Most of Earth's liquid freshwater is found ________.
- C) underground
2) Approximately ________% of Earth's total water is found in ice caps and glaciers.
- A) 79
3) What percentage of Earth's total water is found in lakes?
- E) 0.013%
4) Which of the following is TRUE?
- D) Most of Earth's fresh water is frozen.
5) What percentage of Earth's fresh water is found in oceans?
- D) 0%
6) What percentage of Earth's fresh water is found in rivers?
- D) 0.001%
7) Only about 2.5% of all the water on our planet is fresh water, and
B) most of this is far from where humans live
8) Most of the precipitation that falls onto Earth's surface ________.
- C) either runs off to form rivers or filters down into underground aquifers
9) One-fifth of Earth's total freshwater supply is in ________.
- C) groundwater
10) An artesian aquifer occurs where ________.
C) a water-bearing layer is trapped between two layers that are less permeable
11) Humans use more fresh water for ________ than for any other purpose.
C) agricultural irrigation
12) Which of the following best describes a floodplain?
- A) a region of land that is periodically flooded when a river overflows
13) Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the future risks of decadal (11-year) and multi-decadal (35-year) droughts in the southwestern United States and Great Plains?.
- E) Models indicate that both regions are more likely to experience decadal and multi-decadal droughts in the latter half of the 21st century than during the latter half of the 20th century.
14) Dam removal in the United States ________.
- B) will probably continue because the environmental impacts of dams are reviewed periodically
15) Why was the irrigation of Soviet cotton farming operations a problem?
C) It drained the Aral Sea and increased the salt content of soils.
16) Sinkholes can result from ________.
- A) overconsumption of water from aquifers
17) Which of the following will contribute to water conservation?
- D) watering lawns at night, using low-flow faucets, and landscaping with native plants
18) Gray water can ________.
- A) often be used for irrigation and watering lawns
19) Which of the following is one of the major pollutants of groundwater?
- C) agricultural chemicals
20) The fish in the lake at the local park are dying, and a professor from the local college comes to investigate. First she measures the levels of dissolved oxygen because she wants to check for ________.
- C) hypoxia
21) A watershed is ________.
- A) the area of land that drains into a river or lake
22) "Blue-baby" syndrome is a consequence of excess ________ in the water supply.
B) nitrates
23) Levees are used ________.
C) to prevent flooding and facilitate shipping
24) A key characteristic of aquatic dead zones is ________.
- D) a low concentration of oxygen
25) Why is grain production in the Great Plains considered largely unsustainable?
A) The Ogallala aquifer is being depleted for irrigation water.
26) A septic system is ________.
- B) a rural method of processing wastewater
27) In a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the primary treatment step includes ________
- D) letting sewage sit in large settling tanks so suspended solids can settle out
28) "Biosolids" produced at a wastewater treatment plant are often ________.
- D) used as crop fertilizer
29) The resource allocation of the Colorado River's water is being complicated by ________.
- A) the rapid growth of Las Vegas
30) A recent study has revealed that chlorinated solvents, gasoline, and radioactive compounds have become significant pollutants in ________ from ________.
A) groundwater; leaking storage tanks
31) Overpumping groundwater in coastal areas can cause ________ to move into aquifers, making the water undrinkable.
- E) saltwater
32) Xeriscaping can save water by ________.
- C) planting native or drought-resistant landscaping plants