhances the Earth's heat retention causing global warming

  a. Tropospheric

  b. Greenhouse gas

  c. Fossil fuel

  d. all of the above

9.   Which of the following does NOT occur when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from burning fossil fuel forming acid rain?

  a. Acidified lakes and streams causing fish kills

  b. Forests become stunted in their growth

  c. People are burned severely due to catastrophic climatic patterns

  d. Corrosion of buildings and monuments is worsened and accelerated

10.  People have affected their environment adversely in all of the following ways except:

  a. deforestation

  b. conservation

  c. desertification

  d. soil erosion

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

1.  Natural expansion and contraction has effected the world’s deserts for a long time (TF)

2.  Middle and lower latitude forests play a critical role in the oxygen cycle (TF)

3.  One cause for soil erosion is due to farmers cultivating steep slopes without terraces, and plowing dry lands (TF)

4.  China is the most prolific producer of solid waste (TF)

5.  A common problem in poorer countries is that waste dumps allow vermin to multiply and decomposition sends methane gas into the air, and rain and waste liquids carry contaminants into the groundwater (TF)

6.  The United States , the European Union, and Japan export solid wastes to Africa , Middle and South America , and East Asia (TF)

7.  High level radioactive wastes are produced solely by nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons factories, and will remain radioactive for thousand of years and must be stored in remote locales (TF)

8.  The actual total number of species on Earth is around 1.75 million. (TF)

9.  We know over 650 species of plants and over 480 animals have become extinct in the last 400 years (TF)

10.  One of the main problems with the introduction of new species to a different region by humans is that the new species may cause extinctions by preying upon native species or competing with them (TF)

STUDY QUESTIONS

1.              Discuss water’s place in terms of ecological problems and international politics.

2.              Discuss two ways in which the atmosphere may be polluted.

3.              Discuss three ways in which the land itself may be polluted.

4.              Discuss the danger in loss of biodiversity with respect to food, raw materials, and medicines.