Eco Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A household toilet continuously leaks clean water into the bowl. Which response will usually conserve the most water?
Repairing the faulty valve or seal
Flushing only during cooler parts of the day
Cleaning the bowl with less detergent
Opening a bathroom window after each use
2. A lake develops dense algal growth after heavy rain washes fertilizer from nearby fields into the water. What most likely triggered the growth?
An influx of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
A shortage of sunlight at the surface
A sudden increase in water salinity
A reduction in sediment entering the lake
3. Food scraps buried in a landfill can contribute to climate change primarily because oxygen-poor decomposition produces which gas?
Ozone
Methane
Helium
Hydrogen
4. When a forest is burned, what happens to much of the carbon stored in its vegetation?
It becomes nitrogen before entering the soil
It is converted permanently into oxygen
It disappears from the carbon cycle
It is released into the atmosphere in gases such as carbon dioxide
5. If pollinating insects decline sharply in an ecosystem, which effect is most likely for plants that depend on those insects?
Their need for water will disappear
Their leaves will stop carrying out photosynthesis
Their flowers will automatically switch to wind pollination
Their successful reproduction and fruit or seed production may decrease
6. International restrictions on chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, were primarily introduced to address which environmental problem?
Nutrient pollution in freshwater lakes
Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer
Soil erosion caused by intensive farming
Plastic accumulation on beaches
7. A non-native insect arrives in a new habitat, spreads rapidly, and displaces native insects. Which condition most likely helped it become invasive?
It could survive only in its original habitat
It immediately increased resources for every native species
It faced few natural predators while competing effectively for resources
It reproduced too slowly to establish a population
8. A homeowner adds insulation to a poorly insulated roof. Why can this reduce household energy use?
Insulation generates electricity from indoor air
Insulation slows unwanted heat transfer between the home and outdoors
Insulation makes outdoor temperatures more stable
Insulation removes the need for all ventilation
9. Which action comes earliest in the waste hierarchy because it prevents waste before it is created?
Recycling an unwanted product
Recovering energy from the product
Avoiding an unnecessary purchase
Sending the product to a managed landfill
10. A commuter wants to reduce fossil-fuel use on a short daily journey. Which change most directly achieves that goal?
Keeping reusable bags in the car
Driving the same route earlier in the day
Washing the car less frequently
Walking or cycling instead of driving alone
11. What is the main ecological purpose of a wildlife corridor between two separated forests?
To help organisms move between fragmented habitats
To prevent all human activity near either forest
To make both forests develop identical habitats
To eliminate competition among species
12. Two people compare a reusable cup with disposable cups. What information is most important for a fair life-cycle comparison?
Only the color and shape of each cup
Only whether the reusable cup can be recycled eventually
The resources used to make and wash it, plus how many times it is reused
The distance from the cup to the nearest waste bin
13. During normal operation, what energy conversion occurs in a photovoltaic solar panel?
Sunlight is converted into electrical energy
Wind energy is converted into thermal energy
Chemical energy is converted into nuclear energy
Geothermal energy is converted into mechanical energy
14. A chemical spill enters a stream upstream from a town. Why could it affect water quality near the town later?
Watersheds prevent substances from moving downstream
Stream pollutants always change immediately into harmless minerals
Flowing water can transport pollutants through the connected watershed
Only airborne pollution can travel between locations
15. A recycling bin contains many containers still filled with food and liquid. What is a likely consequence?
The contamination automatically improves the recycled material
Some recyclable material may be rejected or become harder to process
Every item will be composted instead of sorted
The contents will require no mechanical sorting
16. One unusually cold day occurs during a decades-long rise in a region's average temperature. Which interpretation is most accurate?
Average temperature trends cannot include occasional cold conditions
The cold day shows that the regional climate has permanently reversed
Daily weather and long-term climate are the same measurement
A single weather event does not disprove a long-term climate trend