CHAPTER 1—ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, THEIR CAUSES, AND
SUSTAINABILITY
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A fictional vision of a more environmentally healthy planet in the future uses which of the
following fuels and renewable energy resources?
a. underground heat only
b. algae only
c. sun and wind only
d. flowing water only
e. underground heat, algae, sun and wind and flowing water
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: CORE CASE STUDY-CHAPTER 1
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
2. Which of the following best describes the areas of study that are important in the discipline of
environmental science?
a. Biology.
b. Chemistry and geology
c. Economics and biology
d. Economics and chemistry
e. Biology, chemistry, geology and economics
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
3. Which of the following is a goal of environmental science?
a. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived..
b. Understand how we interact with the environment.
c. Live more sustainably and find ways to deal with environmental problems.
d. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived and understand how we interact with the
environment.
e. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived, understand how we interact with the
environment, and live more sustainably and find ways to deal with environmental
problems.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
4. Which of the following is a social movement dedicated to the protection of the Earth's natural
capital?
a. Ecology
b. environmental science
c. Environmentalism
d. natural science
e. Sustainability
, ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
5. Which of the following terms encompasses all of the others?
a. natural capital
b. natural resources
c. natural services
d. renewable resources
e. nonrenewable resources
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
6. Which of the following is a form of natural capital gained directly or indirectly as a result of solar
energy?
a. Forests
b. flowing water and wind energy
c. wind energy only
d. coal and oil
e. forests, flowing water, wind energy, coal and oil.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
7. You have decided to install solar collectors on the roof of your home that will cut your use of
propane gas to heat both your hot water tank and the living spaces in your home. In doing so, you
are using a ______________resource rather than a ______________resource.
a. renewable; nonrenewable
b. perpetual; renewable
c. renewable; perpetual
d. nonrenewable; renewable
e. perpetual; nonrenewable
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
8. One of the reasons biodiversity is such an important aspect of sustainability is the fact that
a. cycling chemicals maintains a ready supply of new materials for water, soil and food
b. it is the ultimate source of energy for plants
c. interactions among species provide population controls that limits ultimate population
sizes of many species
d. it provides water purification and topsoil renewable
e. two of these answers are correct
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
, 9. Which of the following is best categorized as an example of a natural service?
a. renewable energy
b. nonrenewable energy
c. water purification
d. Oil
e. Soil
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
10. When we speak of protecting the environment, we are referring to
a. all living things on the planet
b. all non-living things such as air, fresh water, and energy
c. all living and non-living things
d. humans and the living and non-living things that affect them only
e. humans and the living things that affect them only
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
11. A group of organisms with a unique set of characteristics that distinguishes them from other
organisms, is called a
a. Species
b. Ecosystem
c. sustainable society
d. natural resource
e. Population
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
12. Nutrient recycling is a vital natural service carried out by which natural resource?
a. natural gas
b. clean air
c. Topsoil
d. grazing animals such as deer
e. two of these answers
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
13. The three principles of sustainability are:
a. solar energy, biodiversity and perpetual energy
b. use of natural capital to support human economies
, c. use of renewable resources, but no use of nonrenewable resources
d. solar energy, biodiversity and chemical cycling
e. biodiversity, use of perpetual resources and widespread reduction of use
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderal
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
14. Which of the following would best be categorized as a perpetual resource?
a. oil reserves
b. Fisheries
c. solar energy
d. Forests
e. coal reserves
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
15. What is an essential characteristic that indicates whether a resource should be categorized as a
renewable resource?
a. It must be an energy resource.
b. It must be a biological resource.
c. It must be recyclable.
d. It must have the capacity to be replenished within days to several hundred years.
e. It must have the capacity to be utilized for immediate economic benefit.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
16. Select the choice that correctly states the best priority for use of non-renewable resources, such as
metals and plastics, from the environmentally sustainable perspective.
a. recycle, reuse, reduce
b. reuse, reduce, recycle
c. reduce, reuse, recycle
d. reduce, recycle, refuse
e. repurpose, recycle, remake
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
17. Which of the following is an example of recycling?
a. collecting and remelting aluminum beer cans and making them into new cans
b. cleaning and refilling soft-drink bottles
c. selling used clothing at a garage sale
d. saving leftovers in a peanut butter jar
e. using household water to water a garden
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
SUSTAINABILITY
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A fictional vision of a more environmentally healthy planet in the future uses which of the
following fuels and renewable energy resources?
