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Environment Quiz Questions and Answers with Explanation
1. How can we reduce the pollution by smoke from factories?
Answer: By using electrostatic filters in the chimneys of factories.
An electrostatic filter is a device for removing particulate matter from the exhaust gases of combustion, such as in gas turbines and engines or in flue gases from industrial boilers or the exhaust from a small craft. Electrostatic filters are widely used in the mining industry to remove particles released from mining operations. Electrostatic precipitators can also be found at coal-fired power plants, cement kilns, lime kilns, steel mills, and other industrial plants where smoke control is required or where odor control is needed.
2. When the environment is unhealthy and unsafe to living and non-living things, what’s the condition usually known as?
Answer: Pollution.
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution.
Air pollution has always accompanied civilizations but was not identified as a serious problem until the industrial age. The burning of coal and wood, and the presence of many horses in industrialized cities contributed greatly to the problems associated with air pollution in the 19th century.
3. There are a number of mammals inhabiting the earth. Which is the slowest moving mammal among all of them?
Answer: Sloth (can be seen in South American jungles)
It looks like a large, brown, hairy monkey but it is actually classified as a mammal because it suckles its young. The sloth lives in Central and South America in the rainforests of the Amazon region.
The sloth spends most of its life hanging upside down from tree branches. It rarely moves. It sleeps or rests for 15 to 20 hours each day. While sleeping or resting, the sloth hangs by its long claws from tree branches that are 6-20 feet high above the ground but it occasionally climbs down to eat leaves and fruit from the ground.
4. Which European country is committed to decommissioning all of its nuclear reactors?
Answer: Sweden.
The Swedish government announced that all of its nuclear reactors will be shut down within the next decade in response to public demand for a more sustainable energy future, with more emphasis on wind power and other renewable sources of energy. The decision was made official today when the parliament adopted a proposal from the Social Democratic-Green coalition government to immediately close down its remaining two reactors as well as setting a date for the shutdown of all other reactors within 10 years.
5. Both whale and whale shark are gigantic creatures living in the oceans. What is the biological difference between the two?
Answer: a)Whale has nostril but whale shark does not have nostril.
b) Whale shark has gill but whale does not have gill.
c) Whale shark is smaller than whale but bigger than dolphins and killer whales.
d) whale shark has a big mouth and whale does not have a big mouth.
e) whale is a mammal but whale shark is not a mammal.
f) Whale has eyes but whale shark does not have eyes.
g) Whale has legs but whale shark does not have legs.
h) Whale sharks are found in warm water but whales are found in cold water, warm and cold water. (dolphins, killer whales and beluga whales are mammals, they live in cold water.) (whales are mammals, they live in warm and cold water.) (dolphins live in the sea while whales live both on land and sea. beluga whales live in cold water and warm water. killer whale live in the sea and warm water.
6. Which highly polluted Italian river discharges 234 tons of arsenic into the sea a year?
Answer: River PO.
The Po is a river that flows through northwestern Italy. The river’s source is in the Alps near the border with France, and flows through the Po Plain and into the Adriatic Sea near Venice. The name of the river comes from Latin “pōns”, which means ‘river’ (see also Pontine Marshes).
The Po extends for 515 km (320 mi), mostly flowing westward and traversing Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont. It drains a fertile plain that includes the city of Turin (the capital of Piedmont) as its drainage basin.
7. Which is the environment wing of UNO?
Answer: United Nations Environment Programme.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that delivers international science for a sustainable environment. UN Environment works with partners in over 100 countries to implement the outcomes of the United Nations Environment Assembly. UN Environment is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and has offices in Addis Ababa, Argentina, Santiago, Chile and Bogor, Indonesia. UN Environment also maintains regional offices where our staff provide technical assistance to countries and work with multilateral partners.
8. Name the general term used to mean all the plants and fish thatcher live in water.
Answer: Aquatic living beings.
Aquatic living beings, also known as aquatic animals, are defined as creatures that actually or potentially live in water. They all have a commonality of being able to breathe and survive while in an aquatic environment. Everything from jellyfish to dolphins are included under this category. Some creatures like the sea turtle spend most of their time underwater, while some other creatures like the lobster only come to the surface for air every couple of hours. The environment they live in usually affects how they look and behave. Whether it be a creature that lives in freshwater or saltwater affects how its physiology is structured and determines its behavior.
