Universe and global climate — Advanced

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Level 3: Advanced

Evaluate, justify, synthesise, propose — combine ideas, judge claims and methods (senior secondary style).

1. A commentator claims: The Big Bang is “just a guess” because nobody was there. The best scientific evaluation is:

   A)Mostly fair — historical science cannot use evidence, only imaginationB)Too weak — the model is tested against multiple independent observations (redshift, CMB, light elements, etc.)C)Reasonable — only direct human eyewitness counts as evidence in cosmologyD)Irrelevant — we can view the early universe today as ordinary visible light from galaxies

2. Evaluate: Because one climate model simplified cloud physics, all modelling of future warming is worthless.

   A)Reasonable — if one sub-model is wrong, the entire coupled system must be rejected without revisionB)Too strong — models are imperfect but are tested against observations; multiple independent evidence streams exist beyond any one model featureC)Partly true — models are only curve fits, so they cannot encode conservation laws or radiation physicsD)Sound — cloud feedback is fully settled and identical across every model, so debate has ended

3. A student argues we should ignore human-caused greenhouse gas trends because weather was cold last week. The best critique is:

   A)Correct — official climate definitions use the same statistics as weekly weather forecastsB)A cold spell shows radiative forcing is not operating in that hemisphereC)Weather is short-term; climate trends use long-term patterns and multiple indicators, not a single weekD)Misleading — CO₂ is too light to remain in the troposphere more than a few days

4. To justify using both models and observations for climate, a scientist would most likely say:

   A)Models summarise data but cannot represent processes based on physical lawsB)Careful observations remove the need for equations or theoretical structureC)Consensus among experts replaces the need for reproducible methods or dataD)Models encode physics and data; they are checked against observations and used to explore scenarios—together they strengthen conclusions

5. Evaluate “If models disagree on cloud feedback, we know nothing about future warming.”

   A)Correct — one uncertain sub-process erases all radiative physicsB)Too strong — uncertainty is quantified; multiple lines and paleoclimate still constrain likely rangesC)Irrelevant — clouds do not affect radiationD)True only for winter hemispheres

6. Synthesise how biosphere and atmosphere exchanges matter for interannual CO₂ growth rate:

   A)Plants never take up carbonB)The biosphere is irrelevant to atmospheric CO₂C)Photosynthesis, respiration, fire and land-use change modulate how much carbon stays airborne each yearD)Only volcanic CO₂ drives year-to-year changes

7. Critique using a cold winter in one region as proof that global warming has stopped:

   A)Confuses local weather with global long-term trends averaged over space and timeB)Valid if snow fell onceC)Correct when jet stream meandersD)Always supported by satellite records without analysis

8. Justify teaching Big Bang as a model rather than a casual guess:

   A)It is not based on any observationsB)It only explains Moon phasesC)It was disproven by redshiftD)It is tested against independent observations (expansion, CMB, light elements, large-scale structure)

9. A student claims dark energy is “proved” because one team measured accelerating expansion. The best classroom response is:

   A)Accept proof from a single press releaseB)Note independent confirmations and that labels like dark energy summarise unexplained dynamics — science refines models with more dataC)Reject acceleration because galaxies have massD)Equate dark energy with dark matter without distinction

10. Propose why paleoclimate proxies (ice cores, sediments) complement instrumental records:

    A)They extend context before thermometers and help test physics-based understanding of forcings and feedbacksB)They replace all modern measurementsC)They only show local rainfall for one farmD)They cannot be calibrated or cross-checked

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