a. underground heat only
b. algae only
c. sun and wind only
d. flowing water only
e. underground heat, algae, sun and wind and flowing water
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: CORE CASE STUDY-CHAPTER 1
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
2. Which of the following best describes the areas of study that are important in the discipline of
environmental science?
a. Biology.
b. Chemistry and geology
c. Economics and biology
d. Economics and chemistry
e. Biology, chemistry, geology and economics
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
3. Which of the following is a goal of environmental science?
a. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived..
b. Understand how we interact with the environment.
c. Live more sustainably and find ways to deal with environmental problems.
d. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived and understand how we interact with the
environment.
e. Learn how life on earth has thrived and survived, understand how we interact with the
environment, and live more sustainably and find ways to deal with environmental
problems.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
4. Which of the following is a social movement dedicated to the protection of the Earth's natural
capital?
a. Ecology
b. environmental science
c. Environmentalism
d. natural science
e. Sustainability
, ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
5. Which of the following terms encompasses all of the others?
a. natural capital
b. natural resources
c. natural services
d. renewable resources
e. nonrenewable resources
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
6. Which of the following is a form of natural capital gained directly or indirectly as a result of solar
energy?
a. Forests
b. flowing water and wind energy
c. wind energy only
d. coal and oil
e. forests, flowing water, wind energy, coal and oil.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
7. You have decided to install solar collectors on the roof of your home that will cut your use of
propane gas to heat both your hot water tank and the living spaces in your home. In doing so, you
are using a ______________resource rather than a ______________resource.
a. renewable; nonrenewable
b. perpetual; renewable
c. renewable; perpetual
d. nonrenewable; renewable
e. perpetual; nonrenewable
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
8. One of the reasons biodiversity is such an important aspect of sustainability is the fact that
a. cycling chemicals maintains a ready supply of new materials for water, soil and food
b. it is the ultimate source of energy for plants
c. interactions among species provide population controls that limits ultimate population
sizes of many species
d. it provides water purification and topsoil renewable
e. two of these answers are correct
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
, 9. Which of the following is best categorized as an example of a natural service?
a. renewable energy
b. nonrenewable energy
c. water purification
d. Oil
e. Soil
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
10. When we speak of protecting the environment, we are referring to
a. all living things on the planet
b. all non-living things such as air, fresh water, and energy
c. all living and non-living things
d. humans and the living and non-living things that affect them only
e. humans and the living things that affect them only
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
11. A group of organisms with a unique set of characteristics that distinguishes them from other
organisms, is called a
a. Species
b. Ecosystem
c. sustainable society
d. natural resource
e. Population
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
12. Nutrient recycling is a vital natural service carried out by which natural resource?
a. natural gas
b. clean air
c. Topsoil
d. grazing animals such as deer
e. two of these answers
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
13. The three principles of sustainability are:
a. solar energy, biodiversity and perpetual energy
b. use of natural capital to support human economies
, c. use of renewable resources, but no use of nonrenewable resources
d. solar energy, biodiversity and chemical cycling
e. biodiversity, use of perpetual resources and widespread reduction of use
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderal
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
14. Which of the following would best be categorized as a perpetual resource?
a. oil reserves
b. Fisheries
c. solar energy
d. Forests
e. coal reserves
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
15. What is an essential characteristic that indicates whether a resource should be categorized as a
renewable resource?
a. It must be an energy resource.
b. It must be a biological resource.
c. It must be recyclable.
d. It must have the capacity to be replenished within days to several hundred years.
e. It must have the capacity to be utilized for immediate economic benefit.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
16. Select the choice that correctly states the best priority for use of non-renewable resources, such as
metals and plastics, from the environmentally sustainable perspective.
a. recycle, reuse, reduce
b. reuse, reduce, recycle
c. reduce, reuse, recycle
d. reduce, recycle, refuse
e. repurpose, recycle, remake
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
17. Which of the following is an example of recycling?
a. collecting and remelting aluminum beer cans and making them into new cans
b. cleaning and refilling soft-drink bottles
c. selling used clothing at a garage sale
d. saving leftovers in a peanut butter jar
e. using household water to water a garden
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 1-1 WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
