End of Unit - Climate Change

19. 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 a mix of different kinds of gases.

• The atmosphere isn’t made of anything.

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18. 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.

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17. 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.

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16. 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

• increased.

• decreased.

• stayed at a consistent level.

• changed unpredictably.

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15. 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

• Both A and B

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

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14. 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

13. 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.

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12. 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.

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11. 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.

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10. 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.