Practice Problems from Science in the News: Climate Change: Monday, March 13
1. Certain gases in the atmosphere: water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane, help maintain the
Earth’s temperature and climate. These gases are called: ___________
a. Ozone
b. Greenhouse gases
c. The greenhouse effect
d. The stratosphere
e. Clouds
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which one of the following gases is NOT a greenhouse gas?
a. O3 (Ozone)
b. O2
c. CO2
d. N2O
e. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which of the following statements are TRUE?
I.
Weather is defined as the daily conditions of the atmosphere
II.
The term ‘climate change’ refers to a change in climate patterns
III.
A theory is an educated guess
IV.
Climate is defined as the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long
period of time
a. Only I
b. Only I and III
c. Only II and IV
d. Only I, II, and IV
e. Only I, III and IV
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Which statement about greenhouse gases is FALSE?
a. If there were no greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, Earth’s temperature would be
very cold.
b. Burning fossil fuels can produce greenhouse gases.
c. Diatomic gases are NOT greenhouse gases.
d. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere.
e. When levels of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere increases, the temperature of
earth decreases.
5. Which of the following statements about the effects of climate change is FALSE?
a. Frozen sea ice displaces the same amount of water as it would if it were to melt
b. If land-based ice melts, then sea levels around the world would rise
c. The water in the ocean reflects sunlight back into space, cooling Earth
d. Melting ice can cause ocean currents to change
e. As sea and land based ice melts, animals habitats can be destroyed
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Coal is a fossil fuel that is often burned. The process of burning coal creates 1.5 g of CO2 per 1.0
g of coal burned. How much CO2 is produced if 100.0 kg of coal is burned?
a. 150.0 kg of CO2
b. 1.50 X 105 kg of CO2
c. 15 kg of CO2
d. 1.5 X 102 kg of CO2
e. 1500 kg of CO2
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. If 8.0 hours of electricity is generated per 1.0 X 103 kg of coal burned, how many kilograms of
coal must be burned in order to generate enough electricity to supply one house for 48 hours?
a. 8.0 X 103 kg of coal
b. 80 kg of coal
c. 6000 kg of coal
d. 6.0 kg of coal
e. 6.0 X 103 kg of coal
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. For a household to dispose of trash, it costs $200.00 per 1 ton of trash. If one house generates
30.1 pounds of trash per week, how much money is spend on trash disposal in one year? (1 ton
= 2000 pounds, 1 year = 52 weeks) Report your answer to the nearest 1 cent.
a. $156.52
b. $104.35
c. $36.12
d. $867.11
e. $200.00
_____________________________________________________________________________________
9. There are 325 million people in the United States. If each person emits 18,000 kg of CO2 per
year, how many tons of CO2 is emitted by people in the United States in one year?
(1 ton = 907 kg)
a. 3.8 X 109 tons of CO2
b. 6.4 X 109 tons of CO2
c. 6.44 X 106 tons of CO2
d. 6449 tons of CO2
e. 6,000 tons of CO2
Answers to Practice Problems from Science in the News: Climate Change
1. Certain gases in the atmosphere: water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane, help maintain the
Earth’s temperature and climate. These gases are called:
Answer: B. Greenhouse gases
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which one of the following gases is NOT a greenhouse gas?
Answer: B. O2
O2, oxygen is not a greenhouse gas because it is diatomic. Diatomic gases cannot be vibrated or
bent by infrared light; therefore, oxygen cannot be a greenhouse gas.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which of the following statements are true?
1. Weather is defined as the daily conditions of the atmosphere.
2. The term ‘climate change’ refers to a change in climate patterns
3. A theory is an educated guess
4. Climate is defined as the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a
long period of time
Answer: D. Only I, II and IV
All answers are true except III. A theory is not an educated guess. A theory is a wellsubstantiated explanation based on confirmed facts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Which statement about greenhouse gases is FALSE?
Answer: E. When levels of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere increases, the temperature
of Earth decreases.
Levels of greenhouse gases are directly proportional to temperature. When levels of greenhouse
gases increase, the temperature of Earth increases as well.
Explanation of Incorrect Answers:
A. Without greenhouse gases, heat would not be trapped in our atmosphere and the planet
would be very cold. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere which warms our planet.
B. Burning fossil fuels is a primary source of greenhouse gases
C. Diatomic molecules cannot be greenhouse gases since infrared light cannot vibrate or bend
them
D. Greenhouse gases keep our planet warm – they do this by trapping heat in our atmosphere.
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which of the following statements is about the effects of climate change is FALSE?
Answer: C. The water in the ocean reflects sunlight back into space, cooling Earth
This statement is false. The ocean absorbs sunlight; ice reflects sunlight which cools Earth
Explanation of Incorrect Answers:
For an explanation of the incorrect answers, consider watching the video What if All the Ice on
Earth Melted? (http://tinyurl.com/z5hdbwr)
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. Coal is a fossil fuel that is often burned. The process of burning coal creates 1.5 g of CO2 per 1.0
g of coal burned. How much CO2 is produced if 100.0 kg of coal is burned?
Answer:
kg coal → g coal → g CO2 → kg CO2
100.0𝑘𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙
4 sf
×
1000𝑔 1.5 𝑔 𝐶𝑂2 1 𝑘𝑔 𝐶𝑂2
×
×
= 1.5 𝑋102 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑂2
1 𝑘𝑔
1 𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙 1000𝑔 𝐶𝑂2
∞ sf
2 sf
∞sf
keep 2 sf
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. If 8.0 hours of electricity is generated per 1.0 X 103 kg of coal burned, how much coal must be
burned in order to generate enough electricity to supply one house for 48 hours?
Answer:
hrs → kg coal
48 ℎ𝑟𝑠
×
2 sf
1000𝑘𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙
= 6.0 𝑋 103 𝑘𝑔
8.0 ℎ𝑟𝑠
2 sf
keep 2 sf
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. For households to dispose of trash, it costs $200.00 per 1 ton of trash. If one house generates
30.1 pounds of trash per week, how much money is spent on trash disposal in 1 year? (1 ton =
2000 pounds, 1 year = 52 weeks) Report your answer to the nearest 1 cent.
Answer:
Year → weeks → pounds → tons → $
1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
×
1 sf
52 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 30.1 𝑙𝑏𝑠
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
$200.00
×
×
×
= $156.52
1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
1 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 2000 𝑙𝑏𝑠
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
2 sf
3 sf
∞sf
5 sf Report to nearest 1 cent
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. There are 325 million people in the United States. If each person emits 18,000 kg of CO2 per
year, how many tons of CO2 is emitted by people in the United States in one year?
(1 ton = 907 kg)
Answer:
kg → tons
18,000 𝑘𝑔 𝐶𝑂2
2 sf
×
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
325,000,000
×
= 6,449,830,000 = 6.4 𝑋109 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑂2
907 𝑘𝑔
3 sf
3 sf
keep 2 sf
__________________________________________________________________________________