HS Environmental Science Exam 1

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instructions: 1 - Take the test. Mark all answers in your test booklet 2- Answer the open response questions on the answer sheet provided.

[ 3 - Take a computer and go to Mr. Wheat's website. Click on I the link marked 'Exam 1' on the class notes page. 4 - Enter your multiple choice and short answer responses -. (questions 1 -18) into the online test. \ 5 - Turn in testing materials. You are done testing and may S work on either your slides or your lab report.

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HS Environmental Science Exam 1

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Most of the A. The soil "7 B. The atmosphere L The ocean (DyNone of the above

world's

nitrogen

is

found

where?

) N2 is the most common form of nitrogen. Unfortunately, plants and animals cannot use the nitrogen when it is in this state. Which statement best explains what has to happen in order for plants and animals to use the nitrogen? A. N2 is converted into NO3 and NO2 by animals as they breath in a process called nitrogen xation. B. N2 is not necessary for living things so nothing needs to happen. When p. nitrogen does end up in water it is always a contaminant. \C)N2 is converted into NO3 and NO2 by lightning as well as bacteria in the roots of plants in a process called nitrogen xation. D. N2 is put back into the atmosphere by denitrifying bacteria.

-4)) Which of the following statements best explains why the world does not run out of

essential materials like water, nitrogen, and other nutrients? A. These essential nutrients are continually being added to the earth by meteors and solar radiation. B. These essential nutrients are continually being created by processes in the ^\ -^ crust of the Earth C(5)These essential nutrients are passed back and forth between living and non living parts of the environment in unending cycles. D. These nutrients are not actually essential and are actually not commonly used.

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Which phase of the water cycle is most likely to become contaminated with excess nitrate? \) Infiltration B. Ocean storage C. Clouds and precipitation -^ D. Surface runoff

^During which phase of the water cycle is water most likely to become contaminated by acid pollution? A. Condensation of clouds Qr^urface runoff CTStreams and lakes D. Ocean storage

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HS Environmental Science Exam 1

jpx ]RWhich of the following statements correctly compares acid rain to nitrate pollution? ' A. Acid rain and nitrate pollution are similar problems and can both be dealt with .~^.by legislation on the municipal (local) level \iN\cid rain and nitrate are similar problems and both need to be dealt with by legislation on the regional or national level. ~^ C Nitrate is frequently a local problem to be dealt with by municipalities while acid rain is a regional problem that needs to be dealt with nationally. D. Acid rain is frequently a local problem to be dealt with by municipalities while nitrate is a regional problem that needs to be dealt with nationally.

7) Which of the following families of macro invertebrate are considered to be pollution intolerant? QpStoneies B. Dragonies C Blackies D. Midges 8) Which statement best explains why macro invertebrates are useful in determining the water quality of a river? A. They are easy to collect and can be collected well with out special training. ^- B. Certain families are sensitive to pollution. Their presence indicates clean water.

^ C. Macro invertebrates live in a stream for up to two years so their presence D) All of the above. G^ indicates the health of the water over a long period of time. Pictured below is an example of what family of macro invertebrates?

A. Mayy ^ B. Stonefly @)Caddisy D. Dragony

HS Environmental Science Exam 1

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The riparian areas of small streams are important because they (fte\p to lter out nitrate and other contaminants from the water. l provide fish with a place live. C. continually release nitrate. D. speed the water up so it will not become polluted.

) Riparian refers to: A. the deepest part of a river. B. the place where a river enters a lake, the tendency of rivers to meander. D)the edges of a small stream where the water is slower.

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HS Environmental Science Exam 1

The following questions are based on the data tables below and the study that we have done on the water quality of the Hoosic River.

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Temperature ^iDisscllw^,;! 13.5 12.0 17.7 15.0 18.0 9.0 7.8 8.2 7.0

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0.35 0.05 1.75

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2) Which of the following hypotheses is best supported by the data in the table above? A. "I believe that the water will be unaffected by owing through the ood chutes." ^|?"l believe that the ood chutes will have a negative effect on the water quality." C. "I believe that the ood chutes will have a positive effect on the water quality." D." I believe that it will be impossible to see a difference in the water quality due to the ood chutes."

13) If a student had gathered the data above, but was not sure that it was accurate, what are three things that they could do to double check their data?

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HS Environmental Science Exam 1

4) In our study the research question was "How does the water quality of the Hoosic River change as it ows north in Berkshire county?" In order to test this we tested the water at different sites for the same aspects of water quality. What were our independent and dependent variables? A. The independent variable was the results of our measurements, the -^dependent variable was our location on the river. [ BJThe independent variable was our location on the river, the dependent variable ^-^was the results of our testing. C. The independent variable was the nitrate reading, the dependent variable was the macro invertebrates. D. The independent and dependent variable were both our location on the river since it was the only thing we could change. ) Eutrophication due to excess nitrogen is unlikely to be a serious problem in swiftly owing water because: A. the plants along the edge of the river use the nitrate faster than it can be put in. B. nitrogen isn't soluble in owing water. C. nitrogen isn't found in freshwater. (5) the water is continually being mixed and moved downstream so there isn't opportunity for the nitrogen to concentrate seriously.

