Exploring the Carbon Cycle's Impact on Climate Change

What remained relatively stable in the atmosphere for most of the past 1000 years?

• Nitrogen levels

• Methane levels

• Carbon dioxide levels

• Oxygen levels

What is the term used to describe the way carbon moves around the Earth?

• Water cycle

• Carbon cycle

• Nitrogen cycle

• Oxygen cycle

Which process do plants use to take CO2 out of the atmosphere?

• Respiration

• Combustion

• Photosynthesis

• Decomposition

What is the term for the balance where the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed equals the amount emitted?

• Static equilibrium

• Dynamic equilibrium

• Chemical equilibrium

• Thermal equilibrium

What geological age is characterized by human activity being the dominant influence on the environment?

• Miocene

• Anthropocene

• Pleistocene

• Holocene

How much extra carbon do fossil fuels add to the atmosphere annually?

• 9.5 billion tonnes

• 5.5 billion tonnes

• 11.5 billion tonnes

• 7.5 billion tonnes

What happens to the ability of oceans to absorb carbon dioxide as they warm up?

• It increases

• It decreases

• It remains the same

• It fluctuates

What is the first step to restore the carbon cycle to a stable balance?

• Increase fossil fuel usage

• Reduce human emissions from fossil fuels

• Cut down more forests

• Increase industrial activities

What are systems called that either create a new carbon sink or amplify the actions of an old sink?

• Balanced emission schemes

• Positive emission schemes

• Neutral emission schemes

• Negative emission schemes

What is a potential drawback of relying on negative emission schemes?

• They are relatively inefficient

• They are easy to implement

• They reduce pollution

• They are highly efficient