Name:...............................................
Environmental Chemistry and Sustainability. 1st Exam. April 2021
Please, mark your answer with a cross at the grid that appears at the end of the test. The right answer is worth
2 points and a wrong answer takes off 1 point; a blank answer involves nor positive neither negative points.
The value of this part of the exam is 50 points over 100.
1. Choose which one of the following options is the correct one:
a) Water at 4 ºC floats on top of ice.
b) Water at 2 ºC floats on top of ice.
c) A layer of water at 2 ºC floats on top of a layer of water at 4 ºC.
2. The typical odor of rotten eggs (H2S) is produced:
a) By organic material decomposing in water under anaerobic conditions.
b) By organic material decomposing in water under aerobic conditions.
c) By organic material volatilization from water.
3. Choose the right sentence:
a) Edaphic water belongs to the aquifer.
b) The aquifer is made of water and soil.
c) Phreatic level is the lower limit of the aquifer.
4. Choose the right sentence:
a) Normally, atmospheric water contains more suspended particles than surface water.
b) Underground waters are highly mineralized and contain high concentrations of organic material.
c) The level of mineralization in atmospheric water is lower than in underground water.
5. Choose the right relationship concerning surface waters:
a) [K+]/[Na+]≈10.
b) [Ca2+]/[Mg2+]≈4-2.
c) [Al3+]>>[Mg2+].
6. Concerning humic substances, which one of the following sentences is correct?
a) Humic acids are soluble in water with high pH.
b) Humin is soluble in water with low pH.
c) Fulvic acids are non-soluble in water with high pH.
7. Choose the right sentence:
a) Movement helps to homogenize the chemical composition of water but drives out the O2.
b) Homogenization might be difficult to achieve in reservoirs where vertical stratification could happen.
c) Chemical reactivity in reservoir water is independent of water depth.
8. CO2 is more soluble in water than O2 because:
a) Henry’s constant is larger for CO2 than for O2.
b) Atmospheric concentration of CO2 is larger than atmospheric concentration of O2.
c) When it dissolves in water it can be converted in bicarbonates and carbonates that are highly soluble in
water.
9. Concerning water alkalinity we can say that:
a) At pH=6 CO32- concentration can be neglected in front of HCO3- concentration.
b) At pH=10 HCO3- concentration can be neglected in front of CO32- concentration.
c) At pH=10 HO- concentration is always larger than CO32- concentration.
10. Which one is the right sequence of natural waters according to their pe value?
a) Deep sea water > eutrophized lake water > atmospheric water.
b) Atmospheric water > surface sea water > deep sea water.
c) Surface sea water > atmospheric water > eutrophized lake water.
11. The salinity of the earth oceans and seas:
a) Has an average value of 35 g·L-1.
b) Is high around the Equator.
c) Is low around latitude 20 º.
12. Accidental oil spills to the sea form water/oil emulsions that:
a) Favor the oil removal if water drops form inside the oil.
b) Favor the oil removal if oil drops form inside the water.
c) Have no effect on the oil removal.
13. Bioaccumulation of toxic organic substances in animal fatty tissues occurs because:
a) Those organic toxic substances are non volatile.
b) Those organic toxic substances are highly soluble in water.
c) Those organic toxic substances are highly soluble in the fatty tissues.
14. The pesticide DDT was forbidden because:
a) Has a high acute toxicity.
b) Has little volatility.
c) Has a large log KOW.
15. Municipal wastewaters are characterized by:
a) Presence of toxic substances.
b) High level of biodegradable organic pollution.
c) Very high mineralization.
16. The TOC analysis is used to determine:
a) The biochemical oxygen demand of a water sample.
b) The organic content of a water sample.
b) The chemical oxygen demand.
17. Disinfection with chlorine:
a) Is cheap and provides residual disinfection capacity to water.
b) Is performed by adding HClO to water.
c) Produces trihalomethanes (THMs) that are highly soluble molecules in water.
18. Kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4(s)) is:
a) A primary mineral that forms, along with other primary minerals, the original bedrock.
b) An aluminum silicate and secondary mineral.
c) A clay typically found in carbonated soils.
19. A soil made up of gravel has:
a) High microporosity.
b) High nutrient retention.
c) High permeability.
20. The presence of humus in the soil is good because it:
a) Improves the soil structure by forming clay-humus complexes.
b) Kills bacteria and other microorganisms.
c) Decreases soil pH.
21. In the accumulation horizon of a soil:
a) Leaching of cations and nutrients is intense.
b) Clays accumulate.
c) No transition metal oxides are detected.
22. A particle of clay with a pzc of 6.2 that is present in a basic soil (pH=8.2):
a) Has a positive charged surface.
b) Has a negative charged surface.
c) Has a surface charge that is independent of the soil pH.
23. A soil is highly fertile when it has:
a) A high CEC capacity.
b) A low PBS value.
c) A high CEC capacity and a high PBS value.
24. Sodic soils:
a) Have a large specific conductivity and a large exchangeable sodium percentage.
b) Leave surface white salt crusts after water soil evaporation.
c) Have a low specific conductivity and a large exchangeable sodium percentage
25. A soil that has been polluted with an acid spill:
a) Owe to be treated with a limestone amendment.
b) Can be recovered after water irrigation and farming.
c) Owe to be treated with an sulphur amendment.
a b c
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Name:...............................................
Environmental Chemistry and Sustainability. 1st Exam. April 2021
Give a brief, but justified answer, to the following questions:
1. In order to remineralize a water sample coming from an inverse osmosis treatment, addition of limestone
(CaCO3(s)) along with CO2 bubbling is chosen. What is the fundamental chemistry behind such a treatment?
(5 points)
2. Which one will be the most likely destination of a nitrogen atom belonging to an organic molecule that is
degraded in an aerated soil? Will it remain in the upper horizons, or will it end up in the aquifer? (5 points)
Nitrate (NO3)-. It will penetrate to an
aquifer.
3. To quantify a river water COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) a 50 mL sample is taken and titrated with 10-
2
mol·L-1 potassium dichromate, requiring 5 mL to reach the end point. What is the COD of the river water
in terms of mg O2·L-1? (10 points)
4. What is the fitoremediation? (5 points)
use of plants that are resistents to pollutants
5. 1000 mL of a double distilled water sample are left in an open container that is in contact with the
atmosphere (p=1 atm, 85% humidity) at 25 ºC.
a) Estimate the concentration, in mg· L-1, of O2, CO2, and NH3 in the water once equilibrium with the
atmosphere is reached.
b) What would be the hardness of the water sample if NaCl, KCl, CaSO4, FeSO4 and SiO2 (100 mg of each of
them) are added to it?
c) Is the alkalinity of this water sample high (make a reasonable answer without numeric calculations)?
d) What would be the pe of the water sample if 1 g of a carbohydrate (C6H12O6) is added to it and the container
is closed (ignore the presence of Fe in the redox equilibrium).
Data: T= 25ºC; Henry’s constants at 25 ºC (in atm L mol-1): 769 for O2, 29,4 for CO2, and 0,016 for NH3;
Atmospheric concentrations (in dry air): 21% of O2, XCO2=400·10-6, XNH3=10-9, K1=4,45·10-7(equilibrium
constant of the bicarbonate system in water), Pv,H2O(25 ºC)=0,0313 atm. Consider that pH≈7. peº=-0.20 for
the 1/4CO2(g) + H+ + e-→ 1/24C6H12O6 + 1/4H2O system, and peº=20.6 for the O2/H2O system. (25 points)