EES 002 Exam 3 Multiple Choice

For the last 400,000 years, carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere has

oscillated between fixed limits until the industrial revolution

If carbon dioxide emissions rate is reduced and stabilized at 1990 rate then the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will

increase

Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere

Reaches its peak in the spring

The major gases in the atmosphere, from highest concentration to lowest, are:

Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide

Nitrogen: 78%

Oxygen: 21%

Other Gases: 1%

Which of the following is NOT true about the IPCC?

It conducts research and experiments

Climate is defined as:

Long term patterns of temperature and precipitation

What is the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas?

CO2 - result of ALL burning

What country currently emits the largest amount of carbon dioxide?

China emits the most as a whole but not per capita

The earth emits primarily

Infrared radiation

Which decade in the 20th century saw the greatest costs from extreme weather events

1990s

Global temperature in the last century has

Gone up 0.5 degrees Celsius

The elimination of CFC's was called for by the

Montreal Protocol

An increase in atmospheric CO2 leads to an increase in photosynthesis, which leads to an increase in carbon sequestration by vegetation. This is an example of:

Negative feedback

What would you expect to find a 30 degrees latitude?

Deserts because cool, dry air from high altitude sinks down to the surface and warms up

Where may the temperature cool down if global warming leads to a reduction of the intensity of the circulation system?

Northern Europe

Why does atmospheric circulation have several cells (Hadley Cells) rather than just rising at the equator and sinking at the poles?

The Coriolis effect

The Kyoto Protocol

Requires all nations to reduce carbon emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels

Which is NOT a part of the atmosphere

Lithosphere

What is NOT involved in the greenhouse effect?

Absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone

Which has the shortest wavelength (highest frequency)?

Gamma rays

Which are components of air pollution?

All of the above: particulates, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds

When would you most expect photochemical smog formation?

Summer

What do sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere lead to?

Acid rain

What is the most practical way to mitigate a radon problem in a house?

Install blow fan to remove air from the ground under and around the house and vent to the atmosphere

The stratospheric ozone (O3) has which effect on the environment?

It protects the lower atmosphere from receiving harmful doses of UV radiation

Since 1974, the emission of propellants (e.g. CFC's) causing ozone destruction has:

Decreased

Ozone in the _____ is helpful, while ozone in the _____ is harmful to human health

Stratosphere, troposphere

Which type of ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by ozone?

UVB

What do CFC's do to the ozone?

Act as a catalyst to destroy ozone

Which poses a higher health risk in 2009?

Exposure to sunlight in PA

How are people most different from plants and animals in terms of environmental impacts?

Knowledge of predicted consequences alters human actions

The odorless, invisible, and tasteless gas that occurs naturally in the U-238 radioactive decay series but accumulates in houses (especially basements) and is harmful to human health is

Radon

IPCC stands for

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Kyoto Protocol is currently in legal effect. What of the following is a reason why the United States did not agree to it?

Concern that the US economy would be slowed

Which energy source has increased by the greatest percentage in the last 40 years in the US?

Nuclear

Which uses electricity at the highest rate during operation?

Electric clothes dryer

Electric, gravitational, and nuclear are three ways that _______ energy can be stored

Potential

Which supplies the most energy for the US?

Oil

At present, most global energy comes from....

Fossil fuels

Work is

Mad

To what type of energy has the most research and development funding been dedicated since the 1950s?

Nuclear

It is most efficient to use:

Low quality energy to do work

The critical issue in global energy is:

Meeting the global energy demand while minimizing environmental impacts

What is the most abundant fossil fuel in the US?

Coal

Which of the following yields the most energy per CO2 molecule given off?

Methane (natural gas)

What part of the world has the most coal resources?

Europe and Eurasia

Oil spills, like algal blooms, have what effect on a body of water?

Leads to less dissolved oxygen

Which of the following would burn cleanest (releasing the least CO2 per energy produced)

Methane (natural gas)

What year range is oil production expected to peak?

2020-2050

At what point would you expect oil prices to rise sharply?

When we reach the peak in production rate and the rate of production begins to decline

Oil production, refining, and transportation have been association with all of the following environmental problems except:

Acid mine drainage

In some ways, natural gas is considered a better fossil fuel than oil. This is primarily because:

Burning natural gas is cleaner than burning oil

What is the "best" coal to burn?

Anthracite

In what US state has the "best" coal been found?

Pennsylvania

Two US states have serious acid mine drainage problems. One of them is West Virginia. The other is:

Pennsylvania

Residents of what country pay the least gasoline tax?

US

We will stop burning fossil fuels when we

Decide oil is to valuable to burn, decide environmental impact is severe, run out, invent a cheaper energy source

What part of the world houses the most oil reserves?

The middle east

Natural gas is

Methane

Use of overhangs that block sunlight in summer but allow the sunlight in winter to warm up the build is an example of:

Passive solar energy

What is the difference between a renewable and an inexhaustible resource?

Renewable is made at the same rate its consumed while inexhaustible is used without depleting the source in any way

Green buildings

Use passive solar energy

Which type of energy has the greatest environment consequences?

Biomass burning

By which of the following processes are atomic nuclei broken apart to release energy?

Fission

Why are photovoltaics cells not put to greater use today?

They are inefficient and expensive

Which of the following energy sources is NOT essentially inexhaustible?

Oil

What factor is NOT included in assessing green building design?

Aesthetic design

Cogeneration is the use of:

Waste heat to improve overall efficiency

Where are methane hydrates (a white, ice like compound) found?

Beneath the sea floor

What is NOT involved in a photovoltaic cell?

High energy neutrons

One of the principal advantages of photovoltaic cells is that they:

They can be used for power in remote locations

Which is a renewable source of energy

Biomass burning

How much wind is needed to make wind power efficient?

5 m/s

Which of the following would NOT be considered a component of green architecture?

Maximizing distance from the nearest city to avoid smog

Silicon wafers are doped with impurities that have more or less available electrons in their valence levels. The electrons find new "adopted" homes and thus create an electric field. Electromagnetic energy strikes these and knocks them out, so they travel down the electric field (through a wire) and make useable electricity. In what device would you expect to see this process?

Photovoltaic cell

A hydrogen fuel cell is most like a

Battery

An inexhaustible energy source is:

Wind

What makes fusion more effective than fission as a potential nuclear power source?

You gain more binding energy per nucleon when putting together small nuclei than splitting big ones

If nuclear fusion is so powerful and clean, why do we not have any fusion reactors generating the world's energy needs?

We do not have the technology yet to control the fusion reaction and extract useable energy

Nuclear fusion promises to be virtually limitless supply of energy. However, at present, it is not used to produce any electricity at all because:

Current technology is insufficient