GED 108 Unit 1 Exam Multiple Choice Questions

Unit 1 Examination
38
GED 108 Environmental Science
Multiple Choice Questions (Enter your answers on the enclosed
answer sheet)
1) Most of the world population growth in the near future will
be in:
A) Europe
B) North America
C) developing countries
D) developed countries
2) If the Millennium Development Goals are achieved by 2015:
A) at least 30 developing countries will move into the
developed category.
B) more than 400 million people will be lifted out of extreme
poverty.
C) the population of the world will stop increasing.
D) people in the developing world will all have basic medical
coverage.
3) The economic gap between developing and industrialized
countries may best be narrowed by:
A) the adoption of democratic forms of government in
developing countries

B) industrialized countries increasing shipments of food
supplies to developing countries
C) industrialized countries harvesting more natural resources in
developing countries
D) stabilizing population growth in developing countries
4) Which of the following ecosystem service degradations is not
a major environmental concern for
sustainable development?
A) overfishing the oceans
B) degrading agricultural soils
C) depleting supplies of coal
D) cutting forests faster than they can regrow
5) Ecosystem capital includes:
A) erosion control
B) decreased in the amount of crops grown
C) increase in the number of cars traveling in a particular
region
D) All of the above.
6) The “Environmentalist’s Paradox” is:
A) As human population decreases, ecosystem health also
decreases.
B) As human well-being increases, natural ecosystem
decreases.
C) The more non-renewable resources we use, the more new
resources we discover.
D) As biodiversity decreases, ecosystem health increases.
Unit 1 Examination

39
7) World population growth over the past 500 years has most
resembled the letter:
A) M
B) U
C) S
D) J
8) Which one of the following ecosystem services has been
enhanced most by human use?
A) capture fisheries
B) pollination
C) crops
D) wood fuel
9) Centrally planned and free-market economies both:
A) function best without government regulations
B) rely upon the self-interests of individuals
C) represent ideals not found in pure form in any country
D) depend upon free access to the market
10) In a free-market society:
A) the needs of the poor are best met by the interests of
business.
B) the interests of the poor, labor and business are the same
C) governments ensure the free flow of goods and services in
international trade
D) the needs of the poor are often not met by business interests

but by government
programs
11) The World Trade Organization:
A) mainly regulates the use of global environmental resources
B) guards human rights and the environmental resources of the
world
C) is widely recognized as the leader of global trade regulation
D) has steadily lost the power to regulate international trade
12) The best hope for the future global economy and
environmental policy depends upon:
A) sustainability
B) economic growth
C) consumption
D) productivity
Unit 1 Examination
40
13) Sustainable economic and environmental policies will shift
the focus from:
A) sustainability to productivity
B) growth to the well-being of humans
C) productivity to growth
D) productivity to profits
14) If current energy consumption trends continue and the per

capita income of the world
increased dramatically, we would expect that:
A) global climate change will be a greater problem
B) literacy levels to decease
C) respiratory diseases in cities will increase
D) land and labor will no longer be economic factors
15) In comparing green to brown economies:
A) green economies will embrace technologies that reduce
pollutants and increase
efficiency
B) brown economies will favor sustainable systems and reverse
damage to ecosystem
services
C) both will continue with the race to develop more and more
fossil fuel resources
D) green economies will stress rapid growth, while brown
economies will stress human
well-being
16) Which of the following represents an abiotic component of a
forest community?
A) the oak and hickory trees
B) the mushrooms growing on and around rotting logs
C) water trickling in a small stream
D) bacteria in the soil
17) Most organisms native to a desert community are:
A) well adapted to the heat and dry environment
B) well adapted to the heat but probably not the dry
environment
C) well adapted to the dry environment but probably not the

heat
D) not well adapted to the heat or dry environment
18) Within a community, species of:
A) plants rarely interact with fungi or bacteria
B) bacteria, plants, animals, and fungi all interact
C) plants and animals interact, but not with bacteria or fungi
D) bacteria and fungi interact with plants but not animals
Unit 1 Examination
41
19) A single ecosystem will include:
A) an interactive complex of communities but not the abiotic
environment
B) the abiotic environment but not an interactive complex of
communities
C) many species of living organisms and may include humans
D) either a plant community or an animal community, but not
both
20) Most ecosystems:
A) are sharply divided from other ecosystems
B) consist of two or more distinct landscapes
C) grade into other ecosystems in regions called ecotones
D) are clustered with other ecosystems to form communities
21) Ecotones:

