ME or MEng Master of Engineering Environmental and Systems Engineering 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Clean Air Act in the United States regulates six 'criteria air pollutants.' Which of the following is NOT one of them?
- Ground-level ozone
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂) (Correct answer)
- Sulfur dioxide (SO₂)
- Lead (Pb)
Correct answer: Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
CO₂ is not a criteria air pollutant under the Clean Air Act; the six criteria pollutants are O₃, PM, CO, NO₂, SO₂, and Pb.
Question 2: In environmental impact assessment, a 'negative feedback loop' in a system:
- Amplifies disturbances, causing runaway change
- Counteracts disturbances and stabilizes the system (Correct answer)
- Has no net effect on system behavior
- Only applies to electrical circuit analysis
Correct answer: Counteracts disturbances and stabilizes the system
Negative feedback opposes change, returning a system toward its equilibrium state, providing self-regulation and stability.
Question 3: The primary purpose of a secondary wastewater treatment process is to:
- Remove large solids and grit by screening
- Biologically remove dissolved organic matter using microorganisms (Correct answer)
- Disinfect the effluent with chlorine
- Remove heavy metals by chemical precipitation
Correct answer: Biologically remove dissolved organic matter using microorganisms
Secondary treatment (activated sludge, trickling filters) uses biological processes to degrade dissolved and suspended organic matter after primary settling.
Question 4: Systems thinking in engineering design emphasizes:
- Optimizing each component in isolation for maximum efficiency
- Understanding interactions and emergent behavior of components within the whole system (Correct answer)
- Reducing the number of system components to simplify analysis
- Applying the same solution across all systems regardless of context
Correct answer: Understanding interactions and emergent behavior of components within the whole system
Systems thinking recognizes that system behavior emerges from interactions between components and cannot be understood by analyzing parts in isolation.
Question 5: A P-diagram (Parameter Diagram) in robust engineering design identifies:
- Performance vs. cost trade-off curves
- Signal, noise, control, and response parameters of a system (Correct answer)
- Process flow and decision points in manufacturing
- Pressure-temperature phase relationships
Correct answer: Signal, noise, control, and response parameters of a system
A P-diagram maps the system transformation from signal (input) to response (output), identifying control factors, noise factors, and ideal function.
Question 6: The Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement both address which environmental issue?
- Stratospheric ozone depletion
- Ocean acidification from industrial discharge
- Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and climate change (Correct answer)
- Transboundary acid rain from sulfur emissions
Correct answer: Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
Both international treaties target the reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise and mitigate climate change impacts.
ME or MEng Master of Engineering Environmental and Systems Engineering 2
The Clean Air Act in the United States regulates six 'criteria air pollutants.' Which of the following is NOT one of them?