Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. The four main types of hazards include all of the following except
a. biological hazards. b. physical hazards. c. global hazards. d. chemical hazards. e. None of these answers.
____ 2. All of the following are considered to be cultural hazards except
a. smoking. b. drought. c. drugs. d. diet. e. unsafe sex.
____ 3. All of the following are considered to be biological hazards except
a. pollen. b. parasites. c. diet. d. bacteria. e. bees.
____ 4. A transmissible disease is least likely to be caused by a
a. bacterium. b. hazardous chemical. c. virus. d. parasite. e. protozoa.
____ 5. All of the following are transmissible diseases except
a. diabetes. b. pneumonia. c. diarrhea. d. tuberculosis. e. AIDS.
____ 6. Which of the following infectious diseases is not among the four most deadly?
a. acute respiratory infections b. mumps c. malaria d. tuberculosis e. AIDS
____ 7. Which of the following choices makes the statement false? Bacteria
a. can develop resistance to antibiotics. b. are K-strategists. c. have a high reproductive rate. d. are highly adaptable species. e. are r-selected species.
____ 8. The incidence of tuberculosis is increasing because
a. strains of the TB bacterium have developed resistance to antibiotics. b. increased population size and the advanced age of the population. c. weakened immune systems from the spread of AIDS. d. poverty. e. All of these answers.
____ 9. Vaccines can help prevent all of the following diseases except
a. polio. b. rabies. c. AIDS. d. measles. e. mumps.
____ 10. Malaria is caused by
a. viruses. b. bacteria. c. Plasmodium parasites. d. parasitic worms. e. mosquitoes.
____ 11. Malaria is spread by
a. Anopheles mosquitoes. b. flies. c. worms. d. snails. e. bacteria.
____ 12. Incidence of malaria has increased since 1970 because
a. organisms causing malaria developed resistance to drugs. b. the vectors developed resistance to insecticides. c. reservoirs from hydropower have increased. d. All of these answers. e. None of these answers.
____ 13. The strategy leastrecommended for preventing incidence of malaria is
a. increasing water flow in irrigation systems. b. using mosquito nets dipped in permethrin. c. spraying heavier doses of DDT on swamps and estuaries. d. cultivating fish that feed on mosquito larvae. e. increasing public education.
____ 14. The world’s top five deadliest diseases correctly arranged in order from most to least deadly are
a. HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, influenza, diarrhea. b. malaria, diarrhea, influenza, HIV, tuberculosis. c. influenza, HIV, malaria, diarrhea, tuberculosis. d. HIV, influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea. e. influenza, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, diarrhea.
____ 15. The principal types of chemical hazards include all of the following except
a. toxic and hazardous substances. b. mutagens. c. teratogens. d. zymogens. e. carcinogens.
____ 16. Hazardous chemicals include
a. strong acids. b. asphyxiants. c. allergens. d. strong bases. e. All of these answers.
____ 17. The effects of neurotoxins can result in all of the following except
a. behavioral changes. b. learning disabilities. c. hair loss. d. attention deficit disorder. e. death.
____ 18. DDT, PCBs, atrazine, bisphenol-A, and phthalates are all examples of
a. insecticides. b. hormonally active agents. c. estrogens. d. androgens. e. plastic additives.
____ 19. You have been studying a large lake ecosystem. You learn that PCBs have been dumped into the water. You predict that the most affected population would be the
a. algae. b. small fish. c. predatory birds. d. zooplankton. e. phytoplankton.
____ 20. Match the statement with the best term listed. Refers to the amount of a substance a person ingests, inhales, or absorbs through the skin.
a. bioaccumulation. b. biomagnification. c. persistence. d. response. e. dose.
____ 21. Match the statement with the best term listed. Relates to the amount of a potentially toxic substance as it passes through food chains and webs.
a. bioaccumulation. b. biomagnification. c. persistence. d. response. e. dose.
____ 22. Match the statement with the best term listed. The term that is given to the type and amount of health damage that occurs from exposure to a chemical or other agent.
a. bioaccumulation. b. biomagnification. c. persistence. d. response. e. dose.
____ 23. Match the statement with the best term listed. Relates to the fact that some molecules are absorbed and stored in specific organs or tissues at higher than normal levels.
a. bioaccumulation. b. biomagnification. c. persistence. d. response. e. dose.
____ 24. Match the statement with the best term listed. The term that is used to refer to chemicals that are resistant to breakdown and have long-lasting harmful effects on the health of wildlife and people.
a. bioaccumulation. b. biomagnification. c. persistence. d. response. e. dose.
____ 25. Which of the following are your body’s mechanisms for reducing the harmful effects of some chemicals?
I.
Break down, dilution, or excretion.
II.
Enzymes repair DNA damage.
III.
