AP Environmental Science - General Water Usage

Which of the following irrigation methods is most efficient in terms of maximizing water absorbed by plants and minimizing water lost to the system?

Hydroponic irrigation

Drip irrigation

Spray irrigation

Furrow irrigation

Flood irrigation

Explanation

In hydroponics, plants are grown in nutrient-rich water and there is no soil involved in the process. Some water is lost through evaporation, but since it is a closed system, very little water is lost.

Which of the following household activities consumes the most water?

Flushing the toilet

Showering/Bathing

Cooking/Kitchen use

Laundry

Drinking water

Explanation

Flushing the toilet is the largest contributor to household water consumption, averaging about three gallons of water per flush.

___________ percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water and the oceans currently contain __________ percent of the Earth's water.

Seventy-five. . . ninety-seven

Seventy-five. . . eighty

Ninety-seven. . . seventy-five

Seventy. . . eighty-five

Explanation

Seventy-five percent of Earth's surface is water, and the oceans contain ninety-seven percent of Earth’s water. This means that roughly three percent of the Earth's water resides in rivers, lakes, glaciers, and water vapor.

Water is one of the most important resources necessary for sustaining life on Earth. How much of our water by volume is found in the oceans?

97%

75%

99.9%

85%

Explanation

The correct response is 97%. The remaining 3% is freshwater.

Many rivers along the coast will move water from the terrestrial ecosystem into the oceans. What is the region where the river meets the ocean?

Delta

Watershed

Wetlands

Benthic zone

Groundwater

Explanation

The correct response is delta. This is the region where a river meets another body of water. It is a transition zone. Important ecological and biological processes occur in delta regions. One good example of a delta is the Nile Delta where the Nile River meets the Mediterranean Sea.

Approximately what percentage of people in the United States rely on groundwater for their water supplies?

50%

25%

10%

80%

95%

Explanation

It is estimated that roughly 50% of individuals in the United States rely on groundwater for their water supplies. In some countries this percentage approaches 100%.

What is the region where water collects and drains within the landscape?

Watershed

Delta

Estuary

Wetland

Groundwater

Explanation

The correct response is watershed. A watershed is the drainage basin for a particular region. It’s where water collects or drains. It's functions like a funnel. The other answer choices deal with different aspects of water. Estuaries are transition zones between marine and freshwater systems. Deltas are also transition zones where a river dumps sediment into a body of water. And groundwater is not specific to a region - it's just water that is found underneath the soil surface.

Curtis owns a cottage on a freshwater lake in the Upper Peninsula. When he goes swimming in the lake, he sticks close to the shallow waters along the shore. In which layer of the lake is Curtis swimming?

Littoral

Limnetic

Profundal

Benthic

None of these

Explanation

The correct response is littoral. The littoral layer is the layer in a freshwater lake along the shoreline with shallow water. The limnetic layer represent "open water", so this layer is off the coastline and in the middle of the freshwater lake. The benthic layer is along the bottom of the lake (i.e. benthic = bottom). And the profundal layer is the layer at the bottom of deep lakes where the light can't reach the bottom.

What percent of the world's fresh water use is for agriculture?