Copyright 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

1 Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future, 13e (Wright)

Chapter 1 Science and the Environment

1) If current growth projections are accurate, the human population of the planet in 2050 will be about

• 8 billion.
• 20 billion.
• 15 billion.
• 9 billion.

Answer: D

Diff: 1

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

2) The increasing global demand for energy is

• increasing social stability in many countries, as people pull together to solve this challenge.
• forcing dramatic switches to nuclear and tidal power, which do not contribute to global

climate change.

• renewing interests in preserving and protecting additional lands for conservation.
• increasing political attention to oil production and global climate change.

Answer: D

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

3) Which of the following is not a renewable resource?

• The sun beating down on a rain forest
• Plants, such as bamboo and rice, growing in moist environments
• Oil reserves, buried deep below the surface of the ground
• Water flowing through a dam

Answer: C

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

4) Rachel Carson was viewed as credible by the scientific community mostly because of her

• political connections with the Nixon administration.
• key role in the establishment of the EPA.
• funding from the companies that produced and distributed DDT.
• meticulous documentation of the findings reported in her book.

Answer: D

Diff: 2

LO: 3: Sound Science

(Test Bank all Chapters) 1 / 4

2 Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.5) Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring showed that

• pesticides like DDT were ineffective in killing crop pests.
• scientific expertise can help shape positive environmental policies.
• industries producing harmful chemicals welcomed scientific evaluation of their environmental

impact.

• biodiversity could be increased with cautious use of DDT.

Answer: B

Diff: 2

LO: 5: Moving Toward a Sustainable Future 6) Rachel Carson's impact on environmental policy change was aided by support from

• the American Medical Association.
• the EPA.
• industries producing DDT.
• public opinion.

Answer: D

Diff: 3

LO: 5: Moving Toward a Sustainable Future

7) Rachel Carson was particularly critical of the use of DDT to

• control the spread of Dutch elm disease.
• eradicate mosquitoes in wetland areas.
• control pests in national parks.
• fertilize large areas of corn and soy crops.

Answer: A

Diff: 2

LO: 5: Moving Toward a Sustainable Future

8) Since 1960, the human population has increased by more than

• two times.
• twenty times.
• ten times.
• six times.

Answer: D

Diff: 3

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

9) Since about 1990, the world population has increased about

A) 10%.

B) 40%.

C) 70%.

D) 100%.

Answer: B

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

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3 Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.10) The global human population in 2015 is more than

• 10 billion and is increasing at an annual rate of 5%.
• 2.2 billion and is no longer growing.
• 7.3 billion and is growing at a rate of 1.1%.
• 13 billion and is decreasing by 3% each year in developing nations.

Answer: C

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet 11) Most of the world's population growth in the near future will be in

• Europe.
• North America.
• developing countries.
• developed countries.

Answer: C

Diff: 1

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

12) The Human Development Index

• measures the rate of population growth in every nation.
• is an EPA program that measures the effects of pollution on birth defects.
• is a UNDP program that tracks health, education, and living standards of all nations.
• has increased for all nations since 1970.

Answer: C

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

13) The Millennium Development Goals ended in 2015 with mixed results, but the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals will

• track only population growth.
• evaluate more than twice as many progress indicators.
• seek national legislation for sustainable resource use.
• monitor the increasing frequency of extreme poverty in developed nations.

Answer: B

Diff: 3

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

14) Which of the following ecosystem service degradations is not a major environmental concern for sustainable development?

• overfishing the oceans
• degrading agricultural soils
• depleting supplies of coal
• cutting forests faster than they can regrow

Answer: C

Diff: 1

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

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4 Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.15) A store is constructed on a farm field, leading to increased runoff into streams. The increased runoff leads to mudslides in the surrounding region. This construction results in the loss of ecosystem capital in the form of services because it

• increased erosion in the region.
• decreased the amount of crops grown in the region.
• increased the number of cars traveling in the region, to and from the store.
• All of the above.

Answer: A

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet 16) Which of the following is the "Environmentalist's Paradox"?

• As human population decreases, ecosystem health also decreases.
• As human material and economic prosperity increases, ecosystem health decreases.
• The more non-renewable resources we use, the more new resources we discover.
• As biodiversity decreases, ecosystem health increases.

Answer: B

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

17) World population growth over the past 500 years has most resembled which letter?

• The letter M
• The letter U
• The letter S
• The letter J

Answer: D

Diff: 2

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

18) Which one of the following ecosystem services has been enhanced most by humans?

• Capture fisheries
• Pollination
• Crops
• Wood fuel

Answer: C

Diff: 1

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

19) The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment primarily characterized human impact on

• atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
• degradation of the ozone layer.
• ecosystem services.
• plate tectonics.

Answer: C

Diff: 1

LO: 1: The State of the Planet

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