AP Environmental Science : AP Environmental Sciences
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Example Questions
Example Question #42 : Pollution
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 established the Superfund for heavily polluted or contaminated sites. What is the source of revenue for Superfund cleanup projects?
The Potentially Responsible Party is held financially accountable and must foot the cost of cleanup upfront and before cleanup can take place.
Federal funding is provided for cleaning up Superfund sites, and the cost can be recovered by holding the Potentially Responsible Party financially accountable.
The taxpayers foot the bill for any Superfund cleanup sight. CERCLA considers citizens and consumers equally accountable for environmental harm.
Nobody is held directly accountable. The sales tax that we pay for petroleum and lead products go to the Superfund and provide revenue when a cleanup has to happen.
The funding for the Superfund is actually revenue generated by the EPA from fines they have issued firms found guilty of improper waste management or disposal.
Federal funding is provided for cleaning up Superfund sites, and the cost can be recovered by holding the Potentially Responsible Party financially accountable.
Superfund is initially federally funded (by taxpayer revenue), but the EPA uses CERCLA to hold Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) financially accountable and recover the cost of cleanup that has so far been financed by the government.
Example Question #2 : Economic Impacts
Which of the following is a situation in which he individual would NOT be held responsible for cost of cleanup under CERCLA?
A third-party waste disposal company that has been contracted to dispose of hazardous waste for a polluting electronics company whose improper storage methods have resulted in environmental contamination.
An individual who inherited ownership of industrial property that has been found to be leaking petroleum chemicals due to improper storage practices by the previous owner.
An employee at a company that was found to be disposing of hazardous waste products improperly, resulting in environmental contamination.
A land developer who purchased property with tailing ponds from a former mining operation that are currently leaking hazardous chemicals into the ground and water table.
A purchasing agent for a waste management company that assesses suitability of land for waste disposal and purchases properties for waste disposal.
An employee at a company that was found to be disposing of hazardous waste products improperly, resulting in environmental contamination.
CERCLA identifies a Potentially Responsible Party as an individual or firm that currently owns the site, owned the site at the time contamination occurred, arranged to have waste stored/disposed at the site, or transported the waste and contributed to arranging disposal at the contaminated site. Individuals who purchase land where pollutants are currently being released can be held accountable, even if they did not contribute to the pollution.
The employee of a polluting firm who did not directly arrange for or assist in the handling and disposal of waste cannot be held financially accountable for the resulting cleanup.
Example Question #4 : Economic Impacts
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Because it is shallow, only about 1% of pollutants make it out into the Atlantic.
Air pollutants account for nearly __________ of nitrogen pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay.
5%
20%
7%
35%
35%
35% of nitrogenous pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay comes from air pollutants. That being said, agricultural waste is a serious concern and both federal and state governments have offered subsidies in exchange for farmers leaving crucial lands unplanted.
Example Question #1 : Ozone
Where in the atmosphere does the ozone layer reside?
Troposphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Stratosphere
The ozone layer is far enough from organisms not to harm them, but also is close enough to the Earth's surface to maintain the proper temperature and hold its layer rigidity. The stratosphere is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 : Ultraviolet Light And Radiation
The ozone layer blocks harmful UV light from reaching Earth's surface. Which of the following best describes the location of the ozone layer?
Troposphere
Thermosphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere, which is one layer above the troposphere (i.e. where we live).
Example Question #1 : Global Effects And Dynamics
Ozone depletion is caused by the presence of halogen containing compounds in the atmosphere. Which of the following is NOT a halogen?
neon
iodine
bromine
chlorine
fluorine
neon
Fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine are all halogens. Neon on the other hand is an inert noble gas.
Example Question #2 : Causes And Effects Of Ozone Loss
In Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Chile, cases of __________ are increasing due to ozone depletion.
cataracts
insect-borne disease
birth defects
species extinctions
cataracts
Cataracts, skin cancer, and high-intensity sunburns are all on the rise in these countries due to ozone depletion and therefore higher exposure to harmful UV rays.
Example Question #2 : Global Effects And Dynamics
Which environmental issue did the 1989 Montreal Protocol address?
Worldwide loss of biodiversity
Deforestation
Cimate change
Depletion of the ozone layer
Biological warfare
Depletion of the ozone layer
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty to phase out production of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, including CFCs and halocarbons.
Example Question #1 : Global Warming
What is the primary source of the greenhouse gas Nitrous Oxide (
Natural gas
Wood-burning stoves
Halocarbon gases
Deforestation
Livestock feedlots and synthetic fertilizers
Livestock feedlots and synthetic fertilizers
Chemical fertilizers are produced to fix nitrogen for farmers' fields, and while fields naturally lose nitrogen to the atmosphere in the form of 
Example Question #2 : Global Effects And Dynamics
The most abundant greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere is __________.
aerosols
hydrogen
water vapor
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's)
ozone
water vapor
Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Infrared radiation that gets absorbed and reflected by the Earth's surface gets trapped and reflected back to the Earth's surface by greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere in a process known as the "greenhouse effect."
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