1. Which cycle does the most in shaping the earth's landscape? (1) Nitrogen cycle (2) Hydrological cycle (3) Sulfur cycle (4) Carbon cycle (5) Phosphorus cycle 2. Carbon is restored to the environment by all of the following EXCEPT (1) cellular respiration (2) earthquakes (3) forest fires (4) precipitation (5) volcanic eruption 3. In the carbon cycle, the primary source of carbon for terrestrial consumers is the (1) atmosphere (2) biosphere (3) hydrosphere (4) lithosphere (5) troposphere 4. What is the most important compound of carbon in the carbon cycle? (1) CHO6126 (2) CaCO3 (3) CO3-2 (4) CO2 (5) HCO3-5. Carbon dioxide is a reactant of which of the following? (1) Citric Acid Cycle (2) Assimilation (3) Photosynthesis (4) Respiration (5) Ammonification 6. Terrestrial producers CO2 from the atmosphere, aquatic producers CO2 from the water, and consumers CO2 from the atmosphere. (1) remove, remove, remove (2) remove, remove, replenish (3) remove, replenish, replenish (4) replenish, remove, replenish (5) replenish, replenish, replenish 7. Increased fossil fuel use has affected the nitrogen cycle by (1) decreasing ph of precipitation through nitric acid (HNO3) formation (2) increasing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) formation (3) increasing nitrous oxide (NO) formation (4) both a and b (5) a, b and c 8. The percentage of the atmosphere that is composed of nitrogen gas is closest to (1) 11% (2) 27% (3) 43% (4) 78% (5) 93% 9. Nitrogen fixing bacteria would most likely be found in nodules on the roots of (1) Opportunistic plants (2) Pine trees (3) Shrubs (4) Grass (5) Legumes 10. Which greenhouse gas when influenced by humans, has the greatest effect on global warming? 11. Base your answer to the following question on the following processes. (A) Decomposition (B) Assimilation (C) Denitrification (D) Transpiration (E) Photosynthesis After this process occurs, only decomposition can return nitrogen to the soil (1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D (5) E 12. Base your answer to the following question on the diagram below. The region labeled B refers to (1) ammonium (NH4 + ) (2) nitrate (NO3 ) (3) nitrite (NO2 ) (4) nitrogen gas (N2) (5) nitrogen fixation by monerans 13. What converts ammonia into nitrates during the nitrogen cycle? (1) Bacteria (2) Fungi (3) Green plants (4) Viruses (5) Protists 14. The process most responsible for continuous phosphorus release from rocks is (1) acid rain (2) earthquakes (3) erosion (4) evaporation (5) volcanic eruption 15. Phosphorous is found in all of the following except (1) atmosphere (2) bones (3) cell membranes (4) shells (5) terrestrial rocks (1) N2 (2) HO2 (3) CH4 (4) CO2 (5) NO2 Page 1
16. Phosphorus is found as a component of I. DNA II. RNA III. ATP (2) III only (3) I and II only (4) I and III only (5) I, II and III 17. The greatest source of sulfur release into the environment is/are (1) animal and plant biomass decomposition (2) deep sea vents (3) erosion (4) fossil fuel combustion (5) volcanic eruptions 18. Human beings have altered or contributed to the sulfur cylce by (3) III only I. burning coal and oil II. smelting ore III. producing halocarbons (4) I and II only (5) I and III only 19. Elements that spend their biogeochemical cycles mostly in gaseous phase include which of the following? I. Carbon II. Nitrogen III. Sulfur (3) I and II only (4) II and III only (5) I, II, and III 20. Which of the following elements is cycled in a sedimentary cycle? (1) Carbon (2) Phosphorus (3) Hydrogen (4) Nitrogen (5) Oxygen 21. The major reservoirs of phosphorus and carbon in the lithosphere exist in what forms respectively? (1) Atmosphere, rocks (2) Rocks, vegetation (3) Rocks, atmosphere (4) Animals, rocks (5) Animals, animals 22. Common constituents of metal ores include (3) III only I. Carbon II. Phosphorus III. Sulfur (4) I and III only (5) I, II and III 23. Base your answer to the following question on the following air pollutants. (A) CFCs (B) Ozone (C) Carbon dioxide (D) Sulfur dioxide (E) DDT Fluctuates seasonally because of photosynthetic plants (1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D (5) E 24. Which of the following is NOT a nitrogen containing compound that humans directly add to the environment? (1) Nitric acid (2) Nitrous dioxide (3) Nitrous oxide (4) Ammonium nitrate (5) Ammonia 25. Which of the following releases CO2 into the atmosphere, enhancing the greenhouse effect and possibly causing global warming? I. The use of fossil fuels II. deforestation and clearing and burning of grasslands to raise crops III. cultivation of rice in paddies and use of inorganic fertilizers (3) III only (4) I and II only (5) I, II, and III 26. Which statement about the greenhouse gases water vapor and CO2 is TRUE? (1) CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas because of its high concentration and is more easily influenced by human activities. (2) Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas because of its high concentration and is more easily influenced by human activities. (3) Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas because of its high concentration but CO2 is more easily influenced by human activities. (4) CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas because of its high concentration but water vapor is more easily influenced by human activities. (5) Water vapor and CO2 are equally important as greenhouse gases and are equally influenced by human activities. 27. Current concerns about carbon dioxide mostly surround the issue of (1) gaseous emissions (2) oceanic absorption (3) glacial adsorption (4) tropospheric toxicity (5) stratospheric ozone depletion 28. Which of the following is considered a greenhouse gas? (1) Oxygen (2) Nitrogen (3) Methane (4) Cobalt (5) Radon Page 2
