Climate Change

What is the primary source of energy for Earth's climate system?

• Heat from Earth's interior

• The Sun

• Electricity generating power plants

• Oil & gas

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Why are greenhouse gases like CO₂ and methane important to Earth's climate?

• They allow heat from Earth to escape the atmosphere

• They trap the Sun's energy so that Earth's surface is warm

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

What happen when CO₂ and other greenhouse gases increase in our atmosphere?

• Average global temperatures decrease

• Average global temperatures increase

• The Earth's magnetic field changes direction

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

Will climate change impacts be the same in all locations on Earth?

• The results are the same across the globe

• There is no scientific evidence to support an answer

• The impacts will vary

• All answer choices are accurate

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

The following human activities produce greenhouse gases EXCEPT:

• Driving cars

• Walking, biking and swimming

• Animal agriculture

• Generating electricity from natural gas, oil, and coal

Which of the following would contribute most to sea level rise?

• Melting of the Arctic sea ice

• Melting of land ice in Greenland and Antarctica

• Melting of the glaciers in the Himalayan mountains

• Melting of glaciers in Alaska

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

Which answer best describes the North Pole?

• Ice more than a mile thick over land

• Mainly rocky mountainous landscape

• Ice a few feet or yards thick floating over a deep ocean

• A small village where several hundred people live

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Over the last 30 years, the late summer sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean:

• Covers more area than it did 30 years ago

• Declined, but has recovered to where it was 30 years ago

• Has completely disappeared in the summer

• Covers less area than it did 30 years ago

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

NGSS.HS-ESS2-2

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

Albedo is a measure of surface reflectivity. The polar albedo is important because:

• It reflects greenhouse gases, cooling our planet

• It absorbs solar radiation, which melts snow

• It reflects solar radiation back into space, cooling earth

• It absorbs greenhouse gases, pulling them out of circulation

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

An important example of a "positive feedback loop" in the polar climate system is:

• Scientists in remote places check on each others instruments

• Warming ocean water opens new areas for marine species

• Warmer winters cause more plant growth, providing more food

• Sea ice melt opens more ocean to sunlight, causing more melt

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5