Deck 11: Climate Change

Question 1

Which of the following statements about mitigation of climate change is NOT true?

A) The most direct way to slow the increase in greenhouse gases is to minimize population growth.
B) Conservation is an expensive way to reduce carbon output used in power production.
C) If the real costs of burning coal are included, the cost of wind energy is similar.
D) Injecting several megatons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere annually could block some of the sun's incoming energy.
E) There is considerable opposition to a carbon tax in the United States.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

How are tree rings used as proxy data to provide an indirect record of past climate conditions?

A) Tree rings are thicker and the wood is denser when growing conditions are better.
B) Tree rings are thicker and the wood is lighter when growing conditions are better.
C) Tree rings are thinner and the wood is denser when growing conditions are better.
D) Tree rings are thinner and the wood is lighter when growing conditions are better.
E) Because of variable moisture levels, tree rings cannot be used as proxy data.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following plants or animals have benefitted from global warming?

A) American pika
B) polar bears
C) black spruce
D) Pacific salmon.
E) sea turtles

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which change is NOT expected as a result of global warming?

A) increase in average atmospheric temperatures
B) increase in temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean off western Europe
C) sea level rise
D) increase in insect-borne diseases
E) more weather extremes

Question 5

Which of the following is the largest reservoir of carbon?

A) atmosphere
B) deep ocean
C) shallow ocean
D) rock
E) soil

Question 6

Why is it warmer in the northern hemisphere in July than it is in December?

A) Earth is closer to the sun in the summer than it is in the winter.
B) The sun's rays shine more directly on the northern hemisphere in the summer than in the winter.
C) There are more greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere in the summer than in the winter.
D) The sun's energy output is greater in the summer than it is in the winter.
E) The size and shape of Earth's elliptical orbit changes from nearly circular in the summer to highly elliptical in the winter.

Question 7

What has been the relationship between Earth's temperature and incoming solar radiation during the first decade of the 21st century?

A) Earth's temperature has risen during a decade when incoming solar radiation has been near a minimum.
B) Earth's temperature has fallen during a decade when incoming solar radiation has been near a minimum.
C) Earth's temperature has risen during a decade when incoming solar radiation has been near a maximum.
D) Earth's temperature has fallen during a decade when incoming solar radiation has been near a maximum.
E) Earth's temperature has remained constant during a decade of constant incoming solar radiation.

Question 8

Which of the following positive feedback effects is NOT a result of the thawing of the Arctic and glacial melting?

A) Melting sea ice leads to less reflectivity.
B) Melting permafrost leads to released methane gas.
C) Melting of the sea-floor results in melting of methane hydrate.
D) Melting permafrost leads to increased photosynthesis.
E) Melting glaciers leads to exposed darker rock.

Question 9

Which of the following is one of the largest human-caused emitters of sulfur dioxide?

A) passenger and freight trains
B) cars, trucks and busses
C) coal-fired power plants
D) air transportation
E) container ships

Question 10

Based on the most likely scenario of future fossil fuel consumption,which part of North America is expected to experience the greatest wintertime rise in temperature by 2080?

A) Arctic
B) Great Lakes region
C) eastern Canada
D) southwestern United States
E) central United States

Question 11

If humanity was able to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in Earth's atmosphere in the next decade,how long would it take for global temperatures to stabilize?

A) ten to twenty years
B) twenty to fifty years
C) fifty to one hundred years
D) one hundred to one hundred fifty years
E) hundreds to thousands of years

Question 12

Judge the following sentence: The observation that temperatures have risen faster on the continents than in the oceans is incorrect BECAUSE the observation is an artifact of there being more weather stations on land than in the oceans.

A) The assertion and reason are both correct.
B) The assertion is correct and the reason is incorrect.
C) The assertion is incorrect and the reason is correct.
D) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 13

Which of the following would NOT be likely if global warming continues?

A) more intense rainfall and more serious droughts in semi-arid regions
B) a rise in temperatures in most polar regions
C) expansion of the ranges of tropical diseases into higher latitudes
D) a general lowering of mean sea level
E) changes in ocean currents resulting from changes in salinity

Question 14

Judge the following sentence: Even though water vapor has the greatest effect as a greenhouse gas,it is not normally discussed as one BECAUSE water vapor is completely natural and we have no control over it.

