Environmental Science 102 Exam Bank 5

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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Energy efficiency is a measure of:
1. heat produced by a barrel of fuel
2. energy stored in a unit of fuel
3. energy produced compared to energy consumed
4. total energy consumed
5. energy used per unit of time
Net energy yield differs from energy efficiency in that net yield takes into account:
1. lifetime energy costs of equipment, infrastructure, and disposal
2. energy lost in conversion from heat to electricity
3. energy saved in waste heat capture
4. lifetime energy consumption of all users of the energy produced by a plant or generator
5. energy lost in conversion from one form to another form
A glass greenhouse on the south side of a building is an example of:
1. parabolic collection
2. an active solar heating system
3. passive heat absorption
4. eutectic heat exchange
Photovoltaic cells work because solar energy striking their surface:
1. separates electrons from parent atoms, causing an electric potential in attached wires
2. is collected in the form of photons and sent through attached wires
3. causes an uneven magnetic charge to develop
4. changes to chemical energy
Renewable energy makes up about 18% of total world energy use. Biomass comprises of that supply.
1. 5%
2. 10%
3. 25%
4. 50%
5. 75%
Active solar energy systems involve:
1. large volumes of massive heat absorbers
2. pumps and moving fluids
3. photovoltaic cells
4. stationary materials to gather and hold heat
Manure or dung makes a good fuel except that it is:
1. scarce
2. not clean
3. needed to rebuild the soil
4. difficult to burn
Solar energy potential is greatest in which of the following areas?
1. Gulf Coast states
2. New England states
3. Desert Southwest states
4. Pacific Northwest states
5. Texas Panhandle area
Burning methane from dung:
1. is more efficient than burning the dung directly
2. provides more heat than burning the dung directly
3. allows the dung to also be used as a fertilizer
4. all of the above
Since the 1920s, hydropower production in the U.S. has:
1. risen, but not as fast as fossil fuel use
2. fallen due to disinterest
3. fallen due to a lack of available sites
4. stayed about the same
The total world production of hydropower is currently equal to percent of the total world potential.
1. 100
2. 70
3. 50
4. 25
5. 10
The largest current users (per capita) of electricity generated from hydropower are:
1. Canada, Norway, Brazil, Switzerland
2. Norway, Brazil, Switzerland, New Zealand
3. Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, New Zealand
4. Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Norway
5. New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Brazil
The world’s largest producer of electricity generated from hydropower is:
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Norway
4. New Zealand
The largest dam in the world, which is currently under construction, is found on the:
1. Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay
2. Nile River in Egypt
3. Yangtze River in China
4. Po River in China
5. Mississippi River in the U.S.
In the U.S., windmills played a critical role in the settlement of:
1. Appalachia
2. central California
3. the Great Plains
4. the Rocky Mountains
5. the Northeast
The world’s largest wind power producers are:
1. the U.S. and Denmark
2. Brazil and Japan
3. Japan and France
4. Denmark and Australia
A major force leading Americans to begin thinking about energy conservation was the:
1. industrial revolution
2. 1973 Arab oil embargo
3. near depletion of domestic coal supplies
4. invention of nuclear energy
5. 1991 Gulf War
Wind speeds at site “A” are, on average, twice as fast as at site “B.” As a result, site “A” will generate:
1. the same amount of electricity as site “B”
2. twice the amount of electricity as site “B”
3. four times the amount of electricity as site “B”
4. eight times the amount of electricity as site “B”
A system of pipes painted black that have water circulating on the wall in a glass greenhouse on the south side of a building is an example of:
1. parabolic collection
2. an active solar heating system
3. passive heat absorption
4. eutectic heat exchange
The largest source of energy loss from a home is usually a result of energy escaping from:
1. poorly insulated walls and attics
2. poorly caulked cracks and loose joints
3. single paned windows
4. windows that lack curtains/window coverings
The best locations for wind energy farms are those in which wind speeds are average ______ or more.
1. 10 mph
2. 15 mph
3. 20 mph
4. 25 mph
One potential policy that would encourage conservation and the use of alternative energy resources would have consumers voluntarily pay an additional fee to finance renewable energy. This is known as:
1. Resources portfolio
2. Distribution fee
3. Green pricing
In 1850, wood supplied about 90% of the U.S. fuel energy. Currently, wood supplies about this much of the U.S. fuel energy:
1. 95%
2. 75%
3. 50%
4. 25%
5. 10% <1%
Fossil fuels currently supply about percent of all world commercial energy supplies.
1. 95
2. 85
3. 75
4. 50
5. 25
Which of the following energy sources does not contribute to the greenhouse effect?
1. coal
2. petroleum
3. nuclear power
4. wood
5. natural gas
The U.S. and Canada make up 5% of the world’s population, but consume about of the world’s available energy.
1. nine-tenths
2. two-thirds
3. one-half
4. one-quarter
Under normal operating conditions, _______power plants release radioactivity as well as toxic metals.
1. coal-fired
2. hydroelectric
3. nuclear
4. wind-generated
In the U.S., the largest percentage of energy is used in:
1. industry
2. residential and commercial buildings
3. transportation
Which of the following statements is true?
1. world coal reserves are substantially smaller than petroleum reserves
2. the fossil fuel most readily available and abundant in the U.S. and Canada is petroleum
3. the U.S. has only enough proven oil supplies to last ten years at current rates of consumption
4. world coal reserves are only large enough to provide power for about 100 years
Which of the following is not a major gas leased when coal is burned?
1. sulfur dioxide
2. methane
3. carbon monoxide
4. carbon dioxide
5. nitrogen oxides
Most useful oil deposits are usually found:
1. in a liquid pool under a layer of impermeable shale
2. saturating porous rocks, like water in a sponge
