Sustainability and Earth's Resources: Practice Test Questions - Prof. Michael F. Hochella, Exams of Geology

Download Sustainability and Earth's Resources: Practice Test Questions - Prof. Michael F. Hochella and more Exams Geology in PDF only on Docsity! Resource Geology 1024 (a.k.a. Sustaining the Earth) Test 1 (Practice) The answers to this test are found at the end. 1. The most important environmental problem today, in that it is the root of all other environmental problems, and/or greatly exacerbates them, is: 1) poverty, 2) degradation of habitats, 3) extinction of species, 4) pollution, 5) overpopulation, 6) increasing resource use. 2. The Earth is often called “the water planet” because 1) about a third of the planet is covered with water, 2) water is vitally important to all life, and we have an unlimited supply, 3) about 75% of the planet is covered with water, leaving land in the distinct minority, 4) water is scare, but vital to all life. 3. Exponential growth 1) remains constant, 2) starts out slowly and remains slow, 3) starts out slowly then becomes very rapid, 4) starts rapidly and remains rapid. 4. The Earth’s age, as measured by the age of meteorites using radiometric dating, is 1) 4,600 years, 2) 500 million years, 3) 4.6 million years, 4) 64 billion years, 5) none of the above is correct. 5. If the entire history of the Earth was put into a 24 hour day, starting at midnight, and going to the next midnight, anatomically modern humans (that is, homonids that look pretty much like us) appeared 1) about 6 hours before the end of the day, 2) about 2 hours before the end of the day, so humans are fairly recent additions to this planet, 3) about 30 seconds before the end of the day, so humans are very recent additions to this planet, 4) about 3 seconds before the end of the day, so humans are extremely recent additions to this planet. 6. Planet Earth is so suitable for life as we know it because: 1) the temperature is moderate and most often between the freezing and boiling points of water, 2) the huge oceans on the planet buffer the temperature, that is, there are no huge temperature swings, 3) the atmosphere is ideal, at a moderate density and able to filter out harmful rays from the sun, 4) all of the above are correct. 7. What is the human population now on Earth? 1) about 10 million, 2) about 6 million, 3) about 6.1 billion, 4) about 6.1 million, 5) none of these choices is correct. 8. What will the population be at the end of this century? 1) right around 8 billion, 2) right around 9 billion, 3) right around 11 billion, 4) choices 1, 2, or 3 could be close, but it all depends on the change (decrease) in the rate of growth with time that we are now experiencing. 9. What is a good definition of Earth sustainability? 1) humans living with the planet in such a way that they do not cross long term, irrevocable decline thresholds for soil, water, biosystems, and the atmosphere. 2) using what we need, when we need it, trusting that through human ingenuity, there will always be some innovations that will allow for future generations to survive on this planet. 10. Which of the following does not describe a sustainable society? 1) meets the needs of its people without jeopardizing the needs of future generations, 2) manages its economy and population size without exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment, 3) utilizes nonrenewable resources for maximum benefit of the current generation. 11. Which of the following statements about developing countries is true? 1) they are highly industrialized, 2) they have high average GNPs per person, 3) they use about twelve percent of the world’s resources. 12. South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Thailand are examples of 1) “developed” countries? 2) “developing” countries. 13. For something to be classified as a resource, it must 1) satisfy a human need, 2) be steadily renewed or replenished, 3) be a form of matter, 4) exist in great abundance. 14. All of the following are potentially renewable resources except 1) groundwater 2) trees in a forest 3) crude oil 4) fertile soil. 15. What is “ecological footprint”? 1) The amount of land required to produce the resources needed by an average person in a country. 2) The area in any given country that defines a complete ecosystem. 3) The area that defines a complete ecosystem, even if it extends into several countries. 16. If developed countries have 85 to 88% of the world’s wealth and natural resources, given developing countries only from 12 to 15%, why do developing countries generate much more than this share of pollution and waste, in fact about 25%? 1) developing countries have many more people to throw stuff away, 2) developing countries don’t have the resources to contain pollution and waste as much as developed countries, 3) both help answer this question. 17. Examples of “developed” countries include Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. 1) True, 2) False. 18. Which of the following is not a way we can extend use of nonrenewable resources? 1) reducing direct consumption of the resource 2) finding acceptable alternatives to the resource 3) recycling the resource once used (for nonrenewable resources that are recyclable) 4) reducing the efficiency of resource use.