Nats101 Intro to Global Change  Make-Believe Quiz 2    Name____________________________________

SELECT SINGLE BEST ANSWER AMONG THE CHOICES AND PLACE CORRECT ANSWER IN BLANK TO LEFT.  Quiz will cover lecture material from Wed, Jan 25 through Mon Feb 13 (relevant readings in text: 203-220 (emphasis Fig. 7.5), Fig. 8.20, 71-96, 99-101, 112-113, Fig. 4.11; GA1)

 

_____1. Terrestrial radiation has its peak in (1)____, whereas solar radiation has its peak in (2)________.

A. 1-x-ray radiation; 2-infrared radiation                         C. 1-visible; 2-infrared

B. 1-infrared; 2-visible                                                   D. 1-infrared; 2-ultraviolet     

 

_____2. In the hydrologic cycle, which of the following is a flux from the terrestrial "reservoirs" (lakes and groundwater) to the ocean "reservoir"?

A. evaporation              B. precipitation (rain & snow)                C. runoff           D. groundwater flow

 

_____3. Atmospheric pressure                      .

A. is dominantly caused by the moon                  C. is greatest at the Earth's surface        E. A & C

B. results from the weight of air molecules          D. B & C                                             F. all of above

 

_____4. The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is             .

A. krypton        B. argon           C. oxygen         D. carbon dioxide          E. nitrogen        F. hydrogen

                                                                       

_____5.          is an example of an important greenhouse gas.

A. nitrogen                    B. oxygen                     C. water vapor              D. argon

                                                                                               

_____6. You would most likely expect deserts at          latitude.

A. 0o (equator) and 30o              B. 30o and 90o               C. 0o and 60o         D. 0o and 90o                        E. 30o and 60o

                                                                                                           

_____7. The layer of the atmosphere in which we live is the           .

A. asthenosphere          B. troposphere              C. mesosphere              D. stratosphere

 

_____8. The temperature at "absolute zero", would have the value of "0°" on the          scale.

A. Celsius                     C. Richter         E. A & D

B. Fahrenheit                D. Kelvin          F. all of the above                                 

 

_____9. Which one of these processes is a "sink" that removes some free oxygen (21% O2) in our atmosphere?

A. convection                C. photosynthesis          E. decomposition

B. evaporation               D. runoff                      F. volcano eruptions                  

 

_____10. According to the Universal Gas Law, if we inflate a balloon with air to some constant size, and then we raise room temperature 15ºC above its current temperature, _____.

A. it will freeze             B. it will explode            C. it will expand            D. it will shrink              E. it will float

                       

_____11. An early sink for atmospheric oxygen released during the period about 1-3 billion years ago was _____.

A. MUFFY                   B. BIF              C. BUFFY        D. differentiation                       E. the Big Bang

                                               

_____12. Besides photodissociation of H2O,  _________ may have contributed to the earliest formation of oxygen at the Earth’s surface.

A. volcanoes                B. lightning        C. cyanobacteria in stromatolites            D. limestones

                                   

13. Earth's temperature is about 300K and the surface of the sun is 6000K.  How much more energy would a body with the temperature of the sun radiate compared to a similar-size body at Earth's temperature? (show work)

14. How does the "greenhouse effect" work in the Earth-Atmosphere system?

15. Describe the operation of a “Hadley Cell”.

16. Why is the “greenhouse effect” a good thing and not a bad one (contrary to popular misconceptions)?

17.  Why is the world-wide production of many metals related to plate tectonics? Are there other factors that also may influence production?

18. Draw a diagram of the temperature structure of the atmosphere in the lowest 2 layers. Try to be accurate with heights and temperatures, and label the 2 layers.

19. Explain (a) why limestones (composed of CaCO3) on Earth, or maybe even on Mars, indicate the existence of past oceans, and (b) what limestones tell us about the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere as the Earth’s interior has continued outgassing for 4.5 billion years.