Earth's Changing Climate

Earth's Changing Climate

By Kristine Koven

Multiple Choice

Climate researchers are creating a computer simulation to help them understand changes in the Earth system. They want to use the simulation to see what happens when they increase the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What should their simulation show about energy absorbed by Earth’s surface? When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface should

• increase

• decrease

• stay at a constant level

• change unpredictably.

Multiple Choice

Scientists found evidence of a time period 3 billion years ago when less energy entered the Earth system than exited. What is one change to the atmosphere that could have caused this, and how did it change the amount of energy in the Earth system?

• Methane increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

• Methane increased, leading to less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth's surface

• Methane increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

• Methane decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

Multiple Choice

The Karoo Ice Age started about 360 million years ago and lasted for about 40 million years. During this time, less energy entered the Earth system than exited. What is one change to the atmosphere that could have caused this?

• Carbon dioxide decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less energy was trapped by gases and held in the atmosphere.

• Carbon dioxide decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Carbon dioxide increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system because more exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Carbon dioxide increased, leading to less energy in the Earth system because more energy from the sun was redirected (bounced) back toward outer space.

Multiple Choice

• The graph shows a trend of increasing temperature over time.

• The graph shows temperatures go up and down, with no trend.

• The graph shows the Annual Mean and 5-Year Mean have different trend.

• The graph shows too much fluctuation to be confident about a trend.

Multiple Choice

What happens when energy hits sulfur dioxide?

• When energy hits sulfur dioxide, more energy is created.

• Sulfur dioxide traps some energy and holds it in the atmosphere.

• Sulfur dioxide redirects (bounces) some incoming energy from the sun back toward outer space.

• Energy always passes through sulfur dioxide.

Multiple Choice

Using evidence from rocks, scientists have found that from 300 to 290 million years ago, the amount of methane in the atmosphere increased. What happened to the energy absorbed by Earth's surface during this time? During this time, the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface

• stayed at a constant level.

• changed unpredictably.

• increased.

• decreased.

Multiple Choice

Scientists are using a computer simulation to test ideas about climate on Earth. Looking at one period of time in the simulation, they notice that more energy entered the Earth system than exited. How might the amount of carbon dioxide have changed to cause this, and how would this have changed the energy in the Earth system? In the simulation,

a

• carbon dioxide decreased, leading to more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface.

• carbon dioxide decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface.

• carbon dioxide increased, leading to less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface.

• carbon dioxide increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface.

Multiple Choice

Scientists study tree rings to learn more about Earth’s past climate. They found a time period when the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreased. What happened to energy in the Earth system when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreased? Energy in the Earth system

• decreased, because more energy entered than exited. This is because less exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• decreased, because less energy entered than exited. This is because less exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• decreased, because less energy entered than exited. This is because less energy was trapped by gases and held in the atmosphere.

• increased, because more energy entered than exited. This is because less energy from the sun was redirected (bounced) back toward outer space.

Multiple Choice

What is one reason that carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere today?

• There are more volcanoes than there were in the past.

• People are riding bicycles instead of driving cars.

• There are more people doing things that use combustion.

• People are using solar power.

Multiple Choice

Scientists who study the atmosphere often need to take samples of the atmosphere in order to learn more. They take some atmosphere samples near the ground. They take other atmosphere samples high in the air, while flying in a helicopter. What would the scientists find out about the samples?

• Both samples are made of one kind of gas.

• Both samples are made of a mix of several different kinds of gases.

• Neither sample is made of anything.

• The samples are different from each other because each gas forms its own layer in the atmosphere.

Multiple Choice

Climate researchers in Greenland can use ice core samples to tell them about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the past. The researchers have found an ice core sample that shows there was a period when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreased. What happened to the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface during this time?

During this time, the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface

• decreased.

• increased.

• stayed at a constant level.

• changed unpredictably.

Multiple Choice

Some bacteria produce methane during digestion. If the amount of these bacteria decreased a lot, the amount of methane in the atmosphere would decrease. What would happen to energy in the Earth system if this happened?

If methane decreased,

• there would be more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy would enter than exit.

• there would be more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy would enter than exit.

• there would be less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy would enter than exit

• there would be less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy would enter than exit.

Multiple Choice

From about 360 to 299 million years ago, there was a large increase in the amount of swampland on Earth, which scientists think led to a large increase in the amount of methane in Earth’s atmosphere. What happened to energy in the Earth system when the amount of methane in the atmosphere increased?

Energy in the Earth system

• increased, because more energy entered than exited. This is because more exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• increased, because less energy entered than exited. This is because more exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• increased, because more energy entered than exited. This is because more energy was trapped by gases and held in the atmosphere.

• decreased, because less energy entered than exited. This is because more energy from the sun was redirected (bounced) back toward outer space.

Multiple Choice

When making an argument about how climate change is affecting the ice cover on Earth, which of the following would be the least effective type of evidence to support your argument?

• data tracking the amount of snowfall for the last 50 years

• data tracking the surface temperature for the last 200 years

• data tracking carbon dioxide levels for the last 100 years

• data tracking glacier size for the last 2 years

Multiple Choice

What can humans do to help keep carbon dioxide and methane in Earth's atmosphere from increasing?

• Drive their cars less often

• Eat less meat so that fewer livestock need to be kept.

• cBoth A and B

  Both A and B

  B

• Humans can’t affect the amount of carbon dioxide or methane in the atmosphere.

Multiple Choice

The Pleistocene Epoch lasted for about 2.6 million years. During this time, there were a few time periods when the amount of methane in the atmosphere decreased. What would scientists expect to observe about the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface during the time periods when methane decreased?

During these time periods, the amount of energy absorbed by Earth's surface

• decreased.

• increased.

• stayed at a consistent level.

• changed unpredictably.

Multiple Choice

In the last 5 million years of the Permian period in Earth’s history, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased. How did energy in the Earth system change during this time?

• There was more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy entered than exited.

• There was more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy entered than exited.

• There was less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy entered than exited.

• There was less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy entered than exited.

Multiple Choice

Climate scientists are working on a computer simulation to help them understand Earth’s climate. Looking at one period of time in the simulation, they see that more energy entered the Earth system than exited. How could the amount of methane have changed to cause this, and what effect would this have on energy in the Earth system?

• Methane increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system because more exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Methane increased, leading to more energy in the Earth system because more energy was trapped by gases and held in the atmosphere.

• Methane decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less exiting energy was redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Methane decreased, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less energy from the sun was redirected (bounced) back toward outer space.

Multiple Choice

Eleanor wants to do an experiment in order to analyze what is in the atmosphere. What do you think she will find?

• The atmosphere is made of one kind of gas.

• The atmosphere is made of different kinds of gases, and each forms its own layer.The atmosphere is made of different kinds of gases, and each forms its own layer.

• The atmosphere is made of a mix of different kinds of gases.

• The atmosphere isn’t made of anything.