Download Environmental Science Chapter 17 Test Student Copy

Environmental Science Chapter 17 Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Electric generators work by
a. converting oil into electricity. b. turning turbines in a dam. c. converting mechanical energy into
electrical energy. d. rubbing copper against a substance that does not conduct electricity.
____
2. Oil and natural gas result from
a. the migration of complex carbohydrate molecules to nonporous rock formations. b. the decay of tiny
marine organisms that accumulated on the ocean floor millions of years ago. c. the burning of high-sulfur,
low-grade uranium. d. the decay of plants that lived in swamps hundreds of thousands of years ago.
____
3. Inside the combustion chamber of a coal-fired power plant,
a. steam is directed against turbine blades and causes the blades to turn. b. the turbine sets the generator in
motion. c. electricity is generated. d. burning fossil fuels release energy in the form of heat.
____
4. Most of the energy consumed in the United States is used for
a. residential electrical needs. b. commercial electrical needs.
c. transportation.
d. industrial purposes.
____
5. A nuclear reactor is
a. powered by a combustion chamber in which uranium is burned. b. surrounded by a thick pressure vessel
that is filled with a cooling fluid. c. superheated by water until the control rods are set into motion.
d. constructed from thick aluminum walls that can control the nuclear reactions.
____
6. New nuclei and neutrons result from
a. nuclear fusion. b. the release of electrons from a positively charged atom.
nucleus. d. the splitting of an atom’s neutron.
c. the splitting of an atom’s
____
7. Nuclear fusion
a. must take place at extremely high temperatures. b. does not release a great amount of energy. c. must
take place in low-density containers. d. results in nuclei that are lighter in weight than the nuclei that
existed before the reaction.
____
8. Storage sites for nuclear wastes
a. can only be located only in mountain ranges. b. will always leak lethal amounts of radioactivity.
c. should be located only in areas that are extremely geologically stable. d. should be able to undergo the
process of transmutation.
____
9. How is electricity generated in a coal-fired power plant?
a. The heat generated from burning coal turns water into steam, which turns a turbine, thus running the
electric generator. b. The coal is burned, which heats the air. The hot air rises and turns the electric
generator’s turbine. c. The turbine breaks down the coal into a liquid fuel that powers the electric generator,
thus producing an electric current. d. The coal is heated until it vaporizes. The coal vapor is distilled in the
combustion chamber, which powers the electric generator.
____ 10. Coal is formed when
a. sediments cover dead marine organisms and heat converts them into complex, energy-rich carbon
molecules. b. deposits of methane are subjected to high pressure until they condense into crystals.
c. swamplands are buried by sediment. The added weight creates heat and pressure that converts the plants to
coal. d. organic remains get trapped in nonporous rock and merge into large bodies of complex, energy-rich
carbon molecules.
____ 11. Which of the following is an advantage of using fossil fuels for energy?
a. the resulting air pollution b. versatility in their uses c. limited quantities
d. toxic by-products
____ 12. During the process of nuclear fission,
a. a neutron splits a uranium-235 atom, forming new elements and releasing several neutrons, plus energy.
b. a neutron splits a daughter nucleus, thus creating uranium-234. c. radioactivity causes the neutron of a
uranium-235 atom to split in two. d. a lightweight atom combines with another lightweight atom to create a
single, heavy atom.
____ 13. In a nuclear power plant,
a. three pipe circuits pump water through the reactor, turbine, and cooling tower. b. solid uranium pellets
are bombarded with steam in the control rods. c. nuclear fusion superheats water in the reactor, causing
steam to power the turbine. d. solid neutron pellets undergo a chain reaction and release massive amounts
of heat.
____ 14. Which of the following is an advantage of nuclear energy?
a. It does not produce solid waste. b. It is cost-efficient. c. It poses no safety risks.
produce air pollution.
____ 15. The energy in fossil fuels is often converted into
a. electricity. b. magnetic fields. c. uranium.
____ 16. The energy of motion is
a. potential energy. b. kinetic energy.
d. It does not
d. power plants.
c. chemical energy.
d. electrical energy.
____ 17. When you plug your cell phone into an electrical outlet to recharge it, you are using energy for
a. transportation. b. industry. c. residential use. d. commercial use.
