Env. Science · Unit 8 · Paper 1

Aquatic & Terrestrial Pollution unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3

Each paper is built from this unit’s 33 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 8, Paper 1” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.

Suggested time 37 min 34 points0/17 attempted

Eutrophication

Mercury methylation

Solid waste disposal

Dead zones and hypoxia

Dissolved oxygen and temperature

Dose-response curve

Endocrine disruptors

Septic systems

Where a watershed's nitrogen and phosphorus come from

Indicator organisms for water quality

Turbidity and sediment pollution

Heavy metal pollution

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Clean Water Act

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: RCRA

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Sewage treatment stages

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Leachate

3 pts

Free response

10 pts

DESIGN AN INVESTIGATION. A shallow freshwater lake bordered by farmland has developed dense algal blooms each summer for the past several years. Farmers apply nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to fields that drain into the lake through a network of ditches. A group of students hypothesizes that phosphorus in the runoff is the nutrient limiting algal growth in this lake, and they want to test that hypothesis before recommending any change in farm practice. The students have access to lake water, laboratory beakers, a light bank, a supply of nitrogen fertilizer solution, a supply of phosphorus fertilizer solution, and a device that measures the concentration of chlorophyll in a water sample.

A(i). Identify the hypothesis the students are testing. A(ii). Identify the independent variable in an experiment designed to test it. A(iii). Identify the dependent variable.

B(i). Describe a control group appropriate for this investigation. B(ii). Describe two variables that should be held constant across all treatments.

C. Describe the results the students would expect to observe if their hypothesis is correct.

D. Explain why a laboratory experiment using beakers may not accurately predict what happens in the lake itself.

E. Identify one environmental consequence of the algal bloom for organisms living in the lake, and explain the mechanism that produces it.

F. Describe one agricultural practice that would reduce nutrient runoff from the surrounding fields, and explain how it works.