29. Why does the line indicating concentration of CO2 oscillate as it increases? (1) Seasonal variation of vegetation growth in the Southern Hemisphere (2) Seasonal variation of vegetation growth in the Northern Hemisphere (3) Seasonal variation of precipitation resulting in variation in runoff and leaching. (4) Seasonal variation of factory production resulting in variation of fossil fuel combustion (5) Seasonal variations in animal behavior resulting in variation of aerobic respiration 30. Most of the increase in global sea level over the past century has been due to (1) the melting of the polar ice caps (2) the recession of glaciers (3) increased annual precipitation (4) the thermal expansion of the oceans (5) the subduction of continental plates 31. Rising sea level is caused by all of the following EXCEPT (1) rising global temperatures (2) the melting of glaciers and ice fields (3) the thermal expansion of ocean waters (4) decreasing concentrations of water vapor (5) atmospheric halocarbon emissions 32. Since the late nineteenth century, average surface temperatures (1) rose.3 to.6ºc (2) rose 3 to 6ºC (3) fell.3 to 6ºC (4) fell 3 to 6ºC (5) none of the above Page 3 33. Climate change has NOT been observed to cause which of the following in the Arctic? (1) Decrease in extent of Arctic sea ice (2) Permafrost thawing (3) Coastal erosion (4) Earlier onset of freezing conditions in the year (5) Increased storm episodes 34. Climate change due to CO2 emissions and global warming is expected to be the strongest at what regions? (1) Along the equator (2) Tropical regions (3) Temperature regions (1) Increased plant growth (2) Global warming (3) Seismic instability (4) Subpolar regions (5) Polar regions 35. The greenhouse effect is believed to contribute to which of the following? (4) Radio Interference (5) Skin Cancer
36. Base your answer to the following question on the graph below. Which of the following cause and effect relationships is accurate based on the graph above? (1) Increased carbon dioxide levels caused increased temperatures. (2) Carbon dioxide and temperature are not necessarily related to each other in the graph. (3) Increases in carbon dioxide levels caused temperature to decrease. (4) The Greenhouse effect s high temperatures caused increased carbon dioxide levels. (5) As temperature increased, plants and vegetation died, causing carbon dioxide levels to increase. 37. Which of the following is a strong source of evidence that scientists use to determine long term variations in CO2 levels in the troposphere? (1) Oxygen isotope sampling of minerals found in trenches (2) Monitoring CO atmospheric concentrations at locations across the world2 (3) Analyzing gas bubbles in Antarctic ice coring samples (4) Carbon isotope sampling of fossils (5) Observation of magnetic reversals along the ocean bottom 38. Which of the following is the best description of the greenhouse effect? (1) Gases in the atmosphere absorb gamma radiation from the sun. (2) CFCs in the troposphere absorb visible light from the sun. (3) Particulate matter in the atmosphere absorb cosmic rays from space. (4) Water vapor in the troposphere absorb UV radiation from the sun. (5) Gases in the atmosphere absorb infrared radiation from the Earth's surface. 39. Sunspot cycles may in large measure account for (1) seasonal variation (2) oceanic conditions beneath the thermocline (3) tectonic plate activity (4) the varying effectiveness of geothermal power (5) global temperature variation 40. Which of the following is a fact that scientists are entirely positive about? (1) Global warming is a natural climate change trend. (2) Global warming is occurring. (3) Greenhouse gases have resulted in global warming. (4) The earth's surface temperatures will continue rising. (5) Global warming is a main cause of ozone depletion. 41. In order to slow global warming, scientists could 42. (1) cool the oceans in order to increase the amount of CO2 that can go into solution (2) replace fossil fuels with alternative sources of energy (3) invent chlorofluorocarbons that are not as damaging (4) bioengineer crops with higher yields and higher productivity (5) begin monitoring the polar ice caps If a best fit line were drawn through this graph, approximately how much have average annual temperatures changed since the 1970s? (1) 25ºC (2) 15ºC (3) 10ºC (4) 5ºC (5) 1ºC 43. Which of the following is NOT a potential effect of global warming? (1) Rising sea levels (2) Loss of coastline (3) Changes in ocean currents (4) Longer days (5) Changes in wind patterns 44. Without the greenhouse effect (1) infrared energy would escape the Earth's atmosphere (2) the Earth would be considerably warmer (3) plants would produce more oxygen (4) sea levels would be considerably higher (5) biodiversity would be far greater Page 4
45. Fertilizers often contain the macromolecules nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. As well, they sometimes contain the micro-molecules boron, copper, and zinc. a) Discuss the biogeochemical cycle of the nitrogen or phosphorous. Be sure to include the steps of the cycle, as well as the movement from the atmosphere, water and soil, if applicable. b) Discuss the importance of TWO of the three micro-molecules. Currently, farmers are trying to implement conservation farming. Discuss one method in which this farming is implemented. 46. Which of the following describes how El Ninos originate? (1) Cooler water accumulates off of Western Africa, causing upwellings. (2) Winds decrease in the southern United States, leading to downwellings. (3) Air pressures fall over the central Pacific and western South America, causing trade winds to decrease. (4) Trade winds increase over the eastern United States, causing changes in weather patterns. (5) Air pressures rise over Central America, causing trade winds to increase. Page 5
Answer Key Cycles and Climate Change 1. 2 2. 4 3. 2 4. 4 5. 3 6. 2 7. 5 8. 4 9. 5 10. 4 11. 2 12. 1 13. 1 14. 3 15. 1 16. 5 17. 4 18. 4 19. 3 20. 2 21. 3 22. 3 23. 3 24. 1 25. 4 26. 3 27. 1 28. 3 29. 2 30. 4 31. 4 32. 1 33. 4 34. 5 35. 2 36. 1 37. 3 38. 5 39. 5 40. 2 41. 2 42. 4 43. 4 44. 1 45. 46. 3 Page 6