9. Name the mammal which has become notorious as being a ‘blood sucker’:
Answer: Vampire bats (they drink the blood of cattle and horses)
Vampire bats are an intriguing species that have a rich diversity in their feeding habits. These bats feed on the blood of a variety of vertebrates as well as other bats. They exhibit what is known as “hematophagy” which means that they drink the blood of other animals. This makes them the only mammals to do so. The consumption of blood is beneficial to them nutritionally and physiologically. It has been found that some species are able to survive on 10% the amount of food necessary for normal growth by feeding on blood alone. This is due to the fact that their digestive tract actually shortens within seven days of feeding on blood so more room is available for food boluses.
10. Which is the world’s largest type of earthworm?
Answer: The South African Giant Earthworm.
The giant earthworm is found in South Africa. It is the subject of scientific debate. It was originally believed to grow to 10 m in length, but more recent evidence indicates the maximum length was closer to 9 m. The largest recorded specimen discovered so far was an adult female, measuring 9.8 m in length and weighing 2.4 kg (5 lbs)
The giant earthworm lives underground and creates tubes which can extend up to 20 feet deep and 25 feet long aboveground, as well as a stable environment for microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi through symbiosis.
11. What is the effect of acid rain on the soil?
Answer: The soil becomes acidic which reduces the growth of crops.
Acid rain is rain that is formed from the reaction of chemicals in the atmosphere with water and oxygen. The most common chemicals are sulfur dioxide, which comes from coal-fired power plants, and nitrogen oxides, which come from car engines. These give off nitric and sulfuric acids when they mix with water in the air. Acid rain can be very harmful to plants, soil, and lakes and rivers.
12. What was the viral disease controversially introduced into Britain during the 1950s to reduce the rabbit population?
Answer: Myxomatosis.
Myxomatosis is a disease that affects various species of long-haired mammals, most notably rabbits. The virus causes skin cancer and blindness in rabbits. In its early stages it causes large lumps to form on the skin and head of the rabbit due to cell death of hair follicles, making them look like they have been hit with a thousand golf balls. When it enters later stages of infection it attacks the organs causing blindness, coma and death.
Environment Quiz Questions and Answers Part 2
13. What is BOD?
Answer: Biochemical Oxygen Demand.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a method for measuring the amount of organic material in water. Every time microorganisms decompose organic material they obtain so-called “free” oxygen from the water, which can be measured by a sensor and be converted into BOD. The result is expressed in mg per liter of oxygen (mgO 2 /l). Pure water has a BOD value of zero. But this does not mean that it is completely unreactive, because even pure H2O can theoretically react with some substances, as happens for example with caustic soda (NaOH). Theoretically 1 litre NaOH could dissolve up to 9 milligrams of BOD.
14. This layer absorbs 99% of sun’s ultraviolet radiations which are very harmful for animals and plants. So this layer is called a shield to the earth. Name this layer.
Answer: Ozone layer.
Planet Earth is surrounded by an atmospheric layer called ozone layer. It is a naturally occurring gas which consists of three oxygen atoms bonded together. Ozone layer lies in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 km to 50 km above Earth’s surface and absorbs most of the ultraviolet rays emitted by the Sun. In this process, single oxygen molecule gets split into two atoms and releases ozone molecules. Ultraviolet rays are extremely dangerous for living beings because they can cause skin cancer, cataracts and reduce immunity power. The ozone layer was discovered in 1839 by French scientist, chemist and inventor, Christian Schönbein while trying to find new medicines from plants and herbs that grow in the Alps mountain range of Europe.
15. What are the three main greenhouse gases?
Answer: Carbon dioxide, Methane and Chlorofluorocarbon.
As it is well known, greenhouse gases are gases that trap the heat radiating from the earth surface. This causes the earth temperatures to be warmer than they would otherwise be. The so-called greenhouse gases are for instance carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour.
16. What is the name of Britain’s nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant?
Answer: Sellafield.
Sellafield ( pronounced sel-lef-eld), is a nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear decommissioning site, near the village of Seascale in Cumbria. It is the largest industrial facility in the United Kingdom. Founded by a consortium of British and U.S. companies, it was formerly run by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), now owned by Areva NC, which also owns the adjacent Windscale nuclear power station on which Sellafield is based.
17. Which sea is so highly polluted that the Barcelona convention was set up in 1976 to try and clean it up?
Answer: Mediterranean Sea.
