Environmental Science — Part 1 MCQs with Explanations

Water vapour, water vapour or aqueous vapour is the gaseous phase of water. It is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapour can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Unlike other forms of water, water vapour is invisible. Under typical atmospheric conditions, water vapour is continuously generated by evaporation and removed by condensation. It is less dense than air and triggers convection currents that can lead to clouds.

It spilled 10.8 million US gallons (260,000 bbl) (or 37,000 metric tonnes) of crude oil over the next few days. It is considered to be one of the worst human-caused environmental disasters. The Valdez spill is the second largest in US waters, after the 2010 Deep water Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released

In calm air the air temperature is -10o C, if the wind speed should increase to 30 knots (with no change in air temperature) the thermometer would indicate a temperature of -10 o C.

Infrared satellite technology works by sensing the temperature of infrared radiation being emitted into space from the earth and its atmosphere. Basically, all objects (including water, land, and clouds), radiate infrared light. However, our eyes are not "tuned" to see this kind of light, so we don't notice it. Weather satellites not only sense this infrared light, but they can also sense the temperature of the infrared emissions. Visible satellite images can be thought of as photographs of the earth from space. Since they are like a photograph, they are dependent on visible light (brought by the sun). As a result, visible satellite pictures only work during daylight hours. This is the greatest drawback to using visible imagery. Also, since a visible satellite picture is basically a photograph, thicker clouds (which reflect the most sunlight) show up very bright, while thinner clouds (like cirrus) are hard to distinguish.

Relative humidity is a measure of the water vapour content of the air at a given temperature. The amount of moisture in the air is compared with the maximum amount that the air could contain at the same temperature and expressed as a percentage.

The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without this atmosphere. Radiatively active gases (i.e., greenhouse gases) in a planet's atmosphere radiate energy in all directions. Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface, warming it. [3] The intensity of the downward radiation – that is, the strength of the greenhouse effect – will depend on the atmosphere's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains.

A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light. When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colors because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.

Heat energy from the earth's interior contribute to this heating.

The limits of tolerance and optimal range of distribution may vary in different seasons in some species of animals.If some environmental factors shifts beyond the limit of tolerance of organism: in such condition the organisms can come to the resting stage or migrate or the can be acclimatise them in new environmental conditions.

Salts enter the soil through irrigation; they originate either from geological layers, from groundwater or from man-made influences, such as fertilizers. Crops vary in their reaction to soil salinity.

Rainfall that is acidic, possesses elevated H+ ion concentrations, and has been commonly known as ‘acid rain’. the contribution from SO2 is considerably smaller than during the 1970s, so that currently, oxidised and reduced nitrogen dominate acid deposition. Deposition of reduced nitrogen (N) compounds, e.g.NH4+, can acidify via microbial transformations in the soil and also assimilation in plants leading to acidification of the rhizospehere. Other compounds also contribute to acid deposition, e.g. hydrochloric acid (HCl)

Skin cancer is an abnormal growth of skin cells. It most often develops on areas of the skin exposed to the sun’s rays. Skin cancer affects people of all colors and races, although those with light skin who sunburn easily have a higher risk.

The process that we call "burning" actually is chemical reactions with oxygen in the air. For the most part, the carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2), and the hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water vapor (H20). In both of these chemical reactions a substantial amount of energy is released as heat. Since heat is what is needed to instigate these chemical reactions, we have a chain reaction: reactions cause heat, which causes reactions, which cause heat, and so on. Once started the process continues until nearly all of the fuel has gone through the process (i.e., burned), or until something is done to stop it. Of course, the reason for arranging all this is to derive the heat.

soil pollution as part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotics (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment.

Aestivation is summer sleep and during aestivation, animals usually tend to rest in a shady and cool place. They take sleep during the hot hours of daytime. Hibernation is a winter sleep and in this sleep, an organism tend to pass the time in dormant conditions. They are not active at all. The find a warm place for themselves to protect their body from the surrounding cold environment.

