Deck 9: Air: Climate and Pollution

Question 1

When cool, dry air sinks from the upper atmosphere toward the Earth's surface, it is

A) compressed and cooled further.
B) allowed to expand and become warmer.
C) compressed and becomes warmer.
D) forced to release any remaining moisture.
E) going to hold more water because there is more water vapor closer to the Earth's surface.

Answer 1

compressed and becomes warmer.

Question 2

Paying to plant trees because you use carbon in your daily life would be an example of

A) carbon reduction.
B) cap and trade.
C) carbon offsets.
D) carbon sequestration.
E) going carbon neutral.

Answer 2

carbon offsets.

Question 3

The "ozone hole" is a depletion currently most serious

A) at the most populated latitudes.
B) over North America.
C) in tropical latitudes.
D) near the Hadley cells.
E) near the poles.

Answer 3

near the poles.

Question 4

A major source of VOCs is

A) incomplete burning of hydrocarbons.
B) combustion of sulfur-containing fuel.
C) photochemical oxidation.
D) CO in the atmosphere.
E) CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Question 5

Primary pollutants are those that are

A) released directly in dangerous forms.
B) produced in the greatest quantities.
C) the most dangerous.
D) the most threatening to people.
E) classified by the EPA as the most dangerous and abundant.

Question 6

The amount of CO₂ released by human activities per year is approximately ___________.

A) 30 million tons
B) 300 million tons
C) 3 billion tons
D) 30 billion tons
E) 300 billion tons

Question 7

The most common human health response to air pollution is

A) inflammatory responses in sensitive tissues.
B) lung cancer.
C) blindness caused by deteriorating eye tissues.
D) skin cancer.
E) heart disease.

Question 8

The two main gases making up the lower atmosphere are

A) helium and hydrogen.
B) carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
C) oxygen and methane.
D) nitrogen and oxygen.
E) oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Question 9

When El Niño occurs every three to seven years, a mass of warm Pacific water that is usually pushed westward by trade winds

A) surges back eastward toward South America.
B) becomes much warmer than usual, strengthening trade winds.
C) cools dramatically.
D) sinks and therefore cools substantially.
E) surges northward toward Japan.

Question 10

There are serious signs that ozone depletion may lead to

A) UV-caused skin cancers.
B) UV-caused blindness.
C) IR-caused sunburn.
D) All of these are correct.
E) UV-caused skin cancers and UV-caused blindness only.

Question 11

The air pollutant least successfully removed from the air by technologies in developed nations is

A) carbon dioxide.
B) sulfur oxides.
C) nitrogen oxides.
D) particulate matter.
E) VOCs.

Question 12

As far as we are currently aware, who were the first people to notice the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle?

A) scientists studying atmospheric changes
B) meteorologists
C) indigenous people in South America
D) Peruvian fishermen
E) colonial governors in South America from Spain

Question 13

Most of the excessive carbon dioxide that is expected to cause global warming is generated by

A) green plants.
B) burning of fossil fuels.
C) production of cement and clearing of forests.
D) All of these are correct.
E) burning of fossil fuels and production of cement and clearing of forests only.

Question 14

Proponents of climate change say that given what we know about the probability of the greenhouse effect, the best thing to do is

A) immediately cease all industrial activity.
B) wait and see how much temperatures change before we change our habits.
C) severely cut back on production of greenhouse gases.
D) not worry about greenhouse gas production.
E) focus on the development of technological advances to help decrease the effects of climate change.

Question 15

A social or policy concern related to climate change might be

A) the change in migratory patterns of birds.
B) an increased land area in some countries due to the melting of glaciers.
C) increased drought in agricultural regions.
D) warmer average temperatures.
E) movement of tectonic plates.

Question 16

The correct sequence of atmospheric zones upward from the earth's surface is

A) stratosphere, troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere.
B) troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere.
C) mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere, thermosphere.
D) thermosphere, stratosphere, troposphere, mesosphere.
E) troposphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, thermosphere.

Question 17

___________ ozone is harmful, damaging plants and human health while ozone at the _________ level screens out mutagenic ultraviolet radiation.

A) Stratospheric; troposphere
B) Thermospheric; mesosphere
C) Tropospheric; stratosphere
D) Mesospheric; thermosphere
E) Stratospheric; mesosphere

Question 18

________ is/are examples of secondary pollutants.

A) Aerosols
B) Volatile organic compounds
C) Photochemical oxidants
D) Combustion gases
E) Dust from soil erosion

Question 19

What are the ecological implications of global warming?

A) Plants and animals that are residing in fragmented habitats may not be able to move to a suitable habitat.
B) In general, plants and animals will probably benefit from warmer temperatures.
C) Since farmland may be lost, the habitats for plants and animals will increase in area.
D) Since biodiversity is usually higher in warmer, milder climates, it will probably be increased.
E) Tropical ecosystems will get even warmer than they are now.

Question 20

The atmospheric zone where most weather events occur is the

A) stratosphere.
B) thermosphere.
C) troposphere.
D) mesosphere.
E) stratopause.

Question 21

Eastern European cities and farming regions have been notable in recent years for their steady and successful cleanup accomplishments.

Question 22

Worldwide, air pollution control efforts are least advanced or least successful in major cities of developing countries.

Question 23

What type of buildings and monuments are most susceptible to acid damage?

A) granite and basalt
B) wood
C) limestone and marble
D) concrete and brick
E) brick and bronze

Question 24

There has been an increase in frequency and intensity of storms and hurricanes.

Question 25

Nineteen of the 20 warmest of the last 150 years have occurred since 1980.

Question 26

The __________________ is an international treaty designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

A) Tokyo Accord
B) Kyoto Declaration
C) International Agreement on Global Warming
D) Kyoto Protocol
E) Tokyo Principle

Question 27

One of the principal ways lakes suffer from acid deposition is that

A) rocks on the bottom begin to dissolve.
B) fish eggs die and fish populations fall.
C) aquatic vegetation turns yellow.
D) plants grow excessively and choke other life.
E) All of these can happen in a lake from acid deposition.

Question 28

The phenomenon where cool, dense air sits under a layer of lighter warmer air is known as a ____________________.

A) heat sink
B) heat island
C) temperature inversion
D) Milankovitch cycle
E) thermocline

Question 29

The use of scrubbers, precipitators, and filters on power plants and other "smokestack" industries probably accounts for a(n)

A) increase in nitrogen oxides.
B) decrease in sulfur oxides and solid particulate matter.
C) decrease in volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, solid particulate matter, and lead.
D) decrease in solid particulate matter and lead.
E) decrease in nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, solid particulate matter, and lead.

Question 30

The most significant part of President George W. Bush's "Clear Skies Initiative" would have _________________.

A) reduced allowable sulfur emissions
B) reduced allowable nitrogen emissions
C) reduced allowable particulate emissions
D) eliminated new source reviews for industry in favor of voluntary controls
E) none of these are correct.