Environmental Studies · General Awareness

Water Quality and Pollution

1,263 Questions

Water Quality and Pollution examines the sources, mechanisms, and impacts of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. It covers crucial environmental concepts like eutrophication, biochemical oxygen demand, and thermal pollution. This subject frequently appears in general science and environmental studies sections of various examinations.

Eutrophication CausesThermal Pollution EffectsBiochemical Oxygen DemandSynthetic Fertilizer ImpactsWastewater SourcesAquatic Ecosystem Toxicity

Water Quality and Pollution Questions

Multiple choice zoology structural organization of animals structural organization of leech phylum annelida annelida structural organization of rabbit

Presence of Tubifex in water body indicates its

  1. Purity

  2. High salt content

  3. Toxic metals

  4. Organic loading
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

#Answer is option D.


#Tubifex worms mainly like nutrient-rich water, where bacterial growth is highest. Worms feed on bacteria and sludge.
#Bacterial growth takes place in water which has high organic loading. like, household organic waste, industrial organic waste, and agricultural waste.
#At this kind of places worms get food and places to hide from predators.

Multiple choice economics environment pollution introduction to environmental pollution introduction to pollution environment and pollution

The amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water, is called ________

  1. BOD

  2. ABE

  3. COD

  4. Standard amount of oxygen
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water is called Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD)
                             
The amount of BOD in the water is a measure of the amount of organic material in the water, in terms of how much oxygen will be required to break it down biologically.

Multiple choice economics environment pollution introduction to environmental pollution introduction to pollution environment and pollution

This process in which nutrient enriched water bodies support a dense plant population, which kills animal life by depriving it of oxygen and results in subsequent loss of biodiversity is known as ________.

  1. green-house effect

  2. eutrophication

  3. land pollution

  4. none of above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Rain can carry and deposit the nitrogen in some pollutants on rivers and soils. This will adversely affect the nutrients in the soil and water bodies. This can result in algae growth in lakes and water bodies, and make conditions for other living organism harmful.this is called eutrophication.

Multiple choice economics environment pollution introduction to environmental pollution introduction to pollution environment and pollution

'Thermal pollution' means dumping heat in an ecological system, like a lake or a pond. Thermal power plants have to throw some heat into a 'sink' because of they:

  1. get overheated

  2. have special anti-pollution laws

  3. follow the local sanitation laws

  4. follow the second natural law of thermodynamics
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Thermal pollution is the degradation of the quality of water due to a sudden change of its temperature. A primary source of thermal pollution is the discharge of heated water from the power plants. The unused heat, generally around $60$% of the input energy which is unable to be used in the process, is then returned to a sink, such as water.

Multiple choice bio-chemistry organization of life concept of metabolism metabolism in animals metabolism

Water we take in, plays an important role in?

  1. Metabolic processes

  2. Provide energy

  3. Prevents dehydration

  4. More than one correct answer
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Water is the medium for all metabolic processes in living organisms, acting as a solvent for biochemical reactions. While it helps prevent dehydration, its primary biological role is facilitating the chemical reactions that sustain life.

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Toxicity of chemical pollutant in water increases, with increase in

  1. Waste

  2. Water

  3. Temperature

  4. Air
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The toxicity of many chemical pollutants increases with temperature because higher temperatures can increase the metabolic rate of organisms, leading to faster uptake of toxins, and can also decrease dissolved oxygen levels.

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone
Water pollution can be decreased by treating industrial wastes to yield safe effluents.

  1. True

  2. False
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
Water pollution can be decreased by treating industrial wastes to yield safe effluents.
  • Recycling, Renovation, Recharge and Reuse (4R concept) of waste water:
The waste water consisting of domestic sewage industrial effluents, thermal and radioactive pollutants receive some sort of treatment before mixing into water bodies. Urban sewage and sludge, etc, may be recycled and reused to generate cheaper fuel, gas and electricity.
  • Cooling methods:
For preventing thermal pollution such methods are used like cooling waste water effluent, evaporation tower, cooling ponds, dry cooling towers, wet cooling towers etc.
  • Using chemical methods:
Several chemical methods have been devised for the treatment of industrial effluents before discharging them in water bodies.

Therefore, the correct answer is option A.

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Biological treatment of water pollution is done with the help of

  1. Bacteria

  2. Lichens

  3. Fungi

  4. Both A and C
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Biological treatment of the waste water can be performed with the use of microbes. The bacteria and fungal cells are commonly used in the treatment of the water through activated sludge. Activated sludge refers to floc of microorganisms including bacterial cells and fungal filaments which are used in the process to break down organic matter into carbon dioxide, water, and other inorganic compounds and help in the clearing of the water. 

Thus, the correct answer is option D.  

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone

The term 'terror of Bengal' is used for 

  1. algal bloom

  2. Eichhornia crassipes

  3. increased biochemical oxygen demand

  4. eutrophication.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and subtropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners or stolons, which eventually form daughter plants. Each plant additionally can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years. It was introduced in Bengal in India because of its beautiful flowers and shapes of leaves, but turned out to be an invasive weed draining oxygen from the water bodies and resulted in death of many fish. Fish is a supplement food in Bengal, and because of the fish scarcity in Bengal caused by Eichhornia, the water hyacinth is also called "Terror of Bengal".

So the correct option is 'Eichhornia crassipes'

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Which of the following indications of the health of a water body is the most widely accepted means of measuring how polluting and effluent is?

  1. COD(chemical oxygen demand)

  2. BOD (biological oxygen demand)

  3. Chloroform content

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

BOD is a chemical procedure for determining the amount of dissolved $O _2$, needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period.

Multiple choice biology environmental pollution control of water pollution protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Which is not a bioindicator of water pollution?

  1. Blood worms

  2. Stone flies

  3. Sewage fungus

  4. Sludge worms

  5. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

A bioindicator is a living organism that gives us an idea of the health of an ecosystem. Some organisms are very sensitive to pollution in their environment, so if pollutants are present, the organism may change its behaviour, or it could even die. Sewage fungus is a thick growth of fungi that develops on stagnant water contaminated with sewage effluents. The filamentous fungus indicates that the sewage has not had secondary treatment. Adult stoneflies are always found near freshwater only as aquatic larvae. As water temperature increases, the larvae dies. As BOD increases in polluted water, there occurs an increase in haemoglobin possessing blood and sludge worms. Hence, the correct answer is option E.

Multiple choice evs deficiency diseases need for nutrients nutrients needed by the body balanced diet and malnutrition food for health nutrition and its deficiency nutrition and its need

What causes excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants?

  1. Waste matters

  2. Organic Nutrients

  3. Inorganic Nutrients

  4. Solid waste
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Eutrophication, the excessive growth of algae, is primarily caused by the influx of inorganic nutrients like nitrates and phosphates into water bodies.

Multiple choice zoology waste water story sewage treatment wastewater treatment - need and methods wastewater story

Which of the following processes utilize specially bred strains of bacteria for cleaning up oil spills along beaches?

  1. Primary succession

  2. Bioremediation

  3. Decomposition

  4. Coevolution

  5. Eutrophication
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms (like bacteria or fungi) to consume and break down environmental pollutants, such as oil spills, into less toxic substances.