Atmosphere Basics Quiz (Honors)

The early atmosphere contained smaller amounts of oxygen, do to the...

• lack of plant life
• lack of animal life
• early protists
• aquatic life forms

Which gas makes up the largest component of Earth's atmosphere?

• oxygen
• nitrogen
• argon
• carbon dioxide

What gases needed to be established in Earth's atmosphere before the atmosphere was able to absorb and maintain heat?

• carbon dioxide
• oxygen
• nitrogen
• hydrogen

When the atmosphere first formed, was the air quality better or worse than it is now for living things

• worse, it was hostile to living organisms
• better, it had lots of gases that support life
• same, it hasn't changed

Earth's FIRST atmosphere was most likely formed by....

• early ocean humidity 
• cooling of iron-rich lavas
• late cretaceous life forms
• volcanic eruptions

What is one way human actions can affect the atmosphere?

• burning fossil fuels reduces convection
• passing through the atmosphere using airplanes and rockets disrupts the jet stream
• burning fossils fuels releases CO2, increasing greenhouse effect

What is the name for the blanket of air (mixture of gases) surrounding the Earth?

• cyanobacteria
• clouds
• atmosphere
• ozone

Which of these human activities has allowed carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to increase?

• cutting down trees
• open-pit mining
• over-hunting animals
• building houses

What do scientists base the division of the atmosphere on?

• sudden changes in air pressure
• sudden changes in temperature 
• sudden changes in magnetic declination

The ozone layer protects life on Earth from...

• Ultraviolet rays
• Gamma rays
• Infrared rays
• X-rays