A) contain only species found in the bordering ecosystems
B) have the same abiotic characteristics as the bordering
ecosystems
C) consist of many distinct landscapes
D) are transitional regions between ecosystems
22) Which one of the following are much larger than
landscapes?
A) landscape
B) ecotone
C) ecosystem
D) biome
23) Newly formed species typically have experienced different:
A) numbers of offspring
B) lifespans
C) dietary habits
D) selective pressures
24) In short, different selective pressures in closely related
species will produce:
A) similar migration patterns
B) similar reproductive strategies
C) different adaptations
D) new mutations
25) The different Galápagos finch species:
A) evolved in South America and flew to the Galápagos
Islands.
B) evolved from a single ancestral species that flew to
the Galápagos Islands.

C) all feed on the same diet in the Galápagos Islands.
D) are primarily different because of variations in the
structure of their feet.
Unit 2 Examination
81
answer sheet)
1) ________ play a crucial role in releasing nutrients essential
for plant growth to the soil.
A) Decomposers
B) Herbivores
C) Parasites
D) Producers
Deep in the ocean off the shore of Japan are communities
nestled around hydrothermal vents
where super-heated water springs from the bottom of the ocean.
No sunlight ever penetrates to
these deep regions. In these communities, bacteria have special
enzymes that allow them to form
organic matter by chemosynthesis. These communities
frequently have worms, clams, shrimp, and
many other organisms clustered together.
2) In such a system, fish feed on shrimp that feed on the
bacteria. This food chain represents a:

A) tertiary consumer eating a secondary consumer eating a
primary consumer
B) primary consumer eating a secondary consumer eating a
tertiary consumer
C) consumer eating a producer which then consumes
chemoautotrophic bacteria
D) secondary consumer eating a primary consumer which then
eats a producer
3) Chemosynthesis is:
A) a consumer that eats a producer.
B) a producer exists using the energy from inorganic
chemicals.
C) a green pigment.
D) not producers in the ecosystem.
4) In a forest, deer, raccoons, squirrels, and other animals eat
and find shelter. A detrital food web
occurs as their wastes accumulate on the forest floor. In this
detrital web:
A) decomposers function as consumers.
B) fungi and earthworms function as producers.
C) deer and raccoons function as the producers.
D) the deer and raccoons represent decomposers.
5) In rare ecosystems, we would not expect to find:
A) carbon compounds
B) chemosynthesis
C) chlorophyll
D) producers

Unit 2 Examination
82
6) A raccoon spends its week eating raspberries, grain, eggs,
and grasshoppers. Raccoons are
therefore:
A) carnivores
B) omnivores
C) herbivores
D) producers
7) The ability to feed the growing world population was
addressed by the:
A) Green Revolution.
B) Medical Revolution.
C) Industrial Revolution.
D) Environmental Revolution.
8) Which problem today is primarily the result of the Industrial
Revolution?
A) extensive air and water pollution
B) increased transmission of disease between people living in
close proximity
C) decline in quality of agricultural soil
D) erosion from deforestation as more fuel wood is harvested
9) Which revolution may have the greatest impact on the future
quality of life for people on Earth?
A) Industrial Revolution

B) Medical Revolution
C) Green Revolution
D) Environmental Revolution
10) According to demographer Joel Cohen, the human carrying
capacity:
A) depends upon a standard of living.
B) can be calculated in the same way it is determined
for other animal species.
C) can clearly be determined.
D) largely depends upon the availability of fresh water.
11) Better sanitation and nutrition generally resulted from the:
A) Industrial Revolution
B) Medical Revolution
C) Green Revolution
D) Environmental Revolution
Unit 2 Examination
83
12) A declining dependency ratio:
A) requires immediate and permanent increased spending on
education and old-age
medical expenses
B) requires increased spending on education but decreased
costs associated with old-age
medical expenses

C) requires permanently decreased spending on education but
temporarily increased costs
associated with old-age medical expenses
D) permits temporarily decreased spending on education and
old-age medical expenses
13) The window of opportunity presented by the demographic
dividend generally ends as:
A) people start having larger families
B) people live longer
C) economic pressures require more people to work
D) rural populations increase
14) In general, fertility rates:
A) decrease as per capita income increases
B) decrease as per capita income decreases
C) increase as per capita income increases
D) are unrelated to per capita income
15) Large families in poor countries:
A) are rare because having many children is expensive
B) are common, due largely because of low infant and
childhood mortality
C) are common, in part because more children means more
labor
D) is becoming more common as the use of modern agriculture
increases
16) Increased availability of contraceptives in very poor nations
is unlikely to decrease family size
because:

A) families depend upon children for labor and support when
the parents become old
B) infant and childhood mortality rates are already keeping
family size low
C) the increased use of industry and technology has already
decreased family size
D) poor families are already small because parents cannot
afford to feed and house more
than one or two children
17) In general, as countries become more industrialized and
developed:
A) use of contraception decreases
B) the cost of raising children decreases
C) people marry at an earlier age
D) support of the elderly increases
Unit 2 Examination
84
18) Which of the following involves blue water?
A) percolation of water through soil
B) transpiration of water from leaves on a bright sunny day
C) evaporation of water from a lake on a windy day
D) the formation of a dense layer of fog on a cold fall day
19) Water is naturally purified by
A) evaporation and condensation.

B) transpiration and evaporation.
C) precipitation and infiltration.
D) condensation and transpiration.
20) The kinetic energy of water is at its lowest when:
A) rain forms
B) water evaporates
C) ice forms
D) water percolates through soil
21) Which of the following would we expect on the leeward
sides of high mountain ranges?
A) deserts
B) rainforests
C) wetlands
D) deciduous forests
22) Which of the following contributes the most as a greenhouse
gas?
A) oxygen levels in the air
B) water vapor levels in the air
C) nitrogen levels in the air
D) the amount of pollutants in ocean water
23) We expect the highest relative humidity on a soccer field
during the summer on a:
A) hot afternoon during a drought
B) cool evening during a drought
C) hot afternoon following a heavy rain
D) cool evening after a heavy rain

Unit 2 Examination
85
24) About 99% of all liquid fresh water is found in:
A) underground aquifers.
B) rivers such as the Amazon, Nile, and Mississippi
watersheds.
C) lakes, including the Great Lakes of North America.
D) the upper few meters of topsoil.
25) The greatest worldwide use of water is for
A) human consumption.
B) industry.
C) irrigation.
D) washing and flushing toilets
Unit 3 Examination
125
answer sheet)
1) One at a time, you test how quickly each of the following
substances will settle out of water.

To measure this property, you separately test each of the
following by placing 100 grams of the
substance and 500 milliliters of water into a 1 liter jar and
screw on the lid tightly. Then you
shake the jar violently for 1 minute and set the jar down.
Which one of the following would
settle the fastest, creating the clearest water in the fastest
amount of time?
A) gravel
B) clay
C) silt
D) sand
2) A soil is found to have 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay.
This soil would be referred to as:
A) silty
B) sandy
C) clayey
D) loamy
3) Soils with the greatest water-holding capacity tend to have:
A) poor aeration and lowest workability
B) poor nutrient-holding capacity and good workability
C) good water infiltration and workability
D) good aeration and poor workability
4) Which one of the following soil horizons is least likely to be
interacting directly with living
organisms?
A) A horizon
B) O horizon

