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THE UNNERSITY OF HONG KONG

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING: LEVEL I EXAMINATION

DEPARTMENT OF CNIL ENGINEERING

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (CNL 1005)

DECEMBER 15, 2005 TIME: 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM (2 hours)

Answer ALL questions

Only one correct answer for each question.

Giving more than one answer to a question is considered a wrong answer.
Each question carries 4 marks. One mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.

Use of Electronic Calculators:

Candidates may use any calculator, which fulfils the following criteria:
(a) it should be self-contained, silent, battery-operated and pocket-sized;
(b) it should have numeral-display facilities only and should be used only for the purpose
of calculation;
(c) it should not have any printing device, alphanumeric keyboard, or graphic display; and
(d) it should not contain any recorded data or program.

It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that the calculator operates satisfactorily and the
candidate must record the name and type of the calculator on the front page of the
examination scripts. Lists of permitted/prohibited calculators will not be made available to
candidates for reference, and the onus will be on the candidate to ensure that the calculator
used will not be in violation of the criteria listed above.

I. In fossil fuel power plants, chemical energy in fossil fuel is converted into electricity.
What is the maximum energy conversion efficiency in a typical fossil fuel power plant of
modem design: (a) 25%, (b) 35%, (c) 45%, or (d) 55%.
2. What is the closest value of ultimate BOD for a wastewater sample which has a BOD2 of
100 mg/1 and a BOD 5 of 200 mg/1: (a) 400 mg/1, (b) 360 mg/1, (c) 320 mg/1, or (d) 280
mg/1.
3. Which of the following statements is false? Fossil fuel power plants in China are the
common source of(a) thermal pollution, (b) PM10, (c) BTX., or (d) acid rain,
4. Most people rely on surface water (i.e. water in rivers and lakes) for their fresh water
supply. It has been estimated that the Planet Earth has a total of 1.384x109 krn 3 water. Of
which, how many percent is the fresh surface water: (a) less than 0.01 %, (b) 0.01-0.05%,
(c) 0.05-0.10%, and (d) over 0.10%.
5. Solubility of oxygen in water depends on a number of environmental parameters,
including altitude, salinity and temperature. To you best estimate, what is the saturated
dissolved oxygen level in seawater at 5C: (a) 5 mg/L, (b) 10 mg/L, (c) 15 mg/L, or (d) 20
mg/L.

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6. Which of the following pollutants is strictly anthropogenic: (a) methane, (b) ozone, (c)
DDT, or (d) nitrous oxide.
7. E. coli is the key indicator for bacterial pollution. Which one of the following descriptions
E. coli is false: (a) it is a good indicator of sewage pollution, (b) it is a serious pathogen,
(c) it has a relatively high survival rate in natural environment, or (d) its analytical method
has well been established.
8. Which of the following statement is false for a typical raw sewage: (a) COD> BODs, (b) N
> P, (c) oxidized N >reduced N, and (d) BOD 5 > (N + P). (Nand P represent the nitrogen
and phosphorus contents, respectively.)
9. In most marine waters, nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for the growth of algae, with 0.3
mg/L considered as the critical concentration. At what concentration would phosphorus
become the limiting nutrient: (a) 10 mg!L, (b) 1 mg!L, (c) 0.1 mg/L, or (d) 0.01 mg/L.
10. Which of the following statement is false? Disinfection by-products are (a) resulting from
chlorination, (b) carcinogenic, (c) due to the presence of residual organic matter in water,
or (d) not removable by reverse osmosis.
11. The presence of multivalent cations, most notably calcium and magnesium ions, is
referred to as water hardness. Chemicals are used to precipitate these two cations in the
forms of: (a) CaC03 and MgC03, (b) Ca(OH) 2 and Mg(OH)2, (c) CaC03 and Mg(OH)2,
or (d) Ca(OH) 2 and MgC03.
12. Which of the following statement is correct? Trickling filter is (a) merely a laboratory
device which is impractical for field applications, (b) a design which removes pollutants
according to their sizes, (c) a design which needs land, or (d) a device which removes
bacteria from drinking water.
13. Assuming an annual worldwide population growth rate of 3%, what is the most likely
world population by 2024? (a) 10.5 billion, (b) 11.5 billion, (c) 12.5 billion, or (3) 13.5
billion.
14. Activated carbon is an effective adsorbent due to its vast surface area. Each kilogram of
activated carbon typically has a surface area of about: (a) 1x103 m 2, (b) 1x104 m 2, (c)
1x105 m 2, or (d) 1x106 m 2.
15. Calcium and magnesium contribute to the water hardness. Water may be softened by the
following processes except: (a) addition of lime, (b) ion exchange, (c) reverse osmosis,
and (d) activated carbon adsorption.
16. Which one of the following is a correct description of BTX: (a) pesticide, (b) industrial
surfactant, (c) chelating agent, and (d) petroleum-based pollutants.
17. Cigarette smoking does not emit (a) benzene, (b) PARs, (c) formaldehyde, or (d) ozone.
18. Radon is (a) pathogen, (b) water pollutant, (c) air pollutant, or (d) disease.
19. Which of the following constituents in the atmosphere, in addition to carbon dioxide
(C02), can cause greenhouse effect: (a) moisture, (b) PM 2.5, (c) sulfur dioxide (S02), or
(d) carbon monoxide.
20. Adiabatic lapse rate is a measurement of the atmospheric temperature drop for the
increase of altitude. Which of the following statement is false? According to
thermodynamics, adiabatic lapse rate is dependent on (a) humidity, (b) specific heat of air,
(c) latitude, or (d) carbon dioxide content.
21. Which one of the following is a false description of ozone: (a) it is a pollutant emitted
from landfills, (b) it absorbs UV energy of solar radiation in stratosphere, (c) it is a
disinfectant, and (d) its concentration in atmosphere is less than 0.1 part per million (by
volume).

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22. Electrostatic precipitators use very high negative voltage normally in the range of (a)
1000-10,000 V, (b) 10,000-100,000 V, (c) 100,000-1,000,000 V or (d) higher than
1,000,000 V.
23. Solid and hazardous wastes may be disposed of by incineration. However, incineration
may lead to a number of environmental concerns. Which one of the following concerns is
in general unrelated to incineration of these wastes: (a) particulates, (b) dioxins, (c) heavy
metals in ashes, or (d) contamination of groundwater.
24. Which of the following statements are true?: (a) A 2 dB drop in sound pressure level will
be experienced for a doubling of the distance from the sound source, (b) A 3 dB drop in
sound pressure level will be experienced for a doubling of the distance from the sound
source, (c) A 2 dB increase in sound pressure level is caused by a doubling of the sound
power, or (d) A 3 dB increase in sound pressure level is caused by a doubling of the sound
pressure.
25. Which ofthe following statement is false: (a) Over 90% of fresh water in HK is from the
East River in Guangdong Province, (b) A golf driving range in HK is built on top of
restored landfill site, (c) Sludge from HK wastewater treatment plants has to be dewatered
to a moisture content of below 70% before it can be disposed of by landfilling, or (d) HK
has an annual rainfall of about 2300 mm.

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