Impact Prediction Methods Questions and Answers

Answer: D

They are brought together by identification of impacts.

In environmental impact assessment, impact identification brings together the project characteristics, what the project will do and emit at each stage, and the baseline information on the existing environment, so that every potentially significant impact is recognised. Checklists, matrices and networks are the tools for this stage.

Prediction comes next and estimates the magnitude of the impacts already identified. Evaluation then judges their significance. Assessment is the name of the whole process, not the step that first brings the two kinds of information together.

Answer: C

The keyed answer is application specific predictive technique.

Of the four options, only this one names a predictive technique built on an explicit, predefined relationship, such as a mathematical model fitted to the situation, which is what the question describes for predicting social impacts.

Qualitative description and quantitative description describe the likely effects in words or in numbers; they do not depend on a predefined model of cause and effect. Relative comparison of the effects of alternatives ranks options against each other and likewise predicts no effect from a stated relationship. What could not be confirmed is the exact classification: no reference was found that sets out these four technique names, so the key is explained from the meaning of the options and not from a located source.