Global Warming Practice Questions

Correct answer: Water vapor

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas and responsible for the largest portion of the natural greenhouse effect. However, its concentration is primarily controlled by temperature rather than direct human emissions.

Correct answer: Outgoing infrared radiation

Greenhouse gases allow short-wave solar radiation to pass through but absorb long-wave infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface. This trapped energy is re-emitted in all directions, warming the lower atmosphere.

Correct answer: Livestock and rice paddies

Methane is produced by enteric fermentation in ruminants like cattle and by anaerobic bacteria in flooded rice fields. It is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential much higher than carbon dioxide.

Correct answer: The Albedo Effect

Albedo is the measure of a surface's reflectivity. As ice and snow melt due to global warming, they are replaced by darker land or water, which absorbs more solar energy and further accelerates warming.

Correct answer: Chlorofluorocarbons

Chlorofluorocarbons and other synthetic fluorinated gases are extremely efficient at trapping heat. Even in small concentrations their global warming potential runs into the thousands, and they can persist in the atmosphere for centuries.

Correct answer: Thermal expansion and melting of land ice

As ocean water warms, it physically expands, taking up more volume. Additionally, the melting of land-based glaciers and ice sheets (like Greenland) adds new water to the ocean basins.

Correct answer: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

Started by Charles David Keeling in 1958 at Mauna Loa, this curve shows a steady rise in CO2 levels due to fossil fuel combustion. It also shows a zigzag pattern caused by the seasonal growth and decay of plants.

Correct answer: The oceans

Oceans absorb roughly 25-30% of human-emitted carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While this helps slow global warming, it leads to ocean acidification, which harms marine life.

Correct answer: Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a very potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential about 273 times that of carbon dioxide. It is released by soil microbes when nitrogen fertilizers are applied to agricultural fields.

Correct answer: Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Correct answer: Carbon dioxide and methane

Permafrost contains vast amounts of organic matter trapped in frozen soil. As it thaws, microbes decompose the organic matter, releasing CO2 and methane, which creates a positive feedback loop for further warming.

Correct answer: It raises acidity as CO2 reacts with seawater.

When the ocean absorbs excess CO2, it reacts with water to form carbonic acid. This reduces the pH of the water, making it difficult for corals and shellfish to form their calcium carbonate skeletons.

Correct answer: Electricity and heat production

The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the largest source of global emissions. Moving toward renewable energy is the most direct way to reduce these emissions.

Correct answer: Caused or influenced by human activity

Anthropogenic refers to environmental changes, such as global warming, that are driven by human activities like fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and land-use changes.

Correct answer: It absorbs solar radiation and warms the air.

Black carbon is a short-lived climate pollutant that absorbs sunlight directly. When it falls on snow or ice, it darkens the surface, reducing its albedo and causing faster melting.

Correct answer: Species moving toward the poles or higher altitudes

As their habitats warm, many plant and animal species are shifting their ranges toward cooler regions (northward or upward). This can lead to ecological mismatches and increased risk of extinction.

Correct answer: They cool the surface by reflecting sunlight.

While greenhouse gases warm the planet, many types of aerosols reflect incoming solar radiation back into space. Large volcanic eruptions can cause temporary global cooling by injecting these particles into the stratosphere.

Correct answer: Melting Arctic ice leading to more heat absorption

A positive feedback loop accelerates the initial change. As warming melts ice, less sunlight is reflected and more is absorbed by the dark water, which leads to even more warming and ice loss.

Correct answer: 1

Carbon dioxide is the baseline for comparing all other greenhouse gases. Its GWP is set at 1, and the potentials of other gases are measured relative to how much heat one ton of that gas will trap over a specific period.

Correct answer: It weakens it, leading to more 'stuck' weather patterns.

Warming in the Arctic reduces the temperature difference between the poles and the equator. This can weaken the Jet Stream, causing it to become 'wavy' and move slowly, which traps weather systems in one place for longer.