Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies

Contemporary Environment Issues

Quiz Key

Time 30 Minutes

Name

Mark 20

Date - ___________

Id.

Signature

Multiple Choice Questions (0.5 marks each)

1) The oil spill that destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010
affected all of the following catastrophically, except
A) marine organisms on both the surface and bottom.
B) tourism and fishing economies of the Gulf states.
C) atmospheric and water pollution.
D) agricultural production in the northern parts of the Gulf states.
2) In the 1900s, fuel efficiency in transportation greatly increased when engines were converted from
A) natural gas to coal and steam.
B) oil to coal and steam.
C) coal and steam to gasoline.
D) natural gas to gasoline.
3) Steam powered airplanes
A) were widely used until the 1970s, when jet fuel prices made other engines more efficient.
B) are impractical because of the low power-to-weight advantage.
C) were used for commercial air travel but were discontinued because of safety regulations.
D) are under development and are expected to be the next phase of jet technology.
4) In the world today,
A) coal is still the dominant fuel.
B) coal has largely been replaced by natural gas for energy supplies.
C) natural gas remains the dominant fuel in the United States.
D) coal and oil are the primary energy supply in the United States.
5) The most cleanly burning fossil fuel available that produces the least pollutants is
A) coal, usually found in deposits deep within the Earth.
B) kerosene, found in deposits associated with oil wells.
C) natural gas, usually found in deposits associated with oil.
D) nuclear energy, produced from rocks and minerals within the Earth.
6) Which two fuels are currently used at about equal levels in the United States?
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A) water power and nuclear power

B) coal and natural gas
C) coal and oil
D) oil and natural gas
7) Which of the following is a major fossil fuel that has benefited from the recent construction of
pipelines within the United States?
A) oil
B) natural gas
C) coal
D) nuclear energy
8) The generation of electrical power
A) consumes nearly 75% of the fossil fuels in the United States.
B) has steadily declined over the last 20 years as energy efficient products have come on the market.
C) depends upon a primary energy source such as coal or hydropower.
D) consumes more than half of all the oil used annually by the United States.
9) Generating electricity with a windmill located next to a home
A) is more efficient than transmitting electricity over long distances.
B) is less efficient than at a distance, because the wind draws heat away from the home.
C) increases the energy lost, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
D) depends upon a hydroturbogenerator spinning a magnetic field within copper wire.
10) A hydro-turbogenerator would be found
A) at a hydroelectric dam.
B) at a coal-fired power plant.
C) inside of a wind mill used to generate electricity.
D) in a power plant that uses oil for fuel.
11) In the United States today, the most widely used system to generate electricity uses
A) oil to power turbogenerators.
B) natural gas to power turbogenerators.
C) coal to power turbogenerators.
D) water to power hydroturbogenerators.
12) As demands for electricity push the limits of existing electric-power-generating plants, when is it most
likely that a brown-out or blackout will disrupt electricity to your home computer?
A) during a weekend in the winter
B) during a weekday in the winter
C) during a weekend in the summer
D) during a weekday in the summer
13) A blackout like the eight-state blackout of 2003 could be prevented by
A) using energy efficient lights in most businesses.
B) a self-healing smart electrical grid.
C) switching from coal to natural gas for electrical generation.
D) greater use of electricity during the work week instead of weekends.
14) The most sustainable way to drive a car would be to use
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A) an all-electric car using electricity from a windmill or solar photocells.

B) an all-electric car using electricity from any power supply.
C) a hydrogen fuel cell using hydrogen produced by a nuclear power plant.
D) a hybrid electric car that generates electricity when slowing down.
15) Wood pellets are produced from the waste sawdust of lumber and paper mills. Home-heating stoves
burning these pellets can heat homes directly, instead of relying on other energy sources. Heating your
home with wood pellets is
A) sustainable, less polluting, and more efficient than heating a home using electricity from a coal-fired
power plant.
B) sustainable, much more polluting, and is about 30% more efficient than using electricity from a coalfired power plant.
C) not sustainable but is less polluting and is about as efficient as using electricity from a coal-fired power
plant.
D) not sustainable and actually pollutes more than using electricity from a coal-fired power plant.
16) If we wanted to improve the efficiency of technology to reduce electrical power consumption, the
sectors we would choose are
A) industrial and transportation.
B) residential and commercial.
C) commercial and industrial.
D) residential and transportation.
17) Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because
A) their formation is so slow.
B) they release carbon dioxide when they are burned.
C) people are cutting down too many forests to allow trees to turn into coal.
D) carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are too low to allow fossil fuels to form.
18) More oil can be expected from a P50 of a 100 million barrel field than from an oil field with a
A) P70 for a 100 million barrel field.
B) P95 for a 90 million barrel field.
C) P40 for a 200 million barrel field.
D) P10 for a 150 million barrel field.
19) Most oil is recovered from an oil field
A) by relying on the natural pressure of the system.
B) by simply pumping it out of the ground.
C) only after using secondary or enhanced procedures that first generate pressure.
D) by pumping freshwater into the ground and making the oil float to the top.
20) In 2012, following the great recession of 2008 and 2009,
A) oil prices dropped but can be expected to increase as the economy recovers.
B) oil prices dropped and may remain low as the economy recovers.
C) oil prices increased and can be expected to increase further as the economy recovers.
D) oil prices increased but can be expected to decrease as the economy recovers.
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