3. locked in the mineral structure of a rock formation
4. in pools on the earth’s surface, where geologic pressures have forced them to collect
5. in small pools directly above the bedrock
Which of the following locations does not hold great potential for new oil discoveries?
1. Grand Banks in the North Atlantic Ocean
2. Beaufort Sea off the northern coast of Alaska
3. Gulf of Alaska off the southern coast of Alaska
4. California coast
Natural gas is the __________ source of commercial energy worldwide.
1. largest single
2. second largest
3. third largest
4. fourth largest
5. fifth largest
The chemical industry is the second largest industrial consumer of fossil fuels with _______ used for energy generation and ________ used for raw materials in manufacturing.
1. half … half
2. three quarters … one quarter
3. one quarter … three quarters
4. one third … two thirds
5. two thirds … one third
Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland have higher standards of living (based on GNP) than Americans or Canadians:
1. because their energy consumption is much greater
2. even though their energy use is about equal to ours
3. even though their energy use is much less than ours
4. none of these, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland do not have a higher standard of living compared to Americans and Canadians
Which of the following is not considered a fossil fuel?
1. coal
2. natural gas
3. oil
4. charcoal
5. all of these are considered to be fossil fuels
This area has the most proven reserves of natural gas:
1. Middle East
2. Former USSR
3. North and Central America
4. Europe
For much of the past decade, and even still today, there has been great debate over oil and natural gas drilling in:
1. the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
2. the Everglades National Wildlife Refuge
3. the Buffalo Commons Wildlife Refuge
4. Yellowstone National Park
5. All of these
Developing countries typically depend on biomass for their energy needs. This potentially has serious economic consequences to their:
1. agricultural land
2. soils and forests
3. biodiversity
Fossilized plant material, buried and compacted over time into carbon-rich fuel defines:
1. coal
2. oil
3. natural gas
Black lung disease results from:
1. inhaling radioactive material released when coal is burned at power plants
2. inhaling the pollution released by coal when it is burned at power plants
3. inhaling coal dust when extracting coal from underground mines
Worldwide, at current consumption rates, which nonrenewable energy source is expected to be depleted first?
1. coal
2. oil
3. natural gas
Over the past 150 years, the primary form of energy consumed in the U.S. has changed from:
1. coal to oil to wood
2. oil to wood to coal
3. coal to wood to oil
4. wood to oil to coal
5. wood to coal to oil F) oil to coal to wood
Until the late-1940s the U.S. was the:
1. largest exporter of oil
2. second largest exporter of oil
3. second largest importer of oil
4. largest importer of oil
The most rapidly growing nonrenewable energy source is:
1. coal
2. oil
3. natural gas
Three of the following areas each contain about one-quarter of the world’s proven reserve of coal. Which one does not?
1. Europe
2. Asia
3. North and Central America
4. Former USSR
Major U.S. suppliers of oil in the 1970s included:
1. Saudi Arabia and Iran
2. Mexico and Iraq
3. Venezuela and Mexico
4. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
5. United Arab Emirates and Kuwait
Renewable energy resources make up about 4-5% of the commercial energy supply worldwide. Which of the following makes up the largest part of that 4-5%?
1. solar
2. hydroelectric
3. wind
4. geothermal
Resources that exist in fixed amounts in the environment and, on a human timescale, when used up are exhausted are considered to be:
1. Potentially renewable resources
2. Intangible resources
3. Nonrenewable resources
4. Renewable resources
The vast majority of oil being produced today is from:
1. Large fields discovered in the 1990's
2. Large fields discovered in the 1970's and earlier
3. Small fields discovered in the 1990's
4. Small fields discovered in the 1970's and earlier
Two thirds of the world's oil production comes from the _______ largest fields
1. 10-15
2. 50-60
3. 200-300
4. 5,000-8,000
In 1956, M. King Hubbert predicted future U.S. oil production based on oil field statistics. As of 2003, his prediction
1. Fell far short of actual production
2. Was almost exactly on target
3. Was far above actual production
The most likely near-term limit on petroleum production is set by
1. Running out of it
2. Our ability to drill wells fast enough
3. Our ability to produce it fast enough to meet demand
4. Our ability to build pipelines and tankers
The country with the largest annual death toll from coal mining:
1. United States
2. Russia
3. Germany
4. Great Britain
5. China
Electronic waste is recycled in many foreign countries to:
1. Salvage usable components
2. Re-use the plastic cases
3. Reprogram the chips
4. Recover valuable metals
In a modern landfill:
1. A clay lining is installed under the site
2. An impermeable membrane is installed under the site
3. Waste is buried daily
4. All the above
5. None of the above
6. Most solid waste in the U.S. is:
  1. Incinerated
  2. Recycled
  3. Composted
  4. Open-dumped
  5. Landfilled
  6. The most cost-effective way to deal with waste is
    1. Landfill it
    2. Compost it
    3. Recycle it
    4. Reuse materials
    5. Reduce it
    6. Green Bay's Superfund site is:
      1. Bay Beach
      2. An industrial park in Howard
      3. An abandoned quarry in Ashwaubenon
      4. The Fox River
      5. An abandoned power plant on the West Side
      6. The contaminants in Green Bay's Superfund site are:
        
        PCB's
        
        Coal ash
        
        Metals from a former metal plating company
        
        An oil spill
        
        Leachate from an auto salvage yard
        
        The products in Green Bay's Superfund site were originally used in:
        
        paper manufacturing
        
        metal plating
        
        electrical insulation
        
        power production
        
        farming
        
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        Created 2 September 2011, Last Update 13 December 2011
        
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