Exam Review Chapter 7 Part 3

A vibrant illustration depicting the greenhouse effect, highlighting the sun's rays, Earth's atmosphere, greenhouse gases, and the process of warming. Include elements of both healthy and unhealthy environments to show the impact of climate change.

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

Test your knowledge on the greenhouse effect, atmospheric changes, and climate dynamics with our engaging quiz. This quiz includes 9 carefully curated questions that challenge your understanding of Earth's environment, Mars, and Venus, along with the science behind global warming and carbon cycles.

Whether you’re a student, educator, or just a curious mind, this quiz will help reinforce important concepts:

Impact of greenhouse gases
The significance of water vapor
Planetary atmospheres and temperature regulation

9 Questions2 MinutesCreated by EducatingEarth123

Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works?

A planet's surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as infrared light. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is caused primarily by ozone, which absorbs ultraviolet light and thereby makes the atmosphere much hotter than it would be otherwise.

Greenhouse gases absorb X rays and ultraviolet light from the Sun, and this absorbed radiation then heats the atmosphere and the surface.

Greenhouse gases absorb infrared light coming from the Sun, and this absorbed sunlight heats the lower atmosphere and the surface.

Suppose that Earth's atmosphere had no greenhouse gases. Then Earth's average surface temperature would be __________.

Slightly warmer, but still well below the boiling point of water

About the same as it is now

Slightly cooler, but still above freezing

Well below the freezing point of water

What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure?

We think it for purely theoretical reasons, based on calculations showing that the Sun has brightened with time.

The presence of inactive volcanoes on Mars tells us that there must once have been a lot of outgassing, and hence a thicker atmosphere.

The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence that water flowed on the surface in the past.

The fact that parts of Mars have a lot of craters tell us that Mars must once have been much warmer.

All the following statements about Mars are true. Which one might have led to a significant loss of atmospheric gas to space?

Mars lost any global magnetic field that it may once have had.

The axis tilt of Mars is thought to change significantly with time.

Mars probably once had a much higher density of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere than it does today.

Outgassed water molecules are split apart, and the oxygen then reacts chemically with surface rock on Mars.

Which of the following best explain what we think happened to outgassed water vapor on Venus?

Water was removed from the atmosphere by chemical reactions with surface rock.

Ultraviolet light split the water molecules, and the hydrogen then escaped to space.

It turned into carbon dioxide by reacting with nitrogen in Venus's atmosphere.

It is frozen as water ice in craters near the poles.

Why does Earth have so little carbon dioxide in its atmosphere compared to Venus?

Earth once had a lot of carbon dioxide, but it was lost to space during the heavy bombardment early in our solar system's history.

Earth has just as much carbon dioxide as Venus, but most of it is locked up in carbonate rocks rather than being free in the atmosphere.

Earth's volcanoes outgassed far less carbon dioxide than those on Venus.

Chemical reactions turned Earth's carbon dioxide into nitrogen.

Which two factors are critical to the existence of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle on Earth?

Life and active volcanism

Life and atmospheric oxygen

Plate tectonics and liquid water oceans

Active volcanism and active tectonics

Suppose Earth were to cool down a little. How would the carbon dioxide cycle tend to restore temperatures to normal?

Cooler temperatures allow carbon dioxide to form rain and rain out of the atmosphere.

Cooler temperatures lead to slower formation of carbonate minerals in the ocean, so carbon dioxide released by volcanism builds up in the atmosphere and strengthens the greenhouse effect.

Cooler temperatures cause volcanoes to become more active, so they release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they do when temperatures are warmer.

Cooler temperatures mean more ice and more erosion, which somehow makes the planet warm up.

Which of the following correctly lists two key pieces of evidence that, together, indicate that we should expect human activity to cause global warming?

(1) The burning of fossil fuels is a form of human activity; (2) Human activity is always bad for the environment.

(1) Carbon dioxide tends to make planets warmer than they would be otherwise; (2) Measurements demonstrate that human activity is raising the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere.

(1) We can learn about past climate from ice cores; (2) Ice cores show that Earth naturally has cooler and warmer periods.

(1) The carbon dioxide cycle regulates Earth’s climate; (2) Human activity has disrupted the carbon dioxide cycle.

Exam Review Chapter 7 Part 3

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

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