Question 1

Which is not a reason that fresh water wells near coastlines abruptly become salty and unusable?

Accepted Answer

A)  As water is pumped from the well, the freshwater runs out and leaves only the salty water from the sea. 
B)  Salt water is denser than fresh water, so it lays on the lower part of coastal aquifers. 
C)  Sea water infiltrates underlying pore spaces, making ground water beneath the sea floor salty. 
D)  As water is pumped from the well, the saltwater part of the aquifer flows up because of decreased aquifer pressure. 
A)  As water is pumped from the well, the freshwater runs out and leaves only the salty water from the sea. 
B)  Salt water is denser than fresh water, so it lays on the lower part of coastal aquifers. 
C)  Sea water infiltrates underlying pore spaces, making ground water beneath the sea floor salty. 
D)  As water is pumped from the well, the saltwater part of the aquifer flows up because of decreased aquifer pressure. A

Question 2

Ground water

Accepted Answer

A)  moves short distances through shallow soil horizons and reemerges to join surface runoff in streams. 
B)  trickles along surfaces of mainly granite rocks. 
C)  percolates through lava rock to reach the soil below. 
D)  percolates deep below the surface through open spaces and fractures. 
A)  moves short distances through shallow soil horizons and reemerges to join surface runoff in streams. 
B)  trickles along surfaces of mainly granite rocks. 
C)  percolates through lava rock to reach the soil below. 
D)  percolates deep below the surface through open spaces and fractures. D

Question 3

What does not happen as ground water moves toward the surface?

Accepted Answer

A)  It cools slightly. 
B)  It solidifies. 
C)  It mixes with shallow water with different chemistry. 
D)  It reacts with near-surface rocks. 
A)  It cools slightly. 
B)  It solidifies. 
C)  It mixes with shallow water with different chemistry. 
D)  It reacts with near-surface rocks. B

Question 4

What is an aquifer?

Accepted Answer

A unit of rock or unconsolidat

Question 5

The ability of a porous material to permit fluid flow through the material is called

Accepted Answer

A)  porosity. 
B)  dissolution. 
C)  permeability. 
D)  precipitation. 
A)  porosity. 
B)  dissolution. 
C)  permeability. 
D)  precipitation.

Question 6

Why would we want to be sure to drill into an aquifer to develop a water well?

Accepted Answer

Typically aquifers are bounded

Question 7

Which factor has the greatest influence on how long water spends in an aquifer?

Accepted Answer

A)  porosity 
B)  permeability 
C)  elevation difference between recharge and discharge 
D)  length of flow path 
A)  porosity 
B)  permeability 
C)  elevation difference between recharge and discharge 
D)  length of flow path

Question 8

What effect do the chemical reactions of ground water have on the porosity and permeability of aquifers?

Accepted Answer

A)  Chemical reactions both increase and decrease the permeability and porosity. 
B)  Chemical reactions neither increase nor decrease the permeability and porosity. 
C)  Chemical reactions increase the permeability and porosity. 
D)  Chemical reactions decrease the permeability and porosity. 
A)  Chemical reactions both increase and decrease the permeability and porosity. 
B)  Chemical reactions neither increase nor decrease the permeability and porosity. 
C)  Chemical reactions increase the permeability and porosity. 
D)  Chemical reactions decrease the permeability and porosity.

Question 9

How do environmental scientists deal with chemicals that sink to the bottom of an aquifer?

Accepted Answer

A)  They leave them alone because the chemicals have not mixed with the drinking water supply. 
B)  They add a coagulating chemical to make sure the chemicals solidify and remain deep in the Earth. 
C)  They create a cone of depression some distance away to suck the contaminant in an opposite direction. 
D)  They pump them up through a well drilled to the bottom of the aquifer. 
A)  They leave them alone because the chemicals have not mixed with the drinking water supply. 
B)  They add a coagulating chemical to make sure the chemicals solidify and remain deep in the Earth. 
C)  They create a cone of depression some distance away to suck the contaminant in an opposite direction. 
D)  They pump them up through a well drilled to the bottom of the aquifer.

Question 10

Water concentrated where low permeability in specific spots create a shallow saturated horizon balanced above the water table is called ________ ground water.

Accepted Answer

A)  balanced 
B)  perched 
C)  roosted 
D)  dwelled 
A)  balanced 
B)  perched 
C)  roosted 
D)  dwelled

Question 11

How does gasoline behave when it leaks into the water table?

Accepted Answer

A)  It floats on top of the water table. 
B)  It sinks to the bottom of the aquifer. 
C)  It dissolves in the water. 
D)  It precipitates. 
A)  It floats on top of the water table. 
B)  It sinks to the bottom of the aquifer. 
C)  It dissolves in the water. 
D)  It precipitates.

