Climate Change

Which of the following gases DOES NOT trap heat?

• carbon dioxide
• nitrogen
• water vapor
• methane

Where have some of the strongest and earliest impacts of global warming occurred? 

• in the tropics
• in the northern latitudes
• impacts of global warming are distributed equally all over the planet

If you took away the atmosphere’s natural greenhouse effect, and everything else stayed the same, Earth’s temperature would be 

• 10-20°F warmer
• 30-40°F warmer
• 10-20°F cooler
• 50-60°F cooler

How do scientists collect evidence about climate?  

• using remote sensing from space with satellites
• by ground-based measurements of surface temperatures, carbon dioxide concentration and sea level
• by collecting “proxy data” from tree rings, ice cores, and historical records
• all of the above

Compared to other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the most effective in trapping heat near the surface of the Earth.

• true

• false

Answer explanation

True. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant greenhouse gas for heat retention, effectively trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere, more so than other greenhouse gases.

Which of the following have been linked to climate change?  

• droughts
• flooding
• melting of polar ice caps
• all of the above

Which century was the wettest of the last millenium? 

• 12th
• 16th
• 19th
• 20th

Which species is threatened by the increased winter flow in streams due to global warming?

• striped bass
• atlantic mackerel
•    crawfish
• salmon

Visible light reaches Earth’s surface while infrared light is trapped as heat. Which characteristic of Earth’s atmosphere causes this to happen?

• the hole in the ozone
• the greenhouse effect
• atmospheric pressure
• the inversion layer

The average temperature of the surface of Earth has increased approximately 1°C in the past century. Which reason best explains this increase in temperature?

• lower levels of ozone in the atmosphere
• lower levels of nitrogen in the atmosphere
• higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere