Ground Water - Water Budget

1. During which month will the potential evapotranspiration usually be the greatest in New York State?

January
April
July
October

2. When rainfall occurs, the water will most likely become surface runoff if the surface of the soil is

Highly permeable
Steeply sloped
Covered with trees
Loose and sandy

3. An area of high precipitation and low potential evapotranspiration is most likely to have

A large water deficit
Low ground water storage and streams of low velocity
Streams of large volume
No surface runoff

4. All 3 tubes contain the same volume of beads. Which tube contains the beads with the greatest surface area?



The 4mm tube
The 7mm tube
The 12mm tube
The surface area of the beads in all the tubes is the same

5. After a heavy rain the most run off would probably occur in an area where the soil contained large amounts of

Pebbles
Sand
Silt
Clay

6. As compared to the porosity of the 0.9mm beads, the porosity of the 0.3mm beads is



Greater
Less
The same

7. Water is poured into each tube up to the dotted line. Which tube held the smallest volume of water?



4mm
7mm
12mm
Mixed

8. When rainfall occurs, the water will most likely become surface runoff if the surface of the soil is

Highly permeable
Steeply sloped
Covered with trees
Loose and sandy

9. An area of high precipitation and low potential evapotranspiration is most likely to have

A large water deficit
Little ground water storage and streams of low velocity
Streams of large volume
No surface runoff

10. Ground water is withdrawn when

Stream discharge increases
Ea is less than Ep
There is a deficit
Precipitation is less than Ep

11. Which particles have the least permeability?



0.9cm
0.7cm
0.5cm
0.3cm

12. Stream discharge would normally be highest during a period of

Recharge
Deficit
Usage
Surplus

13. Assuming a constant land slope, the greatest infiltration of water into the ground will occur when the surface is

Permeable and saturated
Permeable and unsaturated
Impermeable and saturated
Impermeable and unsaturated

14. Surface runoff of precipitation occurs when

Porosity is exceeded by permeability
The rate of infiltration is greater than the rate of precipitation
The rate of precipitation is greater than the rate of infiltration
The ground is permeable and unsaturated

15. The ground just below the water table is

Below sea level
Drier than the ground just above the water table
Impermeable to water
Saturated with water

16. Which is most important in determining the amount of ground water that can be stored within a rock?

The rock's geologic age
The rock's hardness
The rock's porosity
The rock's color

17. The ground water storage for a location is at the maximum. If the precipitation is greater than the potential evapotranspiration in this area, which will occur?

There will be a water surplus
The soil permeability will increase
Water usage will occur
The ground storage will be increased

18. Through which tube in the diagram will water pass at the greatest rate?



4 mm particles
7 mm particles
12 mm particles

19. The potential evapotranspiration of an area is most dependent on the

Insolation from the Sun
Ground water storage
Amount of runoff
Pore spaces in the soil

20. The main source of water for the local water budget is

Potential evapotranspiration
Actual evapotranspiration
Ground water storage
Precipitation

21. During a dry summer, stream discharge is primarily controlled by the

Supply of ground water in the area of the stream
Loss of capillary water through evapotranspiration
Shape of the stream channel
Amount of vegetation on the banks of the stream

22. As the amount of precipitation on land increases, the depth from the surface of the earth to the water table will probably

Increase
Decrease
Remain the same

23. The greatest amount of water would be needed to wet the surface of equal volumes of

Sand
Pebbles
Cobbles
Boulders

24. Which would cause the potential evapotranspiration to decrease in a given month

Below normal precipitation
Drilling of a large well
A month-long cold spell
A high actual evapotranspiration

25. A barrel is packed full of marbles. Another barrel is packed full of golf balls. Each barrel is then filled with water. Compared to the amount of water in the barrel of marbles, the amount of water in the barrel of golf balls is

Greater
Less
The same

26. If the bottoms of all three tubes was placed in a shallow pan of water, in which tube would the water rise to the highest level?



4mm particles
7mm particles
12mm particles

27. Surface runoff will not occur when

Rainfall exceeds the premeability rate
The pore spaces are filled
Infiltration exceeds rainfall
The slope of the surface is too great to allow infiltration

28. As ground water flows from gravel into sand, its rate of flow will probably

Increase
Decrease
Remain the same

29. Which factor has the least effect on the rate of surface runoff?

Amount of rainfall
Permeability rate
Surface slope
Capillary action

30. As both the angle and duration of insolation increase, the potential transpiration will generally

Increase
Decrease
Remain the same

31. Which type of climate would most likely be found in an area that has a high potential for evaporation of water but low actual evaporation of water?

Desert
Rainforest
Polar
Temperate

32. Over several years, a graph of the velocity of streamflow for a point in a river in New York State will probably

Decrease at a regular rate
Increase at a regular rate
Remain constant
Vary in a cyclic manner

33. Which property of a well-sorted, loose material will increase as the particle size decreases?

Capillarity
Permeability
Porosity
Infiltration

34. Low stream discharge during the summer months is most likely the result of

High water storage
High precipitation
Low potential evapotranspiration
High potential evapotranspiration

35. The actual evapotranspiration (Ea) during the year is

Always greater than potential evapotranspiration (Ep)
Sometimes greater than potential evapotranspiration (Ep)
Never greater than potential evapotranspiration (Ep)

36. Why do most streams in New York State have a greater stream discharge in spring than in summer?

Potential evapotranspiration is greater in spring than in summer
More transpiration occurs in spring than in summer
Most New York State water budgets have a defict in spring
Melting snow increases runoff in spring

37. In which area will surface runoff most likely be greatest during a heavy rainfall?

A sandy beach
A wooded forest
A level grassy field
A paved city street

38. A region with an arid climate has an annual precipitation that is

Less than the annual potential evapotranspiration
Greater than the annual potential evapotranspiration
Equal to the annual potential evapotranspiration

39. 100 ml of water is poured into each of the 3 tubes and is allowed to drain into beakers. In each case the volume of the recovered water is less than 100 ml. Which tube will retain the most water?



The tube containing 4mm beads
The tube containing 7mm beads
The tube containing 12mm beads

40. A porous layer of rock which contains water is known as

An aquifer
A conduit
The zone of aeration
An aquaclude

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