NATS-101  Intro. to Global Change Fake Quiz 4     FOR M/C SELECT BEST ANSWER AMONG CHOICES

The quiz will cover lecture material from March 23-April 1 (corresponding readings Mar. 2, 4, 6, 9, 23, 25)

 

___1. The seasonal fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 measurements are generated from photosynthesis and respiration of Earth's biosphere.  You would find the greatest amplitude of fluctuation ______________________.                                      

A. at the equator  B. at the South Pole            C. in Alaska          D. in Australia      E. everywhere; it is uniform world-wide

 

___2. The current atmospheric CO2 concentration is ________________.                                                          

A. around 385 ppm                                             C. the lowest it has ever been

B. the highest it has ever been                           D. around 8 Gigatons

 

___3. Evidence that the massive extinction 250 million years ago may have been cause by a meteorite/asteroid impact comes from the presence of ______ in sedimentary rocks of that age.               

A. iridium anomalies                                           C. “Bucky Balls” containing gases of extraterrestrial isotopic composition

B. nickel anomalies                                             D. cone-in-cone structures in dinosaur bones

 

___4.  About _______% of mass/energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next level above it.

A. 0                                         B.  10                                     C. 75                                      D. 100

 

___5. As a result of #4, more people can be fed if they eat _______ directly.

A. secondary consumers                    B. primary producers          C. primary consumers        D. abiotic components

 

___6. The 38,000 Gt of carbon in the marine hydrosphere (ocean) is dominantly found in which one of these forms/compounds?

A. kerogen                             B. limestone                         C. CH2O                                D. HCO3-                               E. CH4

 

___7.  One of the human-related threats to coral reefs is decreasing _____ of the ocean because of increasing atmospheric CO2.

A. temperature                                     B. salinity                                              C. pH                                     D. bicarbonate

 

___8. Which one of the following is not a pool/reservoir/box in the global carbon cycle? (it is a flux)

A. oceans                              B. biosphere                          C. respiration                        D. atmosphere

 

___9. Which of the following is NOT a mechanism whereby humans input the greenhouse gas, CO2, to the atmosphere?

A. calcining (cement manufacture)                 B. fossil-fuel burning           C. land-use changes            D. nuclear power plants

 

___10. In the late-1950s, _____ established the first continuous world monitoring of atmospheric CO2 levels (at Mauna Loa).

A. Suess                                 B. Malthus                            C. Ehrlich                              D. Keeling                             E. Fuller

 

___11. Which of the following would be a renewable energy resource (in terms of the perspective of human lifetimes)?

A. coal                   B. oil                       C. natural gas                       D. ethanol/alcohol                               E. uranium

 

___12. The flux that transfers CO2 from the atmosphere to the terrestrial biosphere is  _________________.       

A. respiration                        B. dissolution                        C. combustion                      D. photosynthesis

                                               

____13.  Invasive grasses in the US Southwest are expected to expand because of future global change.  One of the big problems with these grasses is that they _______ that kill native species.

A. produce poisons              B. form creeping vines          C. support wildfires               D. repel pollinators

 

____14. The study of recurring biological phases such as budbreak, flowering, migration, etc. is _______.

A. Circadian rhythms         B. phasing             C. bio-obs              D. phenology

 

____15. In the Amazon rain forest, the biggest limitation to plant growth is commonly _________.

A. light                   B. beavers                             C. water                 D. temperature

 

16. Describe in complete but simple terms why the carbon cycle is “out of balance” (as a result of human activities).

17. How is it that rubber bath-tub ducks tell us something about surface ocean circulation?

18. What are “land-use changes” in the context of this class?

19. Tropical rain forests and savannas have similar amounts of dry organic matter yet they look very different. How does its distribution differ between biomass and dead organic matter?

20. Why is the biomass in the oceans about 200 times greater than that in the ocean, even though they have similar annual productivity?

21. What is an invasive species?  Give an example of one.

22. What is the cause of the seasonal pattern of maxima and minima in CO2 concentrations every year?

23. What is an estuary?  Are estuaries and coral reef high productivity or low productivity aquatic biomes?