Water Pollution – Middle School
1. Which of these helps stop soil and fertilizer from running off a farm field into a stream?
A. planting a grass buffer
B. fencing along the stream
C. plowing to the edge of a stream
D. agriculture
2. Which of these helps keep waste from cows out of a stream?
A. fencing along the stream
B. limiting cows to one spot in a stream
C. using a culvert to carry the waste away
D. agriculture
3. What is the best way to decide how much fertilizer to apply to a crop field?
A. do a soil test
B. use the same amount as the previous year
C. find out how much everyone else is using this year
D. agriculture
4. The first step in cleaning wastewater at a treatment plant is to remove large solids. What is this step called?
A. screening
B. clarification
C. aeration
D. wastewater
5. The second step in cleaning wastewater at a treatment plant is to separate scum and sludge from the liquid fraction. What is this step called?
A. clarification
B. screening
C. aeration
D. wastewater
6. What are the solids, like fats, grease and oils, that float on the top of wastewater called?
A. scum
B. sludge
C. rocks
D. wastewater
7. What are the solids that are denser than wastewater, so that they sink to the bottom, called?
A. sludge
B. scum
C. rocks
D. wastewater
8. The third step in cleaning wastewater at a treatment plant is to mix the liquid fraction with air to help bacteria break down the small solids. What is this step called?
A. aeration
B. clarification
C. screening
D. wastewater
9. The last step in cleaning wastewater at a treament plant is to disinfect the water. What is this step called?
A. chlorination
B. clarification
C. screening
D. wastewater
10. What is waste water or storm water that flows overland into a body of water?
A. non-point source water pollution
B. point source water pollution
C. industrial waste
D.
11. What is waste water that flows from a pipe into a body of water?
A. point source water pollution
B. non-point source water pollution
C. ground water
D.
12. What is an area of land whose rainwater and snowmelt drain into a single stream or river?
A. a watershed
B. a river
C. a lake
D. water bodies
13. What are soil or bits of rock suspended in water?
A. sediment
B. organic solids
C. scum
D. sediment
14. How does sediment affect the health of plants or animals in a lake or stream?
A. it blocks light and reduces algal photosynthesis
B. it settles around plant roots and stabilizes them
C. it clogs plankton gills
D. sediment
15. What is an underground tank used to treat household wastewater in places where there is no centralized treatment?
A. a septic tank
B. a holding tank
C. a settling pond
D. wastewater
16. What happens to sludge in a septic tank?
A. it accumulates on the bottom
B. it floats on top of the wastewater
C. it flows into the drainfield
D. wastewater
17. What happens to scum in a septic tank?
A. it floats on top of the wastewater
B. it accumulates on the bottom
C. it flows into the drainfield
D. wastewater
18. What happens to the liquid part of wastewater in a septic tank?
A. it flows into the drainfield
B. it accumulates on the bottom
C. it floats on top of the wastewater
D. wastewater
19. What happens in a septic system's drain field?
A. bacteria in the soil break down the waste
B. sunlight breaks down the waste
C. scum and sludge are separated
D. wastewater
20. What waste treatment system works by holding feces and urine in a pit or tank until it can be removed for further treatment?
A. a pit toilet or latrine
B. a septic system
C. a lagoon
D. wastewater
21. How do factories dispose of their wastewater?
A. they pretreat it and send it to a wastewater treatment plant
B. they pipe it to a river
C. they store it in lagoons until the water evaporates
D. wastewater
22. What are chemicals that mimic natural hormones and affect development and reproduction in living organisms?
A. endocrine disruptors
B. antiobiotics
C. road salt
D. endocrine disruptors
23. Which of these is a documented effect of an endocrine disruptor?
A. feminization of male frogs
B. masculinization of female birds
C. delayed maturation of human females
D. endocrine disruptors
24. What is acid rain?
A. precipitation that has a pH lower than 5.7
B. precipitation that has a pH lower than 7.0
C. precipitation that has a pH higher than 7.0
D. acid rain
25. What causes acid rain?
A. sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere
B. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
C. CFCs in the atmosphere
D. acid rain
26. What is an effect of acid rain?
A. fish eggs may not hatch
B. algal growth is higher
C. zooplankton populations increase
D. acid rain
27. Which characteristic or condition of the environment affects how seriously acid rain affects a lake?
A. whether the lake bedrock is limestone or granite
B. whether the lake has a lot of nutrients in it
C. whether the shoreline is forested or not
D. acid rain
28. Who studies the movement of water above and below ground?
A. hydrologists
B. water conservationists
C. chemical engineers
D. careers
29. Who advises individuals and governments about water quality and quantity
A. water conservationists
B. industrial engineers
C. hydrologists
D. careers
30. Who creates methods of cleaning industrial waste water?
A. industrial engineers
B. microbiologists
C. water conservationists
D. careers
31. Who monitors water for harmful bacteria and other pathogens?
A. microbiologists
B. hydrologists
C. industrial engineers
D. careers
Correct Answer - A