C) E horizon
D) C horizon
5) Detritus feeders and decomposers are most likely found in
the:
A) E and B horizon
B) A and O horizon
C) B and C horizon
D) C and E horizon
Unit 3 Examination
126
6) Severe wildfires followed by heavy rains have significantly
eroded the soil of a formerly forested
region. Which one of the following horizons is most likely
intact with little disturbance?
A) A horizon
B) O horizon
C) E horizon
D) C horizon
7) Compared to inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers such as
A) cow manure applied to a field increase the chances of
nutrient leaching.
B) cow manure applied to a field reduce the chances of
nutrient leaching.
C) liquid ammonia sprayed on a field decrease the

chances of nutrient leaching.
D) liquid ammonia sprayed on a field increase the
formation of humus.
8) The future worldwide use of irrigation:
A) is expected to double in the next 20 years due to increasing
demands for food
B) is limited by the availability of freshwater, waterlogging,
and salinization of soils
C) depends on new technologies to extract more groundwater
D) will require increased reliance on new hydrogen
technologies to produce freshwater
9) The development of new varieties of grain crops increased
productivity by increasing the:
A) surface area of the leaves of the plants
B) size of the roots and ability to absorb water
C) strength of the stems to support more grains
D) size and number of seeds
10) In the last 50 years, the greatest progress in addressing
worldwide hunger and malnutrition
came from the:
A) use of better transportation methods to export grain more
efficiently
B) development and use of new varieties of high-yielding
wheat and rice
C) reduced reliance on pesticides, herbicides, and chemical
fertilizers
D) widespread use of sustainable irrigation methods
11) Although the Green Revolution has greatly reduced world
hunger and malnutrition, it has:

A) doubled the amount of land used to raise crops
B) not significantly increased the productivity of modern
agriculture
C) required high levels of increasingly expensive fertilizer and
pesticides
D) contributed significantly to the destruction of the ozone
layer
Unit 3 Examination
127
12) The Hubbert peak accurately predicted
A) maximum U.S. oil consumption in 1972.
B) maximum U.S. oil consumption continuing to climb through
today.
C) maximum U.S. oil production about 1995.
D) maximum U.S. oil production about 1970.
13) Although considerable variation exists around the world,
globally, the percent of fossil fuels
that are used for the primary energy supply is more than:
A) 85%
B) 60%
C) 50%
D) 35%
14) The most cleanly burning fossil fuel available that produces
the least pollutants is:

A) coal, usually found in deposits deep within the Earth
B) kerosene, found in deposits associated with oil wells
C) natural gas, usually found in deposits associated with oil
D) nuclear energy, produced from rocks and minerals within
the Earth
15) More oil can be expected from a P50 of a 100 million barrel
field than from an oil field with a:
A) P70 for a 100 million barrel field.
B) P10 for a 150 million barrel field.
C) P40 for a 200 million barrel field.
D) P95 for a 90 million barrel field.
16) Because of the challenges associated with removing oil
from the ground:
A) the first oil removed from a well is the most expensive to
extract.
B) enhanced recovery of oil is more expensive than secondary
recovery.
C) primary recovery of oil is more expensive than secondary
recovery.
D) only about 60% of the oil in a well can be removed by just
pumping.
17) Radiation exposure immediately around a properly
functioning nuclear power plant is about
A) less than 1% of natural background exposure.
B) double normal environmental background exposure.
C) 10 times higher than normal environmental background
exposure.
D) 100 times higher than normal environmental background
exposure.

