Earth's Changing Climate Critical Juncture

Fossilized shells from the Pacific Ocean show that about 15 million years ago, there was a time period when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased. What would have happened to the energy absorbed by Earth’s surface during this time? During this time, energy absorbed by Earth’s surface

• stayed at a constant level

• changed unpredictably

• decreased

• increased

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NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

A climatologist is creating a simulation for Earth’s climate and is working on how to set it up. One of the options for the simulation is to increase methane in the atmosphere. How should the energy in the Earth system change when the amount of methane in the atmosphere increases? There should be

• more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy enters than exits.

• more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy enters than exits.

• less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because more energy enters than exits.

• less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth’s surface, because less energy enters than exits.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

A climatologist was working with a computer simulation that models Earth’s climate and atmosphere. She set up the controls of the simulation to decrease the amount of methane in the atmosphere. What should happen to the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface? When methane decreases, the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface should

• change unpredictably.

• stay at a constant level.

• increase.

• decrease.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-6

A scientist says that even if the amount of energy entering the Earth system from the sun doesn’t change, there can still be less energy entering than exiting the Earth system. What could change in the atmosphere that would cause this, and what effect would this have on energy in the Earth system?

• Methane could increase, leading to more energy in the Earth system because more exiting energy would be redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Methane could increase, leading to less energy in the Earth system because more energy from the sun would be redirected (bounced) back toward outer space.

• Methane could decrease, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less exiting energy would be redirected (bounced) back toward Earth.

• Methane could decrease, leading to less energy in the Earth system because less energy would be trapped by gases and held in the atmosphere.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

Scientists think that a large amount of carbon dioxide was released from rock on the ocean floor from 120 to 80 million years ago and that this led to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What happened to energy in the Earth system during this time? Energy in the Earth system

• 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 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.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS2-6

Fossil evidence from the time of Tyrannosaurus rex (85 to 65 million years ago) shows less energy entered the Earth system than exited, even though energy from the sun didn’t change. How might the amount of carbon dioxide have changed to cause this, and how would that have changed the energy absorbed by Earth’s surface?

• Carbon dioxide decreased so there was less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

• Carbon dioxide decreased so there was more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

• Carbon dioxide increased so there was more energy in the Earth system and more energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

• Carbon dioxide increased so there was less energy in the Earth system and less energy absorbed by Earth's surface.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS2-6

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?

• Increase

• Decrease

• Stay at a constant Level

• Change unpredictably

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

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

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

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?

• 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.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

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.

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-5