Climate Change Unit Test

Front 1

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Back 1

Climate takes place over a long term (decades or centuries)
Weather takes place over a short periode of time (days or weeks)

Front 2

What can the atmosphere cause changes in?

Back 2

The clouds, warmth of air, moisture in air and winds

Front 3

Name five factors that can influence the climate of a specific area.

Back 3

1) Level of groud (mountains and valleys)
2) Atmosphere
3) Amount of sunlight
4) Land masses
5) Bodies of water

Front 4

Name four factors that can be used to help define whether an area has experienced “climate change”

Back 4

1) Changes in temperature
2) Changes in precipitation
3) Changes in storm intensity
4) Wind patterns

Front 5

How does our atmosphere affect our climate? What would happen if we did not have our atmosphere?

Back 5

It keeps our earth warmer during the day and cooler during the night. Without an atmosphere we would experience much more extreme conditions

Front 6

Waht type of orbit does the earth have around the sun?

Back 6

It varies between elliptical and circular every 100,000 years

Front 7

What is the earths axis?

Back 7

23.5 degrees axis.

Front 8

How does our earth being on an axis affect our climate?

Back 8

The axsis makes our earth warm at uneven patterns. It gives us summer and winter (summer = tilted towards sun , winter = tilted away from sun.

Front 9

Atmosphere

Back 9

Layer of gas surrounding a planet or moon.

Front 10

Green house effect

Back 10

A natural process in which atmospheric gases trap radiated heat

Front 11

Albedo

Back 11

The relative amound of the suns energy thats reflected

Front 12

Anthropogenic

Back 12

An effect caused by human activity

Front 13

Climatograph

Back 13

Shows the average temperature and precipitation for a location over a period of 30 years.

Front 14

Biome

Back 14

Major ecosystems where animals and plants live.

Front 15

Ecozone

Back 15

A large surface on the earth that has characteristics of land and forms climate, ocean conditions, landscapes and animals and plants.

Front 16

Ecoregion

Back 16

Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species

Front 17

Hydrosphere

Back 17

Water on earth

Front 18

When carbon dioxide is mixed with water what acid does it form?
What is a word equation for it ?

Back 18

It forms carbonic acid.
carbon dioxide + water = carbon acid

Front 19

In what ways have coral reefs changed over the past 100 years? What is the cause of these changes?

Back 19

They have began to shrink. Warm water is responsible because it contains more CO2. CO2 + water = carbonic acid which destroys the coral reefs.

Front 20

How does the tilt of the earth affect how much sunlight you will recieve?

Back 20

when tilted towards the sun you recieve more sun. when tiltled away you recieve less.

Front 21

How does your location on the earth affect the amount of sunlight you recive?

Back 21

If you are closer to the poles you get less sun because it is not as direct where as if you are closer to the equator the suns rays are more direct so it will be hotter.

Front 22

How deos the atmosphere keep the earth cooler in the day?

Back 22

The atmosphere acts as an umbrells to keep some of the sins rays from reaching the earth.

Front 23

How does the atmosphere keep the earth warmer at night ?

Back 23

It acts like a blanket therefore is lets the suns ray in but not as many out.

Front 24

What surfaces reflect light ?

Back 24

Snow or ice

Front 25

Cutting down a forest and planting crops _______ the earth

Back 25

cools

Front 26

Cutting down trees and paving the earth _______ the earth

Back 26

warms

Front 27

cutting down a forest and concreting the area _____ the earth

Back 27

cools

Front 28

A ________ feed back loop is constantly making the results worse or better.

Back 28

Positive

Front 29

A _______ feedback loop is not really creating a change to the original starting point.

Back 29

Negative

Front 30

How do winds affect our climate?

Back 30

They push ocean currents around which moves energy around the earth.

Front 31

What has a higher heat capacity: water or soil? How can we tell?

Back 31

Soil has a higher heat capacity.
Water has a lower heat capacity.
We know because Its temperature increased faster in comparison to the water, and it cooled faster as well.

Front 32

What does a high albedo value mean? What does a low albedo value mean?

Back 32

A high albedo (close to 1.0) means the sun’s energy is reflected, as is the case with ice. A low albedo (close to 0.0) means the sun’s energy is absorbed, as is the case with dark surfaces.

Front 33

Why is it a problem that water-based ice in the arctic is melting away? How will this affect our climate?

Back 33

Less of the suns energy will be reflected back to earth because water absorbs more energy than earth.
This will affect our climate because it will heat our planet

Front 34

Example of short wave radiation.

Back 34

arrives from the sun and heats the land or water

Front 35

Example of long wave radiation.

Back 35

Comes from the ground and heats the air above

Front 36

how are convection currents created?

Back 36

Caused by warm, less dense air rising and cooler, more dense air falling.

Front 37

Why would Northern Ontario and Scotland have radically different climates, even though they are both found at 55ON?

Back 37

The Ocean Convection Currents bring energy towards Western Europe, warming the continent.

Front 38

Name four “recent” changes (within the past 150 years) that support the claim that our climate is changing?

Back 38

1) Rising sea levels
2) Melting ice cores
3) Coral reefs shirking
4) Storm intensity

Front 39

How have storms charnged over the past 100 years.

Back 39

Number of storms have not increased but their severity has.

Front 40

How have glaciers changed in the past 100 years? How will this effect our climate?

Back 40

The glaciers have started to melt. This will heat our planet and cause a rise in the sea levels because water has a lower albedo.

Front 41

Name three “long-term” changes (within the past 1000+ years) that support the claim that our climate is changing?

Back 41

Fossil fuels
Ice core data
Tree rings

Front 42

What is an Ice Core? What information can we get from drilling for Ice Cores?

Back 42

An ice core is created by drilling into ice sheets and taking out a tude of ice.
We can learn about past temperatures and atmospheric gases by looking at thier bubbles.

Front 43

What variation have we seen in the earth’s temperature over the past 400,000 years?

Back 43

It has been 4OC warmer and 8OC cooler than now

Front 44

What gases have increased since the 1800's?

Back 44

methane, nitrous oxide and sulphate.

Front 45

What changes occurred in the past 150-250 years that would have caused an increase in CO2 levels?

Back 45

The industrial revoulution, where we would have had to start using fossil fuels.

Front 46

What gas is responsible for the majority of our green house gas effect?

Back 46

Water vapour

Front 47

What four human activities are responsible for the human contribution to the greenhouse effect?

Back 47

*Deforestation
*Buring of fossil fuels
* Methane from cows
*Synthetic fuels

Front 48

What are fluorocarbons used for?

Back 48

Aerosol cans, coolants in air conditioners and cleaners of circuit boards for computers

Front 49

What is the energy budget?

Back 49

The amount of energy entering the earth must be the same as that they leaves the earth.