Earth Science Practice Test: Climate
- Climate
- 10 questions
- 15 minutes
This test covers what controls climate and how scientists study climate change. Tip: weather is what happens today; climate is the average pattern over about 30 years.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Which statement describes climate rather than weather?
Correct answer: B
Climate is the long-term average pattern of a place, usually measured over about 30 years. The other options describe conditions at one moment or on one day, which is weather.
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Question 2
What causes Earth's seasons?
Correct answer: D
Because the axis is tilted about 23.5°, each hemisphere leans toward the Sun for part of the year and gets more direct sunlight and longer days. Distance cannot be the cause: Earth is closest to the Sun in early January, during the Northern Hemisphere's winter.
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Question 3
Why are places near the equator generally warmer than places near the poles?
Correct answer: C
Near the equator the Sun is high in the sky, so its energy falls on a smaller area. Near the poles the same light arrives at a low angle and spreads over a larger area.
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Question 4
Which description of the greenhouse effect is correct?
Correct answer: A
The surface absorbs sunlight and gives off infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases absorb much of that infrared and send some back down, which keeps the lower atmosphere warmer. The ozone hole is a different problem involving ultraviolet light.
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Question 5
Seattle, on the Pacific coast, and Spokane, far inland, are at about the same latitude. Seattle has milder winters and cooler summers. What best explains the difference?
Correct answer: A
Water has a high specific heat, so the nearby ocean changes temperature slowly and keeps coastal air from getting very hot or very cold. Inland areas lack this buffer and have bigger seasonal swings.
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Question 6
Moist air from the ocean blows toward a tall mountain range, rises up the slope and cools. What is the climate on the far (leeward) side of the mountains usually like?
Correct answer: C
Rising air cools and drops its moisture as rain or snow on the windward side. The air that sinks down the leeward side warms and is dry, creating a rain shadow, such as east of the Sierra Nevada.
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Question 7
How do ice cores from Antarctica help scientists study past climate?
Correct answer: D
As snow builds up and turns to ice, it traps tiny bubbles of air. Measuring gases such as carbon dioxide in those bubbles shows what the atmosphere was like hundreds of thousands of years ago.
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Question 8
As Arctic sea ice melts, more dark ocean water is exposed to sunlight. Why does this speed up warming in the region?
Correct answer: B
Ice has a high albedo (reflectivity), so it sends much of the sunlight back to space. Dark water absorbs most of it, which warms the water and melts more ice. This is a positive feedback.
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Question 9
During an El Niño event, what happens in the tropical Pacific Ocean?
Correct answer: B
During El Niño the trade winds weaken and warm water spreads east across the Pacific, reducing upwelling off South America. Unusually cold water in that region marks La Niña, the opposite phase.
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Question 10
What is the main human activity responsible for the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the 1800s?
Correct answer: C
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon that was stored underground for millions of years, and it is the largest source of the added CO2. Clearing forests adds more; planting them removes CO2 from the air.
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