Universe and global climate — Intermediate

Score: 0 / 11

Level 2: Intermediate

Explain, apply, analyse, sequence — connect ideas, read patterns, use rules in new contexts (bridge to Year 11).

1. Put these Big Bang–related ideas in a sensible sequence (simplified): (i) universe expands and cools; (ii) very hot dense early state; (iii) CMB as cooled relic radiation.

   A)(i) then (ii) then (iii) — expansion happens only after the CMB formsB)(ii) then (i) then (iii)C)All three occur at the same instant, so order does not matterD)(iii) then (ii) then (i) — the CMB appears before the hot dense state

2. Why does melting polar ice tend to create a positive feedback for warming?

   A)Open water evaporates more, which always cools the surface enough to cancel albedo lossB)Ice and open ocean have nearly the same albedo at high latitudes in summerC)Ice reflects more sunlight than dark ocean; less ice can mean more absorption and more warmingD)Ice–albedo feedback is a negative loop because meltwater is colder than the ice it replaced

3. Energy transfer between atmosphere and ocean is important for climate because:

   A)Latent heat links the systems, but oceans release stored heat to space within days, unlike the atmosphereB)Long-term heat storage is dominated by the continental crust, not the oceanC)Wind-driven currents are independent of surface wind stress and evaporationD)Oceans store and move huge amounts of heat; winds and evaporation couple the systems

4. Redshift is observed as spectral lines appearing at longer wavelengths than in a lab source. This is interpreted as:

   A)Expansion stretching space/wavelengths for distant sourcesB)The galaxy is simply moving away through space like a sound source passing you—Doppler only, no cosmologyC)Gravitational redshift from Earth’s mass dominates for extragalactic sourcesD)Instrument drift explains the pattern equally well for all distant galaxies

5. The biosphere influences energy and carbon in climate models mainly through processes such as:

   A)Chiefly by blocking sunlight completely before it reaches the ocean mixed layerB)Photosynthesis, respiration, and carbon stored in living matter and soilsC)Only by removing all water vapour from the lower troposphereD)By locking all carbon permanently in fossil fuels underground

6. Natural variability in climate (e.g. volcanic eruptions, cycles) compared with long-term forced change is often distinguished by:

   A)Using one very long proxy record while ignoring whether physics-based expectations matchB)Relying only on the most recent decade of satellite dataC)Using multiple lines of evidence, long records, physics of greenhouse gases, and modelsD)Attributing all multi-decadal trends to Milankovitch cycles alone

7. Why is water vapour often treated differently from CO₂ when discussing long-lived warming drivers in public summaries?

   A)Water vapour responds quickly to temperature as a feedback; CO₂ is added independently and stays elevated longerB)Water vapour is not a greenhouse gasC)CO₂ cannot absorb infraredD)Water vapour concentration is fixed everywhere at all times

8. Milankovitch cycles relate mainly to:

   A)Daily tides onlyB)Slow changes in Earth’s orbit and tilt affecting incoming solar distribution over millenniaC)Formation of the first atoms after the Big BangD)Short-term ENSO events only

9. Sea-level rise from warming ice sheets and ocean expansion is an example of:

   A)Only astronomical expansion of spaceB)A reversible change that never affects coastsC)Evidence that the hydrosphere does not interact with other spheresD)System responses linking energy gain, ice, water and coasts

10. Compared with weather, climate is best described as:

    A)The same as a single storm eventB)Only tomorrow’s maximum temperatureC)Long-term patterns and statistics of the atmosphere (and related systems)D)Impossible to measure

11. Combustion of fossil fuels adds CO₂ to the atmosphere faster than natural sinks remove it on human time scales mainly because:

    A)Buried carbon is returned to the active fast carbon cycle within decades to centuriesB)Plants instantly absorb all emitted CO₂ each yearC)Oceans cannot dissolve any gasD)Fossil fuels contain no carbon

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