Deck 2: The Earth System and Climate Change

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a major Earth component?

A) atmosphere
B) biosphere
C) hydrosphere
D) lithosphere
E) stratosphere

Answer 1

stratosphere

Question 2

Which of the following is a product of the conflicting processes driven by Earth's internal and external heat sources?

A) wind
B) soil
C) earthquakes
D) sleet
E) gravity

Answer 2

soil

Question 3

A situation where a system acquires a new stable set of conditions significantly different from the original ones is an example of which type of feedback?

A) positive
B) negative
C) run-away
D) formative
E) cumulative

Answer 3

run-away

Question 4

Clouds ____ the temperature of Earth's atmosphere due to reflection of solar radiation and ____ it due to greenhouse re-radiation.

A) raise; raise
B) raise; lower
C) lower; raise
D) lower; lower
E) Clouds have no impact on the temperature of Earth's atmosphere.

Question 5

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Winds on Earth tend to blow more north-south than east-west BECAUSE the Coriolis effect causes all winds to bend to the right.

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid.
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.
E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 6

Whirlpool-like storms are called all of the following EXCEPT?

A) cyclones
B) hurricanes
C) monsoons
D) typhoons
E) willy-willies

Question 7

What drives surface ocean currents?

A) the rotation of the Earth
B) the Earth's magnetic field
C) wind
D) waves
E) storm activity

Question 8

What drives deep ocean currents?

A) the rotation of the Earth
B) the Earth's magnetic field
C) wind
D) waves
E) density

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a factor cited to explain periodic long-term variations in the climate of the Earth?

A) tilt of the Earth's axis
B) shape of the Earth's orbit
C) speed of rotation of the Earth on its axis
D) wobble of the Earth's axis
E) All are factors.

Question 10

What is obliquity?

A) tilt of the Earth's axis
B) shape of the Earth's orbit
C) speed of rotation of the Earth on its axis
D) wobble of the Earth's axis
E) planetary alignment

Question 11

Which isotope ratio is especially important in studying Earth's climate over the past 500,000 years?

A) oxygen-18 to oxygen-16
B) carbon-14 to carbon-12
C) sulfur-34 to sulfur-32
D) nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14
E) argon-40 to argon-39

Question 12

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Land conversion from forests to cropland results in an increase in biological carbon storage capacity BECAUSE the annual planting and harvesting of crops involves far more biomass than mature forests.

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

Question 13

Snow-albedo is an example of which type of feedback?

A) positive
B) negative
C) run-away
D) formative
E) cumulative

Question 14

Which of the following factors, responsible for large-scale temperature changes presently being experienced, has changed decisively due to human activity?

A) stratospheric volcanic sulfate aerosols
B) climate variability
C) solar radiation
D) greenhouse gases
E) snow-albedo effect

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a major source of human greenhouse gas emissions?

A) agriculture
B) deforestation
C) cement production
D) burning of coal
E) livestock

Question 16

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Earth's climate for the next several hundred thousand years depends strongly on the carbon emissions we put into the air over the coming century BECAUSE as much as 25% of the carbon-dioxide in an emissions spike can persist for tens of millennia.

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

Question 17

Who invented the first thermometer?

A) William Rankine
B) Daniel Fahrenheit
C) Anders Celsius
D) William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)
E) Galileo Galilei

Question 18

Which of the following best reflects the change in sea surface temperature of the past half-century?

A) A net warming of 1°C-2°C has occurred.
B) A net warming of 0.1°C-0.2°C has occurred.
C) There has been no change in sea surface temperature.
D) A net cooling of 0.1°C-0.2°C has occurred.
E) A net cooling of 1°C-2°C has occurred.

Question 19

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: The net warming of the oceans over the past fifty years is not significant BECAUSE the oceans are enormous in size.

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid.
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.
E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 20

Which of the following has the greatest albedo?

A) fresh concrete
B) grasslands
C) ocean water
D) sandy deserts
E) snow and ice

Question 21

Not all systems require energy to operate.

Question 22

Radiogenic decay is a primary source of heat within the Earth.

Question 23

If Earth were to stop receiving energy from the Sun, it would not become a frozen iceball because of radiogenic heat slowly escaping from the interior of the planet.

Question 24

The most abundant component of Earth's atmosphere is oxygen.

Question 25

Without greenhouse gasses, Earth's average air temperature would be well below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Question 26

Worldwide seasonal effects in carbon dioxide in the northern and southern hemispheres cancel each other out.

Question 27

Warm air is less dense than cold air.

Question 28

In the distant geologic past, the temperature of Earth's atmosphere was the same worldwide.

Question 29

Biologically important marine upwellings form when shallow marine currents move away from the shoreline.

Question 30

Carbon dioxide dissolves more readily in cold water than in warm water.

Question 31

Scandinavia has much less ice cover than Greenland because it is at a lower latitude.

Question 32

Earth's northern hemisphere has always had winter between the December solstice and the March Equinox and always will.

Question 33

Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Question 34

A significant source of methane, an important greenhouse gas, is livestock flatulence.

Question 35

Ice cores from Antarctica span hundreds of thousands of years of time.

Question 36

Most greenhouse warming in the atmosphere is from human activity.

Question 37

Phoenix, Arizona does not need to learn from the Hohokam because technology has improved greatly since the 16th century.

Question 38

On average, about 30% of solar energy that reaches the surface of the Earth gets reflected back.

Question 39

Fossil fuel consumption is the only way humans are impacting climate.

Question 40

There is a correlation between fossil fuel consumption and Earth's temperature.

Question 41

What is the ultimate energy source that drives surface ocean currents?

Question 42

Human-induced global warming using today's technology can be thought of as a geologically temporary phenomenon. Why is this?

Question 43

Explain how Earth's internal and external energy sources work together to shape the surface of the Earth.

Question 44

Provide a natural example of a system without an energy source.

Question 45

What are the major greenhouse gases? Which one contributes the most to the greenhouse effect?

Question 46

Is the presence of greenhouse gases a bad or good thing for humans?

Question 47

Is there any relationship between the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere and life on the planet?

Question 48

Which has the greater chance of sending the Earth's climate past a tipping point: the cloud-albedo effect or the snow-albedo effect?

Question 49

Explain how the observed increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could be a result of increased temperature and not the other way around?

Question 50

Why is it that the urban heat island effect contributes very little to overall atmospheric warming?