The Mediterranean Sea is located between the southern coasts of Europe and northern Africa and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The sea is divided into two different basins by a complex system of narrow passages, which have been created though tectonic uplift. The surface of the Mediterranean Sea lies below sea level, resulting in a relatively moderated water temperature, with an average temperature of 14 °C (57 °F), depending on season. The salinity level ranges from 35 to 40 parts per thousand [1] . The total area covered by water is 1.2 million square kilometers (km²), or about 3% of the Earth’s surface.
18. Which is the worst disaster from a nuclear power plant?
Answer: Chernobyl, Russia (April 1986)
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (also referred to as the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station and referred to by its Russian acronym C.N.S.) is a decommissioned nuclear power station near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, about 90 miles north of Kiev and 30 miles north of the border with Belarus. The station is currently within the Zone of Alienation, an officially designated exclusion area around it which is closed to all human activity, including resettlement.
On 26 April 1986, Reactor #4 suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident during a systems test, which resulted in explosions in its core and a huge fire. This event is considered to be the most disastrous nuclear accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event (the maximum classification) on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
19. The main theme of the ‘Silent Spring’ is the harmful effects of a particular insecticide. Identify this insecticide:
Answer: DDT.
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is a well-known pesticide that was first discovered in 1874 but did not begin to be mass-produced until 1939. It has been used in agriculture, forestry, public health and to some extent as a means of pest control for domestic animals [1]. Today it is mainly used in the fight against malaria where it has been proven to be effective and efficient at reducing mosquito populations.
DDT is highly toxic when ingested by animals or humans. It has been linked to many adverse health effects such as liver damage, cancers, reproductive problems and developmental disorders.
20. What is the main factor responsible for ozone layer depletion?
Answer: The use of chlorofluorocarbon by man.
Deterioration of the ozone layer is mainly due to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are gaseous compounds used in aerosol cans, refrigerants, and as solvents.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a group of man-made chemicals that contain chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. Organic compounds containing only carbon and fluorine are called hydrocarbons; they include natural gas, crude oil, gasoline, and kerosene. Hydrocarbons that contain chlorine instead of hydrogen are called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs.
21. Which country produces the world’s largest quantity of municipal waste per person per year at over five-sixths of a ton?
Answer: USA.
The USA, which produces by far the most material waste per capita of any nation in the world, has now more than ever been determined to make recycling a major national priority. The mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg has declared that recycling will be mandatory in his city, despite the fact that it already leads the country in recycling efforts with over 30 % of its residential waste being recycled each year and 60% of its commercial waste (NYC Department of Sanitation).
22. Which is the world-famous monument of India is affected by air pollution from a nearby factory?
Answer: Taj Mahal, Agra.
Air pollution in and around India’s 17th century iconic monument Taj Mahal is affecting the white marble of the iconic monument, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
A study by environmentalist MC Mehta has revealed that air pollution in Agra is causing black spots on the façade of the Taj Mahal. The study was conducted after Mehta noticed black spots on the marble used in interior wall panels at Agra’s Red Fort, where he works as a tourist guide.
23. In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote a book which is now very popular in Environmental Literature. What’s the title of this well-known book?
Answer: Silent Spring.
According to the book, because of the massive use of pesticides, our environment is now threatened by population explosions of insect pests which will soon destroy all the natural life. In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson wrote about how pesticides were used in agriculture and industry, their effects on living organisms and their harm to humans. Before her death she still tried her best to bring her message across by giving speeches and writing articles on how people could live without destroying our environment. Silent Spring has been translated into many languages and it is widely read all over the world.
24. What is the name for land in the Britain officially designated ‘not to be built on but to be preserved as open space’?
Answer: Green belt.
The development of green belts around urban areas in Britain was one of the most important influences on twentieth-century town planning. The development of green belts was an attempt to maintain a standard of living and a rural environment within commuting distance for industrial workers. Although green belts in Britain did not appear until 1950, the idea that planning should contain rather than destroy the countryside goes back to the nineteenth century.
25. Those animals which sleep in the day and actively move round during the night are called?
Answer: Nocturnal animals.
Generally, nocturnal animals are crepuscular [active at dawn and dusk]. During winter they can be completely inactive for several months. Nocturnal animals include different types of mammals, insects, reptiles and birds.
Some have excellent night vision, keen senses of smell and hearing while others have developed an ability to generate heat to maintain their body temperature on cold nights.
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