Chapter 1 Science and the Environment
1) One of the major factors causing the 2008 surge in global food prices was
A) severe global droughts that devastated corn, wheat, and rice crops worldwide.
B) the use of grains to produce alcohol and biodiesel fuels.
C) a dramatic increase in meat production requiring more grain to feed cattle.
D) the switch from food crops to cotton to produce more raw materials for textiles.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
2) Increasing global demands for energy is
A) increasing social stability in many countries, as people pull together to solve this
challenge.
B) forcing dramatic switches to nuclear and tidal power, which do not contribute to
global climate change.
C) renewing interests in preserving and protecting additional lands for conservation.
D) increasing political attention to oil production and global climate change.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
3) Which of the following is not a renewable resource?
A) the sun beating down on a rain forest
B) plants, such as bamboo and rice, growing in moist environments
,C) oil reserves, buried deep below the surface of the ground
D) water flowing through a dam
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
4) The environmental damage to Easter Island was mainly due to
A) frequent stops by whalers seeking food and water.
B) a series of severe storms that destroyed forests and homes.
C) the invasion of the islands by goats and sheep after English sailors arrived.
D) poor environmental planning by the native people.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
,5) Just before the initial contact by the Dutch in 1722, the Rapa Nui natives of Easter
Island had
A) developed a civilization, which primarily traded wood products with nearby nations.
B) experienced a large population decline caused by dwindling natural resources and a
civil war.
C) developed a social structure largely dependent upon the sea for food and other
resources.
D) grown their civilization using science and technologies equal to the western world.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
6) Which one of the following textbooks contains information that would have been of
greatest benefit to the ancient Rapa Nui civilization on Easter Island?
A) astronomy
B) chemistry
C) engineering
D) environmental science
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Topic: 1.Introduction
7) When trees were depleted on Easter Island, the Rapa Nui
A) experienced flooding, leading to the formation of swamps and bogs.
B) had to rely upon fishing to provide food for the community.
C) relied more on large-scale agriculture, raising wheat and rice.
D) could no longer move their large stone statues.
, Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.Introduction
8) More people are alive today than all of the people who died in the preceding
A) 50 years.
B) 100 years.
C) 150 years.
D) 1,000 years.
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Topic: 1.1
9) Since about 1985, the world population has increased by about
A) 10%.
B) 40%.
C) 70%.
D) 100%.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: 1.1