1.1 Short Answer Questions

1 Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Global Climate Change: Turning Knowledge Into Action (Kitchen)

Chapter 1 "So what's up with the weather?"

1.1 Short Answer Questions

1) Define radiative forcing and climate positive and negative feedback.Answer: Radiative forcing is the difference between incoming and outgoing radiation at the top of the atmosphere. Climate positive feedback is any mechanism that increases the climate change already underway. Climate negative feedback is any mechanism that decreases the climate change already underway.

Section: 1.6 - Major Factors that Affect Climate Change

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge

Learning Outcome: 1.4 - Determine possible causes of recent changes in global temperature

Pearson Outcomes: G8

2) Provide an example of climate positive feedback and climate negative feedback.Answer: Positive: Warming climate melts ice causing less reflection and more absorption of incoming solar radiation thus increasing warming. Negative: Warmer climate increases evaporation of surface water into air increasing cloud cover. Increased cloud cover, depending on type of cloud, could reflect away incoming solar radiation thus offsetting the warming.

Section: 1.6 - Major Factors that Affect Climate Change

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.4 - Determine possible causes of recent changes in global temperature

Pearson Outcomes: G2, G8

3) Describe how plate tectonics changed climate (both warmer and cooler) over millions of years.Answer: When the land mass was concentrated in one large supercontinent and isolated from oceans and their moisture, the climate became very hot and dry. As these continents broke apart and drifted over millions of years they prevented warm ocean currents from reaching higher latitudes thus causing a cooler climate and ice formation. Smaller landmasses also allow moisture to reach most locations so less dry conditions.

Section: 1.6 - Major Factors that Affect Climate Change

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.2 - Identify some of the principle factors that control global climate over different time scales

Pearson Outcomes: G2, G8

(Global Climate Change Turning Knowledge Into Action 1e David Kitchen) (Test Bank all Chapters) 1 / 4

2 Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.4) Describe how volcanic eruptions and El Niños cause climate change. How long do these changes last?Answer: El Niño allows heat from within the ocean to enter the atmosphere at an increasing rate thus warming the climate. The cycle also changes weather patterns in a way that increases the frequency of droughts and floods. Volcanoes emit sulfate aerosols and dust into the upper troposphere and stratosphere thus dimming the sun (increased albedo) and causing cooling. Both of these factors occur on timescales less than ten years.

Section: 1.6 - Major Factors that Affect Climate Change

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.2 - Identify some of the principle factors that control global climate over different time scales

Pearson Outcomes: G2, G8

5) Why do scientists think climate models are probably pretty good at projecting future climate change?Answer: Models are based on well-established laws of physics, are able to simulate current climate, and have been successful in simulating past climate using a technique known as hindcasting.

Section: 1.7 - Climate Models

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension, #6 - Evaluation

Learning Outcome: 1.5 - Understand how climate models can be used to project climate change

Pearson Outcomes: G1, G2, G8

6) Why do models have such a large spread in their projections of the warming by the year 2100 with values between +1.1°C to +6.4°C above current global temperatures?Answer: Projections are based on various emission scenarios that are influenced by future economic and technological conditions that are unknown at this time.

Section: 1.7 - Climate Models

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.5 - Understand how climate models can be used to project climate change

Pearson Outcomes: G1, G2, G8

7) Describe three pieces of evidence that our climate is warming, especially in the past 30 years.Answer: Various answers might include warming revealed by: global T record, satellite data, ocean heat content, melting cryosphere, phrenology, etc.

Section: 1.3 - Is the Climate Changing? 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge, #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G3, G8

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3 Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.8) Describe what is meant by "cherry-picking" data. Provide an example of where cherry-picked data could be used to claim there is no modern day global warming.Answer: Climate trend is determined over a large time period, typically 20-30 years. Natural variability may cause a few years to a decade to show little or no global warming. 2010 was the warmest year in the instrumental record and 2011 was cooler. The one year decrease in global T does not mean global cooling just as a cold winter in one part of the world is meaningless when discussing climate trends.

Section: 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension, #6 - Evaluation

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G2, G3, G8

9) Why is the 2000 year temperature record often referred to as the "hockey stick"?Answer: For much of the period there had been a gradual cooling (the handle) followed by a very recent sharp uptick in global T (the blade).

Section: 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G3, G8

10) Describe the difference between weather and climate.Answer: Weather is fairly chaotic and is experienced from day to day. Climate is the long-term average of weather and is described as a statistical probability.

Section: 1.2 - Weather and Climate

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge, #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.1 - Discuss how global temperature has changed over geological time

Pearson Outcomes: G8

1.2 True/False Questions

1) To project future climate change caused by humans, scientists need to understand past natural causes of climate change.

Answer: True

Section: 1.1 - Introduction, 1.4 - How stable is the climate?, 1.7 - Climate models, 1.8 - How can we improve climate projections?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge, #2 - Comprehension

Learning Outcome: 1.1 - Discuss how global temperature has changed over geological time, 1.2

• Identify some of the principle factors that control global climate over different time scales, 1.3 -

Describe the recent historical temperature record, 1.4 - Determine possible causes of recent changes in global temperature, 1.5 - Understand how climate models can be used to project climate change, 1.6 - Evaluate the possible impact of human activity on the atmosphere

Pearson Outcomes: G2

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4 Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.2) Climate change is easier to predict than weather change.

Answer: True

Section: 1.2 - Weather and Climate

Bloom's Taxonomy: #2 - Comprehension, #4 - Analysis

Learning Outcome: 1.1 - Discuss how global temperature has changed over geological time

Pearson Outcomes: NA

3) For most of the past 8,000 years the climate has been warming.

Answer: False. General cooling up until the past several decades.

Section: 1.3 - Is the Climate Changing? 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #4 - Analysis, #6 - Evaluation

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G3

4) Very small changes in global average temperature in the past, smaller than changes observed today, have caused war, famine, and disease.

Answer: True.

Section: 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge

Learning Outcome: 1.1 - Discuss how global temperature has changed over geological time

Pearson Outcomes: G5

5) The "hockey stick" temperature reconstruction is based solely on tree ring data.

Answer: False. Many other proxies were used.

Section: 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G1, G3

6) The "hockey stick" temperature reconstruction proves that humans are warming the climate.

Answer: False. Shows warming recently but does not show cause of warming.

Section: 1.4 - How Stable Is the Climate?

Bloom's Taxonomy: #4 - Analysis

Learning Outcome: 1.3 - Describe the recent historical temperature record

Pearson Outcomes: G2, G3

7) Nearly all of the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the past century is from human activities.

Answer: True.

Section: 1.6 - Major Factors that Affect Climate Change

Bloom's Taxonomy: #1 - Knowledge

Learning Outcome: 1.2 - Identify some of the principle factors that control global climate over different time scales, 1.4 - Determine possible causes of recent changes in global temperature, 1.6 - Evaluate the possible impact of human activity on the atmosphere

Pearson Outcomes: G3

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