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Power Words (use these to help with the reading on the following page) dead zone: An area in the ocean where most or all of the oxygen has been used up. estuary: A semi-enclosed body of water where freshwater, such as ow from rivers, meets the tide from the ocean. phytoplankton: Single-celled plants and plant-like organisms that oat in the water. zooplankton: Tiny oating animals in the water that feed on phytoplankton. bacteria: Single-celled organisms that can live almost anywhere. hypoxia: The condition when oxygen is below the level necessary for plants and animals to survive. upwelling: A process that draws deep salty water that is rich in nutrients up to the ocean surface, replacing warmer surface waters that have been pushed offshore by winds.

HS Environmental Science Exam 1

zooplankton won't be able to keep up with the phytoplankton's growth. "Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen are good up to a point, but too much is bad," explains Robert Howarth of Cornell University. He likens it to food for people. The right amount is healthy: Too much can foster excess growth and disease. As phytoplankton die, they fall to the ocean oor. So does zooplankton poop. Bacteria small, single-celled organisms feed on both. To break down these wastes, the growing populations of bacteria will need oxygen. Their mushrooming growth can, therefore, rob large quantities of oxygen from big patches of the coastal ocean. Helping dead zones recover The Black Sea is bordered by Europe and Asia. Dead zones used to develop here that covered an area as large as Switzerland. Fertilizers running off of vast agricultural elds and animal feedlots in the former Soviet Union were a primary cause. Then, in 1989, parts of the Soviet Union began revolting. Two years later, this massive nation broke apart into 15 separate countries. The political instability hurt farm activity. In short order, use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers by area farmers declined. Almost at once, the size of the Black Sea's dead zone shrunk dramatically. Now if a dead zone forms there it's small, Rabalais says. Some years there is none. Political upheaval is not a solution that scientists would recommend to cure dead zones, she acknowledges. But this situation does illustrate that reducing the ow of excess nutrients into rivers and bays can have an enormous benet. The Chesapeake Bay, the United State's largest estuary, has its own dead zone. And the area affected has expanded over the past 50 years due to pollution. But since the 1980s, farmers, landowners and government agencies have worked to reduce the nutrients owing into the bay. Farmers now plant cover crops, such as oats or barley, that use up fertilizer that once washed away into rivers. Growers have also established land buffers to absorb nutrient runoff and to keep animal waste out of streams. People have even started to use laundry detergents made without phosphorus. In 2011, scientists reported that these efforts had achieved some success in shrinking the size of the bay's late-summer dead zones. The World Resources Institute lists 55 dead zones as improving. "The bottom line is if we take a look at what is causing a dead zone and x it, then the dead zone goes away," says Diaz. "It's not something that has to be permanent."

HS Environmental Science Exam 1

What is the main problem for organisms in a dead zone? //u estuaries 13. high temperatures" C. bacteria ^D. hypoxia

J18) What is the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton?

7) Why did the dead zone in the black sea begin to shrink? A. Laws were passed requiring everyone to contribute nitrogen to the water. (&) As damaging practices were stopped on the land, the water recovered naturally. C. The dead zone is not actually recovering, the damage is permanent. D. Engineers found a way to drain the excess from the water. A. Phytoplankton are larger than zooplankton. B. There is no real difference, the words mean basically the same thing. (^Cp Phytoplankton are tiny plants while zooplankton are tiny animals. D. Zooplankton are unaffected by eutrophication.

Open Response Questions: (Write your answers on sheets provided)

19) Describe the process of eutrophication in your own words. How is is caused? What does it do?

20) If you were part of the government of Berkshire county, what laws could you pass that would have the most positive effect on the Hudson River Bay?

HS Environmental Science Exam 1

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sciencenewsforkids.org http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/03/suffocatinqwaters/

Suffocating waters
By Cecile LeBlanc / March 29, 2012
Take a deep breath and hold it for 30 seconds. Now you know what it's like for sh in a coastal dead zone, a place where there's little or no oxygen in the water, says Robert Diaz. He's a researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point. You can catch your breath after 30 seconds. But in a dead zone animals can't. So sh, crabs and other critters that enter a dead zone will quickly leave. Sea life that can't swim away may suffocate. "This is how dead zones get their name," Diaz explains. Since 1994, he and the World Resources Institute in Washington,D.C, have identied and mapped 479 dead zones around the world. That's more than nine times as many as scientists knew about 50 years ago. What triggers the loss of oxygen in ocean water is the explosive growth of sea life fueled by the release of too many nutrients. As they grow, these crowds can simply use up too much of the available oxygen. Many nutrients entering the water such as nitrogen and phosphorous - come from meeting the daily needs of some seven billion people around the world, Diaz says. Crop fertilizers, manure, sewage and exhaust spewed by cars and power plants all end up in waterways that ow into the ocean. Each can contribute to the creation of dead zones. Upstreamers pollute downstreamers Rainwater drips over rooftops, drains down gutters and ows over parking lots. It washes through crop elds, animal farms and sewage treatment plants. It courses through streams that feed into small rivers. The small rivers wash into bigger rivers that ow into coastal areas such as bays and estuaries. (An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water where a river meets the ocean.) Along the way, this water collects nutrient-rich fertilizers, sewage and pollutants all of which amount to plant food. Phytoplankton are tiny one-celled plants and plant-like organisms such as algae. They oat in the water. Individual phytoplankton are too small to see without a microscope. But they can grow by the millions to form "blooms" in the ocean that are visible from space. These colorful blooms sometimes trigger dead zones. In a balanced ecosystem, tiny animals called zooplankton graze on phytoplankton. This keeps numbers of the plantlike plankton in check. But if too many nutrients ow into the water, the