SAMPLE FOR REFERENCE ONLY
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE COMPETITION – PRELIMINARY ROUND 2011
The competition is worth 100 points and is in two parts, multiple choice and essay:
Your team has 2 hours to complete both parts
Part 1 – 25 multiple-choice questions
- Write your answer, in ink, A, B or C in the answer box on right of this paper for each question
- Each question is worth 2 marks
The decisions of the judges is final
PART 1
Q / A / B / C / Answer
1 / Most countries use coal to generate electricity. Which of the following countries has the highest percentage of its electricity produced from coal / United Kingdom / United States of America / India
2 / The term CCS is commonly used in energy and Government circles in the UK. CCS stands for / Clean Coal Sources / Carbon Capture and Storage / Carbon and Coal Sinks
3 / The principle purpose of the UK Research Councils Energy Programme is to ensure that the / UK meets its energy and environmental targets / UK starts a replacement Nuclear Power Station programme as soon as possible / UK has a balanced power generation programme
4 / CO2 from aircraft movements and shipping account for what percentage of global CO2 emissions? / 10-15% / 15-20% / 20-25%
5 / The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) energy efficiency scheme is the new mandatory government carbon trading scheme for large, non-energy intensive organisations. What is its main aim? / To encourage organisations to take energy efficiency measures to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from electricity, gas and oil consumption / To encourage organisations to take energy efficiency measures to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by using more public transport / To encourage organisations to get their employees to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) at home
6 / Methane and carbon dioxide can be produced from microorganisms acting on animal waste in anaerobic conditions. What are anaerobic conditions? / Conditions where oxygen is naturally present at a level of about 20% / Conditions where oxygen is added, to increase it above the natural conditions, to about 35% / Conditions where natural oxygen is absent
7 / A proposed biomass power station at Drax, North Yorkshire would have an output of 290 megawatts. This would supply the electricity needs of a city the size of: / Nottingham: population 280,000 / Doncaster: population 70,000 / Sheffield: population 530,000
8 / The UK plans to increase its power generation from biomass plants. Fuel for biomass power stations in the UK usually from three sources UK woodlands and farms, recovered wood and imported wood products. By 2025 the UK will be able to supply how much from UK woodland and forests? / 8% / 18% / 28%
9 / It is estimated that 45% of Russia’s off-shore hydrocarbon reserves can be found in the KaraSea in the Russian Arctic. The KaraSea lies off the coast of: / Eastern Siberia / Central Siberia / Western Siberia
10 / The latest IPCC Report predicts a global sea level rise of one metre by the year 2100. This will place at risk low lying areas populated by: / Six million people / Sixty million people / Six hundred million people
11 / Overall greenhouse gases have a latency period of about 30 years. A latency period is: / The time greenhouse gases take to travel from the earths surface to the upper atmosphere / The time the warming affect on the earth from greenhouse gases lasts / The time greenhouse gases will continue to be released into the atmosphere
12 / It is predicted that one of the following global events would happen if the average global temperature increaseby 2100 was 2-3 centigrade / All sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic would disappear permanently / The oceans would turn more acidic and probably destroy coral reefs / Produce the danger of runaway warming confining humans to living in polar regions and high mountains
13 / What is a national ecological footprint / A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a country / A measure of the diversity and range of plants and animals present naturally in a country / A measure of the amount of consumption of resources needed to sustain the population of a country
14 / Transport is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases. Which of the following categories is the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases / Aircraft / Trucks and Lorries / Cars
15 / Aircraft emit the majority of their greenhouse gases high in the atmosphere. Does this / Make little difference to the overall effect on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere / Reduce the overall impact because they are released so high in the atmosphere / Double the impact because they are released so high in the atmosphere
16 / There is a current trend for “GreenBuilding”. A green building will reduce energy costs of a conventional building by about how much? / 20% / 30% / 40%
17 / Evidence from satellite information shows the Greenland ice sheet is beginning to melt more rapidly. If the entire ice sheet were to melt it would raise global sea level by approximately: / 3 metres / 6 metres / 12 metres
18 / 90% of the annual ice loss on the Antarctic ice sheet occurs through: / Discharge by rapid movement of ice streams and outlet glaciers / Evaporation by the heat of the sun / Lack of replacement by snowfall
19 / A Moulin is: / A type of windmill / A vertical tunnel in an ice sheet / A new form of sustainable rapid transit in urban areas
20 / A survey of young members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) found their greatest concerns were about: / Climate Change / Annual Pay Awards / House Prices
21 / Combined Heat and Power Generation is / a system that recovers the heat produced as a by-product of electricity generation / a system that produces equal amounts of heat and power / a system that uses the heat of the sun to produce power
22 / Embodied Energy is / the energy used in manufacturing, packaging and transporting a product, material or service / the theoretical energy obtainable from an power plant / the latent energy contained within a moving object
23 / Carbon Offsetting refers to the principle that / a company or individual can mitigate or even entirely neutralise the effects of their CO2 emissions / a company or individual can exist without carbon / a company or individual can exist entirely on carbon based products
24 / The term Carbon Capture and Storage is commonly used in energy and Government circles in the UK to imply / Capturing and storing CO2 in a geologically sound underground storage site / Capturing and storing CO2 to enhance growth in food crops / Capturing and storing CO2 so it can be used for the chemical industry
25 / The Renewables Obligation is / the legal requirement for UK energy providers to source 8% percent of their energy from renewable sources / the legal requirement for all households to recycle their domestic waste / the legal requirement for all UK households to renew their electrical goods with A rated products
PART 2 ESSAY
Question: How would you improve the Carbon Footprint of your organisation/school/college?