Fast cell reproduction to replace damaged cells.
a. I only b. II only c. I and III only d. II and III only e. I, II, and III
____ 26. A person receiving background radiation from a low-level radioactive dump site for a lifetimes has experienced
a. a chronic exposure. b. a subchronic exposure. c. an acute exposure. d. a subacute exposure. e. a superacute exposure.
____ 27. A person flying over the Chernobyl site two days after the explosion most probably experienced ____ to radioactive substances.
a. a chronic exposure b. a subchronic exposure c. an acute exposure d. a subacute exposure e. a superacute exposure
____ 28. What law was implemented in reaction to Love Canal?
a. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act b. Toxic Substances Control Act c. Superfund d. The Lacey Act e. None of the above.
____ 29. Over half of U.S. municipal solid waste is
a. recycled. b. incinerated. c. dumped in landfills. d. composted. e. buried.
____ 30. The recycling/composting rate of U.S. municipal solid waste is about
a. 5%. b. 10%. c. 20%. d. 30%. e. 40%.
____ 31. Taking a refillable coffee cup to the office and using it instead of throwaway cups is an example of ____.
a. Refuse b. Reduce c. Reuse d. Repurpose e. Recycle
____ 32. The most energy-efficient beverage container on the market is
a. refillable glass. b. recyclable aluminum. c. stainless steel. d. recyclable plastic. e. Carton.
____ 33. At the checkout counter, an environmentalist is most likely to
a. say “plastic please.” b. say “paper please.” c. say “I brought my own bag.” d. walk out of the store. e. say “either plastic or paper.”
____ 34. Compost can help restore
a. eroded hillsides. b. overgrazed areas. c. strip-mined lands. d. All of these answers. e. None of these answers.
____ 35. Obstacles to recycling in the United States include
a. lack of inclusion of environmental costs in market prices. b. tax breaks for mining virgin materials. c. lack of large, steady markets for recycled materials. d. All of these answers. e. None of these answers.
____ 36. Incinerators
a. create many low-paying jobs. b. are inexpensive to build. c. are inexpensive to operate and maintain. d. release toxic substances in fly ash and bottom ash. e. create few high paying jobs.
____ 37. Components of a modern state-of-the-art landfill include
a. wells to monitor potential contamination of groundwater. b. collection, storage, and treatment of leachate. c. a cover to prevent water from seeping in when the landfill is full. d. methane gas recovery well. e. All of these answers.
____ 38. A waste is considered hazardous if it possesses one of four properties. Which of the following is notone of those properties?
a. flammable b. unstable c. soluble d. corrosive e. carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic.
____ 39. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
a. requires the EPA to set standards for hazardous-waste management. b. requires all firms that handle more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month to have a permit stating how such wastes are to be managed. c. provides guidelines and financial aid to establish state waste management programs. d. All of these answers. e. None of these answers.
____ 40. The Superfund program pays
a. to clean up inactive or abandoned hazardous-waste dump sites. b. to monitor hazardous wastes. c. for testing for lead in paint, water, and air samples. d. the doctors’ bills and lawyers’ fees for pollution events. e. All of these answers.
____ 41. Enforcement of Superfund has failed because
a. polluters deny responsibility. b. polluting businesses campaign that toxic dumps are not that threatening. c. big polluters sue local governments and small businesses to make them responsible for cleanup. d. of all the above reasons. e. of none of the above reasons.
____ 42. Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a plasma torch to detoxify hazardous waste?
a. mobility b. toxic ash production c. cost d. production of SO.0/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png”> gas e. low energy use
____ 43. Deep-well injection of hazardous wastes can result in contamination of groundwater by
a. surface wastes leaching down. b. leaking seals. c. earthquake fractures. d. All of these answers. e. None of these answers.
____ 44. Of the following methods of reducing hazardous wastes, the most desirable is
a. incineration. b. conversion to less hazardous materials. c. perpetual storage. d. deposit in ocean trenches. e. recycling and reusing hazardous wastes.
____ 45. Phytoremediation
a. uses bacteria to detoxify hazardous wastes. b. uses plants to remove contaminants. c. may be especially useful in removing acidic contaminants. d. may be especially useful in removing organic contaminants. e. uses fungi to detoxify hazardous wastes.
____ 46. Lead may cause
a. partial paralysis. b. mental retardation. c. palsy. d. neurological damage. e. All of these answers.
____ 47. Of the following sources of lead in the United States, the one that probably causes the least problems is
a. chewing on pencils. b. atmospheric lead that settles on the ground. c. paints used in older buildings. d. lead solder from seamed food cans. e. lead glazing in ceramic ware used to serve food.
____ 48. Mercury acts as a(an) ____.
a. carcinogen b. neurotoxin c. allergen d. mutagen e. poison