1. This formative assessment is a modified true- false quiz. If the statement is true, simply put a “T”, if the statement is false, put an “F:”, followed by correcting the underlined portion of the statement. Example: Most of today’s household trash gets disposed of as litter in the environment. ANS: “F”, in sanitary landfills

2. 1.Archaeologists from the University of Arizona did a study in the 1970s on landfills, where they unearthed a mummified pork chop. 2.Because landfills are airtight, aerobic bacteria use up all the oxygen rapidly, and die. 3.When water moves through a landfill, it dissolves all the hazardous polluting chemicals in a solution called leachate. 4.The propane produced and collected in landfills can generate electricity very efficiently.

3. 5. Biodegradable plastics are composed of a special plastic web matrix, and cornstarch that bacteria can completely decompose. 6. When a plastic is able to be broken down in the presence of sunlight, it is said to be biodegradable. 7. Methane is produced as aerobic bacteria decompose organic waste. 8. Plastics are products basically composed of polymers of fossil fuels.

4. 9.Primary decomposers of organic wastes are bacteria and fungi. 10. Most scientists agree that while water is important for the process of decomposition in landfills, too much water is bad, because it lowers the temperature of the materials, killing the aerobic microorganisms and keeping them from doing their work. Describe the main difference between a sanitary landfill and an open landfill.