Question 12

Although clay has ________ porosity it does not make a good aquifer because it has ________ permeability.

Accepted Answer

A)  low, high 
B)  low, low 
C)  high, low 
D)  high, high 
A)  low, high 
B)  low, low 
C)  high, low 
D)  high, high

Question 13

How is porosity different from permeability?

Accepted Answer

Porosity is the percentage of

Question 14

Which state's rocks have almost all been affected by the dissolving effects of water?

Accepted Answer

A)  Idaho 
B)  Maine 
C)  Florida 
D)  North Carolina 
A)  Idaho 
B)  Maine 
C)  Florida 
D)  North Carolina

Question 15

Contaminants in the water table may do all of the following except

Accepted Answer

A)  precipitate. 
B)  disappear. 
C)  sink below the level of the water. 
D)  float on top of the level of the water. 
A)  precipitate. 
B)  disappear. 
C)  sink below the level of the water. 
D)  float on top of the level of the water.

Question 16

What happens to the volume of water flowing in the aquifer per unit time if velocity decreases? Increases? What happens to the volume of water flowing in the aquifer per unit time if the velocity increases?

Accepted Answer

The volume decreases. The volu

Question 17

What mineral precipitates at travertine springs to create formations?

Accepted Answer

A)  sulfates 
B)  sulfites 
C)  calcite 
D)  halite 
A)  sulfates 
B)  sulfites 
C)  calcite 
D)  halite

Question 18

Why do some communities inject treated wastewater into aquifers?

Accepted Answer

A)  to recharge it artificially, since nature cannot keep up with urban demands 
B)  as a convenient place to dispose of water that is not suitable for other uses 
C)  for storage in a place that is not subject to as much evaporation as a reservoir 
D)  to prevent flooding due to too much wastewater above the surface 
A)  to recharge it artificially, since nature cannot keep up with urban demands 
B)  as a convenient place to dispose of water that is not suitable for other uses 
C)  for storage in a place that is not subject to as much evaporation as a reservoir 
D)  to prevent flooding due to too much wastewater above the surface

Question 19

A body of rock or regolith with sufficient porosity and permeability to provide water in useful quantities to wells or springs is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  aquitard. 
B)  saturated zone. 
C)  aquifer. 
D)  water table. 
A)  aquitard. 
B)  saturated zone. 
C)  aquifer. 
D)  water table.

Question 20

Significant pumping of ground water can cause land subsidence which is a result of

Accepted Answer

A)  compaction. 
B)  fracturing. 
C)  recharge. 
D)  discharge. 
A)  compaction. 
B)  fracturing. 
C)  recharge. 
D)  discharge.

Exam 17: Water Flowing Underground

Which is not a reason that fresh water wells near coastlines abruptly become salty and unusable?

Ground water

What does not happen as ground water moves toward the surface?

What is an aquifer?

The ability of a porous material to permit fluid flow through the material is called

Why would we want to be sure to drill into an aquifer to develop a water well?

Which factor has the greatest influence on how long water spends in an aquifer?

What effect do the chemical reactions of ground water have on the porosity and permeability of aquifers?

How do environmental scientists deal with chemicals that sink to the bottom of an aquifer?

Water concentrated where low permeability in specific spots create a shallow saturated horizon balanced above the water table is called ________ ground water.

How does gasoline behave when it leaks into the water table?

Although clay has ________ porosity it does not make a good aquifer because it has ________ permeability.

How is porosity different from permeability?

Which state's rocks have almost all been affected by the dissolving effects of water?

Contaminants in the water table may do all of the following except

What happens to the volume of water flowing in the aquifer per unit time if velocity decreases? Increases? What happens to the volume of water flowing in the aquifer per unit time if the velocity increases?

What mineral precipitates at travertine springs to create formations?

Why do some communities inject treated wastewater into aquifers?

A body of rock or regolith with sufficient porosity and permeability to provide water in useful quantities to wells or springs is called a(n)

Significant pumping of ground water can cause land subsidence which is a result of

Why Study Earth

Minerals: Building Blocks of the Planet

Rocks and Rock-Forming Processes

Formation of Magma and Igneous Rocks

Formation of Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks

Formation of Metamorphic Rocks

Earth Materials As Time Keepers

Earth Materials As Time Keepers

Making Earth

Motion Inside Earth

Deformation of Rocks

Global Tectonics: Plates and Plumes

Tectonics and Surface Relief

Soil Formation and Landscape Stability

Mass Movements: Landscapes in Motion

Streams: Flowing Water Shapes the Landscape

Glaciers: Cold-Climate Sculptors of Continents

Shorelines: Changing Landscapes Where Land Meets Sea

Wind: a Global Geologic Process

Global Warming: Real Time Change in the Earth System

Filters

Although clay has porosity it does not make a good aquifer because it has permeability.