Freezing fog, which deposits rime, is composed of droplets of supercooled water that freeze to surfaces on contact. Precipitation fog (or frontal fog) forms as precipitation falls into drier air below the cloud, the liquid droplets evaporate into water vapor.

Fine organic or inorganic particles suspended in air is called as aerosol particulate matter. It consists of soot, flash, and dust of various types, fur, hair, spores etc. It is classified into settleable and suspended particulate matter.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. They are used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and as refrigerants.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.

The term upper atmosphere usually refers to the region of the atmosphere above the troposphere. Many remote sensing satellites follow the near polar sun-synchronous orbits at a height around 800 km, which is well above the thermopause.

The temperature at which water boils depends mainly on air pressure.

Temperature inversion, a reversal of the normal behavior of temperature in the troposphere (the region of the atmosphere nearest the Earth's surface), in which a layer of cool air at the surface is overlain by a layer of warmer air. (Under normal conditions air temperature usually decreases with height.)

The organisms sharing a specified genotype also the genotype shared or its distinguishing peculiarity.

Asbestosis is long term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos fibres.

Radiation poisoning happens when a radioactive substance gives off particles that get into a person's body and cause harm. Different radioactive substances have different characteristics. They can harm and help people in different ways, and some are more dangerous than others.

Low clouds (stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus) can form anywhere from the ground to an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet. Fog is simply a low cloud in contact with the earth's surface.

Cumulus congestus - anvil top is not correct.

Wind direction is reported by the direction from which it originates. For example, a northerly wind blows from the north to the south. Wind direction is usually reported in cardinal directions or in azimuth degrees. Wind direction is measured in degrees clockwise from due north.

An energy pyramid (sometimes called a trophic pyramid or an ecological pyramid) is a graphical representation, showing the flow of energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem. The base of the energy pyramid indicates the energy available within primary producers.

The barnacles passively filter food, using tentacle-like cirri, as the host swims through the water. The arrangement is generally considered commensal as it is done at no cost or benefit to the host.

Pencillium does not swallow the growth of bacterium Staphylococcus. This sort of relationship is called amensalism.

The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary has a rich and varied birdlife. Several species of birds, both forest birds as well as the water birds, visit the sanctuaries

The radiosonde is a balloon-borne instrument platform with radio transmitting capabilities. Originally named a radio-meteorograph, the instrument is now referred to as a radiosonde, a name apparently derived by H. Hergesell from a combination of the words "radio" for the onboard radio transmitter and "sonde", which is messenger from old English. The radiosonde contains instruments capable of making direct in-situ measurements of air temperature, humidity and pressure with height, typically to altitudes of approximately 30 km. These observed data are transmitted immediately to the ground station by a radio transmitter located within the instrument package.

The angiosperms (also called flowering plants) are a major group of land plants, with 250,000 species having been described. Angiosperms comprise one of the two groups in the seed plants The flowering plants cover their seeds by including them in a true fruit. They bear the reproductive organs in a structure called a flower; the ovule is enclosed within a carpel (female reproductive organ of a flower), which will lead to a fruit.

A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia

Soil is often considered an abiotic factor since it is mostly made up of small particles of rock (sand and clay) mixed with decomposed plants and animals. Plants use their roots to get water and nutrients from the soil.

Anthropogenic pollution is not new—humans have contributed to the environmental burden since they learned to control fire and smelt metals. However, the nature and distribution of contaminants in the environment has changed in recent history as new compounds have been created

When clouds are viewed near the horizon, the individual cloud elements usually appear closer together than is actually the case.

Because of its stillness and seaweeds on the surface, the Sargasso Sea is a fascinating ECOSYSTEM. Marine biologists have called it a biological desert, largely devoid of plankton, a basic food supply for fish.

At night the reflection effect is zero so the greenhouse effect and reflection of thermal radiation dominate and the low thick clouds have a warming effect. The greenhouse effect could at most return 50 percent of the outgoing radiation back to the Earth