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Self Test for Nonpoint Pollution of Surface Waters with Phosphorus and Nitrogen Module

Click on the appropriate response to each question below. After you've completed the quiz, you can calculate your score and compare your answers to the correct answers by clicking on the calculate score button that follows the quiz.

1. Nonpoint pollution and eutrophication are not well understood scientifically.
  A. True
  B. False
  		2. The abundance of livestock causes manure production that exceeds the needs of crops to which the manure is applied.
  A. True
  B. False
 
3. Outputs of N and P to agriculture in the US exceed inputs.
  A. True
  B. False
 

4. Runoff from cities and acid rain generated by human activities are two of the nonpoint sources of N to surface waters.

  A. True
  B. False
 

5. Most eutrophic lakes would still require control of nonpoint inputs of P even if point source inputs of P were reduced to zero.

  A. True
  B. False
 

6. Nonpoint source pollution is partly responsible for water shortages.

  A. True
  B. False
 

7. Continued release of P from lake bottom sediments, even after P input is halted, can significantly delay lake recovery from eutrophication.

  A. True
  B. False
 

8. People's preference for a meat-rich diet may lead in the future to less cropland and hence less N and P pollution.

  A. True
  B. False
 

9. Chemical pollutants originate from point sources but not nonpoint sources.

  A. True
  B. False

10. Regulatory standards for disposing of animal wastes are generally less stringent than those for treating human wastes.

  A. True
  B. False
11. Eutrophication is a human-induced, not a natural, process of lake aging.
  A. True
  B. False
12. Continued increases of nonpoint pollution are inevitable given projected population growth.
  A. True
  B. False
13. Wetlands restoration may be the most cost-effective method of decreasing nonpoint N pollution.
  A. True
  B. False
14. The atmosphere is a significant source of N in surface waters
  A. True
  B. False
15. An area of cropland roughly 100 times the size of the livestock feedlot area is required to distribute manure nutrients at levels the plants on that land can use.
  A. True
  B. False
16. Which of the following are characteristic traits of nonpoint pollution?
  A. the major source of water pollution in the US today
  B. intermittent and variable over time
  C. fairly simple to monitor
  D. A, B, and C
  E. A and B
  F. A and C
17. Which of the following is not true?
  A. Eutrophication in rivers, lakes and estuaries is caused by over-enrichment with N and P
  B. Excess fertilization and manure production cause a surplus of N and P that can wind up in US waters.
  C. The major sources of nonpoint pollution are agriculture and mining.
  D. Soil runoff transports P to aquatic ecosystems.
18. In urban areas, primary sources of N and P pollution in surface waters include which of the following?
  A. automobile brake pads
  B. pet wastes and lawn fertilizers
  C. municipal wastewater treatment pants
  D. asphalt and concrete
  E. A and B
  F. A and C
  G. B and C
  H. A, B, C and D

19. Improving water quality by reducing P input in the future is likely to require which of the following approaches?

  A. increased use of riparian buffers
  B. not exceeding thresholds of applying soil nutrients
  C. control of urban runoff
  D. all of the above
 

20. Adverse effects of eutrophication have been known to include all but which one of the following?

  A. Increased algae biomass
  B. Toxic Pfiesteria outbreaks
  C. Oxygen depletion in the water column
  D. Increased water transparency
  E. Loss of desirable fish species
  F. Death of coral reefs
 

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