Unit 3 Examination
128
18) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Fission begins with one reactant and yields two atomic
products and a release of energy.
B) Fission begins with two reactants and yields one atomic
product and a release of
energy.
C) Fusion combines three reactants and yields one atomic
product and a release of energy.
D) Fusion begins with one reactant and yields two atomic
products and a release of energy.
19) Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes of carbon. These
isotopes differ in the number of:
A) protons
B) neutrons
C) electrons
D) protons, neutrons, or electrons
20) Nuclear bombs rely upon:
A) a domino effect that causes the nuclear fission of uranium-
235 in less than a second
B) a domino effect that causes the nuclear fusion of uranium-
235 in less than a second
C) an instantaneous fission of uranium-235 under extreme

pressures
D) an instantaneous fusion of uranium-235 under extreme
pressures
21) Enrichment of nuclear fuel:
A) increases the relative concentration of uranium-235 to only
3-5% to avoid any
possibility of nuclear explosion at higher percentages
B) increases the relative concentration of uranium-235 to 30-
50% to avoid a nuclear
explosion at higher percentages
C) decreases the relative concentration of uranium-235 from
60% to only 3-5% to avoid a
nuclear explosion at higher percentages
D) decreases the relative concentration of uranium-235 from
100% to 30-50% to avoid a
nuclear explosion at higher percentages
22) The actual fission reactions that release energy in a nuclear
power plant are about:
A) two-thirds from uranium-235 and one-third from uranium-
239
B) one-third from uranium-235 and two-thirds from uranium-
239
C) two-thirds from uranium-235 and one-third from plutonium-
239
D) one-third from uranium-235 and two-thirds from plutonium-
239
23) A self-amplifying reaction and a nuclear explosion in a
nuclear power plant are prevented in
large part by:

A) the regular addition of uranium-239 to the fuel
B) control rods that absorb extra neutrons
C) the production of plutonium-239
D) fuel rods that absorb tremendous amounts of heat
Unit 3 Examination
129
24) Compared to a nuclear plant, a coal-fired plant:
A) releases more than 100 times more radioactivity because of
radioactive elements in
coal.
B) requires much less mining and results in fewer mining
deaths.
C) contributes to acid rain, and a nuclear plant does not.
D) emits much less carbon dioxide.
25) Radioactive wastes consist of:
A) the direct products of fission.
B) the indirect products of fission.
C) the direct and indirect products of fusion.
D) the direct and indirect products of fission.
Unit 4 Examination
169

answer sheet)
1) About how much of the sun’s radiation would strike the Earth
if the Earth did not have its
atmosphere?
A) about 10 times more
B) about twice as much
C) it would be about the same
D) about half as much
2) With all of the sun’s energy striking the Earth every second
of every day, why doesn’t the Earth
overheat and kill us all?
A) The Earth is so large and dense that it absorbs all of this
heat.
B) The Earth is overheating regionally, melting rocks into the
lava of volcanoes.
C) The Earth maintains a balance by radiating this heat back
into space.
D) The atmosphere of the Earth prevents the solar radiation
from reaching the Earth’s
surface.
3) New buildings that receive the energy star rating are
recognized for:
A) using solar or geothermal for at least 30% of the building’s
energy needs.
B) using solar power for at least 50% of the building’s energy
needs.
C) using wind power for at least 20% of the building’s energy

needs.
D) using 40% less energy than other buildings in their class.
4) Photovoltaic cells are commonly used to power:
A) calculators.
B) lighthouses.
C) lawn mowers.
D) industrial manufacturing.
5) Solar trough technology converts
A) the ultraviolet light in sunlight directly into electricity.
B) the heat of the sun into steam to drive a turbogenerator.
C) sunlight into electricity which then produces steam heat.
D) the direct current generated by photovoltaic cells into
alternating current.
6) As sun shines on its leaves, a bean plant uses the light in
photosynthesis to make beans. This
entire process represents, in this sequence, the:
A) generation, collection, and conversion of energy
B) storage of energy, collection, and conversion
C) conversion, collection, and storage of energy
D) collection, conversion, and storage of energy
Unit 4 Examination
170
7) Which one of the following does not represent indirect solar

energy?
A) nuclear fission
B) dams
C) firewood
D) windmills
8) In passive solar units that heat water, the water moves
because:
A) flat-plate collectors are facing the sun
B) heated water rises up from low-positioned flat-plate
collectors to the water tank
C) wind-powered pumps move the water through the system
D) an electric water pump moves the water through the system
9) Risk in environmental health is most related to:
A) hazards
B) vulnerability
C) hazards multiplied by vulnerability
D) hazards or vulnerability
10) Hazard is anything that can cause any of the following
EXCEPT:
A) injury or death to humans
B) probability of suffering
C) damage to personal or public property
D) deterioration or destruction of environmental components
11) The ratio of weight in kilograms divided by the square of
height in meters is the:
A) body mass index.
B) body height matrix.

C) morbidity rate.
D) none of the above
12) The Centers for Disease Control employs many people who
study epidemiology. These people
might be interested in:
A) identifying new types of infectious disease
B) the prevention of infectious disease
C) the worldwide distribution of infectious disease
D) identifying, tracking the spread of, and preventing
infectious disease
Unit 4 Examination
171
13) What has overtaken tuberculosis as the disease that causes
the most adult deaths worldwide?
A) Malaria
B) Measles
C) Syphilis
D) AIDS
14) The WHO has stated that _____________ is the world’s
biggest killer.
A) obesity
B) poverty
C) high cholesterol
D) high blood pressure

15) Over the past 50 years, global life expectancy has:
A) decreased by about 5 years, due primarily to increases in
viral infections
B) stayed about the same, due to new diseases spread by global
climate change
C) risen about 5 years due to the development of many poor
nations
D) risen more than 20 years due to better health care and
nutrition worldwide
16) Risk management involves:
A) a thorough review of the information available pertaining to
the hazard in question and
the risk characterization of that hazard.
B) a decision to as to whether the weight of the evidence
justifies a regulatory action.
C) none of the above
D) both A and B.
17) Which of the following is a good example of a cultural
hazard to public health?
A) During an earthquake in Japan, people are killed by falling
pieces of a building.
B) Air pollution near an oil refinery releases known
carcinogens into the air.
C) People living in southern Africa face some of the highest
risks of developing
tuberculosis.
D) Eating a high-fat diet and engaging in little exercise, a man
increasingly becomes
obese.

18) The thinning of the troposphere away from the equator is
primarily a result of:
A) land masses moving towards the poles
B) shifting of the continental plates due to plate tectonics
C) differences in solar energy striking the Earth
D) the number of clouds in the mesosphere and thermosphere
Unit 4 Examination
172
19) In a Hadley cell:
A) warm air rises and cool air falls
B) cool air rises and warm air falls
C) warm water rises and cool water falls
D) cool water rises and warm water falls
20) __________________ are alternative chemical
configurations of a given compound.
A) Mitigations
B) Adaptations
C) Convections
D) Isotopes
21) The third-most important GHG is:
A) water vapor.
B) nitrous oxide.

C) methane.
D) chlorofluorocarbons.
22) Examining your flight plans for a trip from Atlanta,
Georgia, to Seattle, Washington, and back,
you notice that the total time in the air for the flight to
Seattle is much longer than the flight
back to Atlanta. Then it occurs to you that this is probably
because of the impact of:
A) the jet stream
B) several weather fronts along the way
C) the mixing of the troposphere and stratosphere
D) changes in time zones as you fly between the east and the
west
23) The effect of the 2008 recession has
A) speeded up the flight from inner cities to suburbs.
B) made existing properties more valuable.
C) greatly slowed the suburban building boom and the purchase
of new houses.
D) reversed the movement to suburbs, increasing the pressure
to find housing in the inner
city.
Unit 4 Examination
173
24) Over the past 60 years, as people moved from U.S. cities to
suburbs, the people that were left

behind in the cities were primarily
A) older, poor people representing ethnic minorities.
B) younger, wealthy people representing ethnic minorities.
C) older and wealthy Caucasians.
D) younger Caucasians.
25) _________________ ranges from supporting and voting for
particular candidates to expressing
your support for particular legislation through letters or
phone calls.
A) Lifestyle choices
B) Membership in nongovernmental organizations
C) Political involvement
D) None of the above

GED 108 Unit 1 Exam Multiple Choice Questions

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GED 108 Unit 1 Exam Multiple Choice Questions