____ 18. The fact that fossil fuels formed at the bottom of swamps implies that
a. most of Earth’s surface was once covered by swamps. b. there was little or no oxygen in that
environment. c. living things once lived in all parts of Earth. d. swamps are under large amounts
of pressure.
____ 19. In the primary extraction of oil,
a. oil rises in the well to the surface without being pumped.
b. water is pumped into the ground to
force the oil to the surface. c. chemicals are used to dissolve the oil and bring it to the surface.
d. carbon dioxide is pumped beneath oil deposits.
____ 20. How is natural gas transported from its source to where it is used?
a. by trucks b. by ships c. by railroad tanker cars d. by pipelines
____ 21. If fossil fuels continue to be used at their current rate, which will probably be used up first?
a. coal b. oil c. natural gas d. methane hydrate
____ 22. Although acid drainage can be a natural process, it speeds up when an area is strip-mined because
strip mining
a. exposes large areas of rock surface that contain sulfide minerals. b. removes large amounts of
rock. c. releases large amounts of coal dust, which forms acid drainage. d. exposes underground
water, which combines with minerals to form acid.
____ 23. Which country or region is coal-rich and oil-poor?
a. Middle East b. Germany c. Iran d. United States
____ 24. In a nuclear power plant, nuclear fission take place in the
a. generator. b. cooling tower. c. reactor vessel. d. condenser.
____ 25. What is the purpose of the chain reaction in a nuclear power plant?
a. to produce the heat and steam that turn the turbine b. to produce neutrons that turn the generator
c. to cause steam to condense into liquid water d. to reduce the temperature in the cooling tower
____ 26. When you eat food, your body takes in chemical energy. What kind of energy does this chemical
energy convert to when you are lifting weights?
a. thermal energy b. mechanical energy c. electrical energy
d. electromagnetic energy
____ 27. The energy trapped in fossil fuels came from the energy plants converted during photosynthesis.
This trapped energy is
a. thermal energy. b. potential energy.
c. mechanical energy.
d. chemical energy.
____ 28. About half of the electricity used in the United States is generated by
a. combustion of coal. b. combustion of natural gas. c. combustion of crude oil.
d. nuclear
fission.
____ 29. Coal deposits that are deep underground must be extracted by subsurface mining rather than by
strip-mining because strip-mining would
a. be too dangerous. b. be too expensive. c. require removal of large amounts of rock and soil.
d. require that removed rock and soil be put back into the hole.
____ 30. Which of the following is derived from petrochemicals?
a. paper b. stainless steel c. wood d. plastic
____ 31. Most oil deposits are found within pores in
a. granite rock. b. limestone and sandstone rock.
c. soil.
d. the ocean floor.
____ 32. Secondary extraction of oil that is trapped in rocks must be used when
a. the oil is already at the surface. b. water is not available to pump into the well.
longer under pressure. d. the oil becomes mixed with carbon dioxide.
c. the oil is no
____ 33. Why is the use of natural gas growing faster than that of most other fossil fuels?
a. It is less expensive. b. It is less polluting. c. It is colorless and odorless. d. It emits carbon
dioxide.
____ 34. Which of the following pollutants causes smog when fossil fuels are burned?
a. sulfur dioxide b. carbon dioxide c. hydrogen sulfide d. methane
____ 35. Acid drainage is a problem that is caused by
a. underground mining of coal. b. strip mining of coal.
c. extraction of crude oil.
d. extraction
of natural gas.
____ 36. Most of the oil used in the United States is used for
a. industry. b. transportation. c. electric power.
d. commerce.
____ 37. The nuclear particle that is involved in nuclear fission is a(n)
a. electron. b. proton. c. neutron. d. atom.
____ 38. The fuel used in a nuclear power plant is
a. uranium-235. b. uranium-236 c. uranium-237
d. uranium-238
____ 39. One of the main disadvantages of nuclear power is that it
a. pollutes the air. b. pollutes water. c. produces too little electricity.
d. generates radioactive
waste.
____ 40. What process occurs when the small nuclei of elements such as hydrogen are forced together under
extremely high temperatures?
a. nuclear fission b. nuclear fusion
c. nuclear meltdown
d. nuclear waste production