Deck 18: Earths Many Cycles: Will We Ever Run Out of Fresh Water

Question 1

There is about half a million dollars of gold in every cubic kilometer of ocean. Why is it not mined?

A) Mining gold would pollute the global oceans.
B) The global market for gold has diminished.
C) The mining technology is not economically feasible.
D) International law of the sea prohibits mining.
E) All of these are reasons why it is not mined.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What is most likely to be associated with the northern hemisphere jet stream?

A) hurricanes
B) tornadoes
C) westerlies
D) trade winds
E) all of these

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which is true if a planet like Earth that stops rotating?

A) The jet stream would bring the southeast United States its weather.
B) The Gulf Stream would move faster.
C) The prevailing winds in the northern hemisphere would blow from north to south.
D) Sailors would use the trade winds to sail east.
E) All of these are correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following determines the climate of a region?

A) industrial pollution
B) presence of cows
C) land formations
D) phase of the moon
E) all of these are correct

Question 5

On the Earth, which of the following contains the greatest volume of water?

A) oceans and groundwater
B) oceans, glaciers, and ice caps
C) oceans, lakes, and rivers
D) atmosphere and oceans
E) oceans, lakes, rivers, and atmosphere

Question 6

The ocean is maintaining a constant salinity because

A) the fresh water from the rivers equals the amount of water evaporated from the oceans.
B) chlorine and sodium will not form a salt compound at normal ocean temperatures.
C) glaciers are melting and adding fresh water to the system.
D) chemical reactions in the oceans combine elements into compounds that are stored in the biota or ocean sediment.
E) The ocean is actually increasing in salinity.

Question 7

Which of the following are both sedimentary rocks?

A) shale and limestone
B) quartz and marble
C) sandstone and basalt
D) quartzite and salt
E) slate and marble

Question 8

Residence time in the ocean is

A) the average time an atom remains in a system such as the ocean or a human body.
B) the same as a Milankovitch cycle.
C) the amount of time a tropical storm can remain on land before dying out.
D) the average length of time a glacier stays in one place before it begins to move.
E) the time it takes for one liter of water to move one horizontal mile in an aquifer.

Question 9

Weather is defined as the state of the atmosphere with regard to

A) temperature.
B) humidity.
C) pressure.
D) cloudiness.
E) all of these are correct.

Question 10

The surface currents of the ocean a. carry warm water to the poles.
B) carry cold water to the equator.
C) can move water away from a coastline.

A) a
B) b
C) c
D) a and b only
E) a, b, and c

Question 11

The first solids that formed on the Earth were

A) sedimentary rocks.
B) igneous rocks.
C) metamorphic rocks.
D) limestones.
E) granites.

Question 12

Which of the following is cycled through time?

A) rock
B) water
C) atmospheric gasses
D) Earth's heat
E) all of these are correct

Question 13

What is one impact of gyres on coastal climates?

A) England is colder than otherwise expected.
B) England is warmer than otherwise expected.
C) The Pacific Ocean near California is warmer than the Atlantic Ocean near Maryland.
D) Japan's ocean waters are colder than the latitude indicates.
E) Fresh water near the Arctic sinks and moves toward the equator.

Question 14

The name Milankovitch is associated with

A) Global Climate Models (GCMs).
B) research on greenhouse climate changes.
C) a theory that the Earth's climate is affected by its orbit.
D) research on plate tectonics.
E) research on both greenhouse climate changes and plate tectonics.

Question 15

El Niño

A) couples the atmospheric and the ocean cycles.
B) brings the South American coast a winter snowstorm.
C) enhances the fishing economy of Peru.
D) causes flooding in Australia.
E) results in all of these.

Question 16

How is Doppler radar used in meteorology?

A) to assess wind speed and direction
B) to predict climate change
C) to locate the site where a tornado touched down
D) to trace the path of global glaciations
E) all of these are correct

Question 17

Some estimates indicate that the amount of the world's fresh water that is stored as groundwater may be close to

A) 98%.
B) 57%.
C) 10%.
D) 1%.
E) 0.01%.

Question 18

Periodic glaciations are caused by

A) changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis.
B) changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit.
C) increased precipitation.
D) decreased solar energy absorption.
E) all of these can cause periodic glaciations.

Question 19

Limestone, such as that found on the cliffs above Chattanooga, Tennessee, is evidence of

A) a volcanic eruption millions of years ago.
B) an ancient sand dune.
C) a closed marble quarry from the 1920s.
D) early glacial environments.
E) a prehistoric inland sea.

Question 20

What drives the global atmospheric circulation?

A) ocean circulation
B) radioactive decay of nuclear particles
C) energy of the Sun
D) convection cells within the mantle
E) tides

Question 21

Give an example of both a short-term and a long-term variation in the atmospheric cycle.

Question 22

Why is Hawaii made of basalt?

Question 23

How does the rotation of the Earth affect the atmospheric cycle?

Question 24

Describe one of the ways that sedimentary rocks like sandstones are formed.

Question 25

Are the Earth's oceans becoming saltier? Why or why not?

Question 26

The hazard of wind shear at airports has been mitigated by

A) ordinary radar.
B) infrared radiation.
C) laser beams.
D) Doppler radar.
E) ultraviolet light.

Question 27

What are the five variables that define weather?

Question 28

What is the jet stream and how does it affect weather in the United States?

Question 29

What would be typical conditions during an ice age?

A) The ocean level drops.
B) Ocean currents stop redistributing heat energy.
C) The snow absorbs rather than reflects solar radiation.
D) Large ice sheets cover the land from the poles to the tropics.
E) The ozone level increases.

Question 30

How is Doppler radar an improvement over ordinary radar?

Question 31

Which type of material is not moving in the rock cycle?

A) metamorphic rocks
B) igneous rocks
C) sedimentary rocks
D) beach sand
E) glacial ice

Question 32

How do GCMs model the atmosphere?

Question 33

Tropical storms that begin in the Atlantic and usually affect North America are called

A) trade winds
B) typhoons
C) hurricanes
D) prevailing westerlies
E) El Niño

Question 34

What effect does "residence time" have on human health?

Question 35

What events initiated the rock cycle on Earth?

Question 36

What word is used to describe the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place?

A) climate
B) weather
C) atmospheric cycle
D) temperature
E) humidity

Question 37

With so much water covering the planet (about 75%), how is it that scientists and planners are concerned about a water shortage?

Question 38

How can some sedimentary rock formations provide an insight into the age and history of the Earth?

Question 39

Give one example of how computers are used to analyze natural cycles.

Question 40

Compare the atmospheric convection cells of Earth and Jupiter. Why is there a difference in number of cells?

Question 41

When the effects of surface currents of the oceans and winds along a coast act in such a way as to push surface water away from land, what happens?

Question 42

Explain how on Earth there is no way to "throw away" something and it is gone forever.

Question 43

Because ice ages were a part of our past, could they be part of our future? Explain.

Question 44

Compare the discoveries of Milutin Milankovitch and James Hutton. How did each of their ideas change a scientific discipline?

Question 45

How is it that pumping more water from aquifers may not be a solution to the demands of exploding populations?

Question 46

Describe how Earth's natural environmental processes can be disrupted when houses are built upon beaches.

Question 47

What effect does air pressure have on the local weather?

Question 48

What characteristics would you look for in a rock to classify it as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

Question 49

Explain how the oceans are governing the climate of the world. Give an example.

Question 50

Describe the formation of coral reefs in terms of the rock cycle.