The atmosphere questions

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The atmosphere question collection

Review The atmosphere questions for Chemistry, with correct answers shown and coverage across composition and evolution of the atmosphere; greenhouse gases and climate change; air pollutants.

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Question 1

Which gas makes up most of the Earth's atmosphere today?
  1. Nitrogen
  2. Oxygen
  3. Carbon dioxide
  4. Argon

Question 2

Roughly what percentage of the atmosphere is oxygen?
  1. About \(21\%\)
  2. About \(78\%\)
  3. About \(50\%\)
  4. About \(1\%\)

Question 3

What is thought to have been a major source of gases in Earth's early atmosphere?
  1. Volcanic activity
  2. Combustion engines
  3. Photosynthesis from forests
  4. Nuclear power stations

Question 4

Compared with today, which pair describes Earth's early atmosphere?
  1. Low O₂; high CO₂
  2. High O₂; low CO₂
  3. Low O₂; low CO₂
  4. High O₂; high CO₂

Question 5

How did oxygen levels in the atmosphere increase over time?
  1. Photosynthetic algae and plants released oxygen
  2. Volcanoes released oxygen directly
  3. Combustion of fossil fuels increased oxygen
  4. Oxygen formed from nitrogen without reactions

Question 6

How do greenhouse gases warm Earth?
  1. Absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared
  2. Reflect all incoming visible light
  3. Absorb outgoing radio waves
  4. Convert ultraviolet into oxygen

Question 7

Which gas is a major greenhouse gas produced by complete combustion of hydrocarbons?
  1. Carbon dioxide
  2. Nitrogen
  3. Hydrogen
  4. Argon

Question 8

Which gas is mainly produced by incomplete combustion of fuels?
  1. Carbon monoxide
  2. Oxygen
  3. Nitrogen dioxide
  4. Sulfur trioxide

Question 9

Why is carbon monoxide poisonous?
  1. It binds haemoglobin and reduces oxygen transport
  2. It dissolves lung tissue as a strong acid
  3. It blocks airways as solid particles
  4. It destroys ozone inside red blood cells

Question 10

Which pollutants are major causes of acid rain?
  1. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
  2. Carbon dioxide and methane
  3. Oxygen and nitrogen
  4. Hydrogen and chlorine

Question 11

Which effect can acid rain cause?
  1. Acidified lakes and eroded limestone
  2. Eutrophied lakes and thicker ozone
  3. Global dimming and rising soil pH
  4. Saltwater intrusion and algal blooms

Question 12

Which health problem is linked to diesel particulates?
  1. Respiratory disease
  2. Vitamin deficiency
  3. Hearing damage
  4. Bone fractures

Question 13

Which pollutants do catalytic converters reduce?
  1. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons
  2. Carbon dioxide, water vapour and oxygen
  3. Sulfur dioxide, soot and methane
  4. Nitrogen, argon and hydrogen

Question 14

What does a product's carbon footprint include?
  1. Direct and indirect greenhouse-gas emissions
  2. Carbon dioxide emitted during transport
  3. Carbon stored in its raw materials
  4. Energy used by the customer

Question 15

Which change reduces a household’s carbon footprint the most?
  1. Insulating the home and lowering heating use
  2. Recycling more household packaging
  3. Switching to energy-saving light bulbs
  4. Buying more locally grown vegetables

Question 16

Why do climate projections contain uncertainty?
  1. Climate has many interacting variables
  2. Models cannot use measured data
  3. Atmospheric composition is fixed
  4. Past climate records contain no evidence

Question 17

Which are major stores in the carbon cycle?
  1. Atmosphere, oceans, rocks and organisms
  2. Atmosphere, metals, stars and organisms
  3. Oceans, clouds, magnets and rocks
  4. Organisms, rivers, planets and metals

Question 18

Which equation represents complete combustion of methane?
  1. \(\mathrm{CH}_{4} + 2\mathrm{O}_{2} \to \mathrm{CO}_{2} + 2\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}\)
  2. \(\mathrm{CH}_{4} + \mathrm{O}_{2} \to \mathrm{CO} + \mathrm{H}_{2}\)
  3. \(\mathrm{CH}_{4} + \mathrm{O}_{2} \to \mathrm{C} + 2\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}\)
  4. \(2\mathrm{CH}_{4} + \mathrm{O}_{2} \to 2\mathrm{CO}_{2} + 2\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}\)

Question 19

Why does atmospheric methane contribute to climate change?
  1. It absorbs outgoing infrared radiation
  2. It reflects incoming radio waves
  3. It converts nitrogen into oxygen
  4. It blocks visible light from plants

Question 20

Why is reducing sulfur content in fuels beneficial?
  1. It reduces sulfur dioxide emissions and acid rain
  2. It increases carbon monoxide formation
  3. It raises nitrogen oxide emissions
  4. It removes the need for catalytic converters

Question 21

Which process formed Earth's first oceans as its atmosphere cooled?
  1. Condensation
  2. Evaporation
  3. Freezing
  4. Sublimation

Question 22

What removed much early atmospheric carbon dioxide as Earth cooled?
  1. Dissolution and carbonate formation
  2. Photosynthesis and fossil-fuel formation
  3. Escape into space
  4. Condensation into liquid carbon dioxide

Question 23

What is the approximate percentage of nitrogen in today’s atmosphere?
  1. 78%
  2. 21%
  3. 1%
  4. 50%

Question 24

Approximately what percentage of today's atmosphere is carbon dioxide?
  1. 0.04%
  2. 1%
  3. 21%
  4. 78%

Question 25

Which radiation emitted by Earth is absorbed by greenhouse gases?
  1. Infrared
  2. Ultraviolet
  3. Visible light
  4. X-rays

Question 26

How does carbon capture reduce emissions?
  1. It stores carbon dioxide before atmospheric release
  2. It converts carbon dioxide into oxygen
  3. It filters methane from the whole atmosphere
  4. It prevents carbon-containing fuels burning

Question 27

Which solid pollutant can incomplete combustion produce?
  1. Carbon particulates
  2. Lead particulates
  3. Sulfate particulates
  4. Metal-oxide ash

Question 28

Which effects are linked to nitrogen oxides?
  1. Acid rain and breathing problems
  2. Global dimming and skin cancer
  3. Eutrophication and hearing loss
  4. Ozone repair and improved lung function

Question 29

Which method reduces sulfur dioxide from power stations?
  1. Flue-gas desulfurisation
  2. A particulate filter
  3. A catalytic converter
  4. Carbon capture

Question 30

Which human activity is a significant source of methane?
  1. Cattle farming
  2. Photosynthesis
  3. Using wind turbines
  4. Filtering water

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Review The atmosphere questions for Chemistry, with correct answers shown and coverage across composition and evolution of the atmosphere; greenhouse gases and climate change; air pollutants.

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