Human Impact on the Environment

Deforestation can lead to ________________.

• A) loss of animal habitats
• B) soil erosion
• C) increases in Earth’s average surface temperature
• D) all of the above

2) Why do we need to find an alternative to fossil fuels?

• A) They decrease the effects of global warming.
• C) They increase biodiversity.
• D) They increase particulate matter in the air.

3) Runoff from construction sites, which can contain excess sediment, reduces the amount of oxygen available for photosynthetic organisms.

• True
• False

4) Which of the following does NOT help to make acid precipitation?

• A) water and oxygen in the atmosphere
• B) a decrease in the pH of a lake
• C) car exhaust

5) Which is one way for individual citizens to have a positive impact on air quality?

• Drive around more

• Bike around, carpool, or use public transportation

• Burn all of their trash

6) Photochemical smog is the result of nitrogen and carbon, often from car exhaust, reacting in sunlight. Which describes something that would likely decrease the amount of smog over time?

• an increase in the number of cars on the road

• a decrease in the price of cars (People will buy more cars)

• an increase in cars that use gasoline efficiently

7) The use of renewable energy resources rather than burning fossil fuels helps

__________air pollution.

• Reduce

• Increase

8) Samantha joins a group that cleans litter out of streams. What sort of impact is this group

having on the environment?

• Positive

• Negative

9) Cleaning up polluted water is very difficult. What is a better way to reduce water pollution? Select the best TWO answers

• Create a water retention pond to catch the runoff before it reaches rivers

• Recycle

• Creating a cleaning group to scoop out the water once a week.

10) When forests disappear, the number of different organisms in an ecosystem will likely______________ .

• grow
• decrease
• stay the same