A) The assertion and reason are both correct.
B) The assertion is correct and the reason is incorrect.
C) The assertion is incorrect and the reason is correct.
D) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 15

Greenhouse gases include all of the following except:

A) methane.
B) argon.
C) nitrous oxide.
D) carbon dioxide.
E) hydrofluorocarbons.

Question 16

What do the vast majority of climatologists who have carefully examined the data agree on regarding human-induced global warming?

A) Human-induced global warming has begun and is increasing.
B) Human-induced global warming has begun, but it is decreasing.
C) Human-induced global warming has not yet begun, but should start by 2050.
D) Global warming has begun, but it is not human-induced.
E) Global warming has not begun.

Question 17

A student was asked the following question.What are the major components of the Milankovitch cycle? The student answered: The important components of the Milankovitch cycle are variations in Earth's orbit from nearly circular to elliptical,changes in the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation,and variations in solar output due to sunspots.How would you rate this answer?

A) EXCELLENT: The student completely and correctly answered the question.
B) VERY GOOD: The student's answer was complete, but included an additional component that was incorrect.
C) GOOD: The student's answer was incomplete by one component and included a component that was incorrect.
D) FAIR: The student's answer was incomplete by two components or included two components that were incorrect.
E) POOR: The student's answer was incomplete by more than two components or included more than two incorrect components.

Question 18

In a single year,which of the following is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere?

A) a single large volcanic eruption
B) cement plants
C) agriculture
D) coal-fired power plants
E) ground and air transportation

Question 19

What is the expected outcome on regional precipitation as a result of global warming?

A) Tropical wet regions will get wetter and mid-latitude dry regions will get drier.
B) Both tropical and mid-latitude regions will get drier.
C) Tropical wet regions will get drier and mid-latitude dry regions will get wetter.
D) Both tropical and mid-latitude regions will get wetter.
E) Both tropical and mid-latitude regions should stay the same.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT an example of a positive feedback effect from global warming?

A) Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to a rise in ocean temperature; this leads to lower dissolution of carbon dioxide in seawater, which leads to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.
B) Increased warming of the atmosphere leads to an increase in evaporation; this leads to an increase in water vapor, which leads to a rise in atmospheric temperatures.
C) Increased warming of the atmosphere leads to an increase in the melting of Earth's permafrost; this leads to increased atmospheric methane, which leads to increased warming of the atmosphere.
D) Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to a higher acidity of the oceans; this leads to increased fatalities of microscopic photosynthetic creatures that make their skeletons from calcium carbonate, which leads to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
E) Increased warming of the atmosphere leads to an increase in the melting of the Arctic Ocean ice; this leads to an increased volume of ocean water, which leads to increased melting of the Arctic Ocean ice.

Question 21

How is it possible that atmospheric water vapor both cools and warms the atmosphere?

Question 22

How can isotopes of oxygen be used as a proxy for past temperature data?

Question 23

How are efforts to mitigate global warming unfair to the developing world?

Question 24

Which are the main greenhouse gases?

Question 25

In addition to carbon dioxide,what other greenhouse gases have risen above their pre-industrial levels in Earth's atmosphere?

Question 26

What is the approximate percentage of carbon dioxide in the air (in either parts per million of air or percentage of the air)?

Question 27

Discuss the ways to mitigate global warming.Which do you think holds the most promise?

Question 28

What factors of global warming lead to a rise in sea-level? Which factor is most important?

Question 29

Can the current increase in carbon dioxide level in Earth's atmosphere be attributable to natural variation and not human activity? Why or why not?

Question 30

Other than an increase in temperature and storms,what would be a significant negative health outcome of global warming?

Question 31

What is radiative forcing?

Question 32

Give examples showing how atmospheric aerosols can be both a hindrance and a help.

Question 33

What atmospheric particles cool the atmosphere?

Question 34

How do greenhouse gases warm Earth's atmosphere?

Question 35

How many ice ages has Earth experienced over the past two million years?