Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography, 9e (Christopherson)
Chapter 3 Earth’s Modern Atmosphere
3.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Air consists of
A) a mixture of gases that behaves as if it were a single gas.
B) gases that are not well mixed.
C) oxygen only.
D) mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor.
2) Which atmospheric zone supports the biosphere and is the region of principle weather
activity?
A) thermosphere
B) mesosphere
C) stratosphere
D) troposphere
3) The top of the Earth’s atmosphere is approximately
A) 3,200 km (1,988 mi) above the Earth’s surface.
B) 480 km (300 mi) above the Earth’s surface.
C) 2,000 km (1,243 mi) above the Earth’s surface.
D) 1,000 km (621 mi) above the Earth’s surface.
4) Which is not true of Earth’s atmosphere?
A) It is the sum of all the exhalations and inhalations of life on Earth.
B) We consider the top of the atmosphere to be 32,000 km (20,000 mi.) from Earth.
C) It protects us from deadly UV radiation, yet lets light through.
D) Its temperatures range from -90°C (-130°F) degrees to 1200°C (2200°F).
E) The principle substance is air, a mixture of many gases that behaves like a single gas.
5) Which of the following is true about the Earth’s atmosphere?
A) It allows gamma rays and X-rays reach the surface.
B) The ozonosphere and ionosphere shield the surface from harmful radiation.
C) Variable gases are the dominant gases in the atmosphere.
D) It is denser at higher altitudes.
6) Three criteria used for classification of the atmosphere explained in the text are
A) structure, origin, temperature.
B) structure, origin, evolution.
C) composition, origin, evolution.
D) composition, temperature, and function.
7) Based on composition, the atmosphere is divided into
A) one continuous region.
B) two broad classifications: homosphere and heterosphere.
C) two functional areas that absorb radiation from the Sun.
D) the troposphere and the stratosphere.
8) Based on temperature, the atmosphere is divided into
A) four regions: ranging from the troposphere to the thermosphere.
B) two broad regions.
C) two functional areas that absorb radiation from the Sun.
D) nitrogen, oxygen, argon.
9) Based on function, the atmosphere has
A) five regions beginning with the outermost thermosphere.
B) two functional areas that absorb radiation from the Sun.
C) one continuous region.
D) the troposphere and the stratosphere.
10)
Based on the image, which of the following must be true?
A) Hydrogen has a higher atomic weight than oxygen.
B) The ozonosphere stretches from the Earth’s surface to approximately 50 km (30 mi.).
C) All but 0.001 percent of the atmosphere is accounted for within the troposphere.
D) The ozonosphere corresponds with the stratosphere.
11)
The thermosphere closely corresponds to
A) the ionosphere.
B) the heterosphere.
C) the homosphere.
D) the exosphere.
E) both the ionosphere and the heterosphere.
12) At sea level, the pressure of the atmosphere is about ________ kg/cm2, or ________ ln/in2.
A) 1.0; 14.7
B) 2.6; 9.4
C) 8.2; 3.3
D) 6.7; 19.9
13) Half of the total mass of Earth’s atmosphere lies below an elevation of ________ meters.
A) 14,000
B) 11,000
C) 8300
D) 5500
14) The outermost region of the atmosphere, based on composition, is the
A) homosphere.
B) heterosphere.
C) troposphere.
D) thermosphere.
15) The heterosphere is the layer of the atmosphere in which the gases are ________ because of
________.
A) well mixed; thermal motions (i.e., convection)
B) well mixed; the influence of gravity which causes gases of different weight to diffuse
randomly
C) poorly mixed; thermal motions (i.e., convection)
D) poorly mixed; the influence of gravity which causes gases of different weight to separate into
layers
16) Which of the following is true of gases in the heterosphere?
A) The hydrogen, helium, oxygen and nitrogen are well mixed.
B) The hydrogen and helium occur at the top of the heterosphere, and the nitrogen and oxygen at
the bottom.
C) The nitrogen and oxygen occur at the top of the heterosphere and the hydrogen and helium at
the bottom.
D) Nitrogen occurs at the top, followed—in descending order—by helium, oxygen and
hydrogen.
17) The region of the atmosphere that is so evenly mixed that it behaves as if it were a single gas
is the
A) homosphere.
B) heterosphere.
C) exosphere.
D) thermosphere.
18) The thermopause is located
A) between the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
B) wherever -90°C (-130°F) is recorded.
C) approximately 480 km (300 mi.) above Earth’s surface.
D) at the bottom of the homosphere.
19) The highest temperatures in the atmosphere occur in the
A) troposphere.
B) stratosphere.
C) mesosphere.
D) thermosphere.
20) The solar constant is measured at
A) the outer boundary of the exosphere (32,000 km (20,000 mi)).
B) the top of the atmosphere (480 km (300 mi)).
C) the top of the stratosphere (50 km (31 mi)).
D) the top of the troposphere (12 km (8 mi)).
E) Earth’s surface at the equator (sea level).
21) The tropopause altitude is highest ________ because of the ________.
A) at the equator; intense heating from the surface
B) at the poles; diffuse solar radiation
C) during the summer; increased atmospheric pressure
D) during the winter; Sun’s direct rays hitting the Tropic of Capricorn
22) The high temperature in the upper thermosphere
A) is produced by the absorption of UV radiation.
B) is more a measure of sensible temperature than kinetic energy.
C) is more a measure of kinetic energy than sensible temperature.
D) produces a tremendous amount of heat transfer.
23) Which of the following is true of the ionosphere?
A) It primarily absorbs harmful infrared wavelengths.
B) All radio signals pass through this region virtually unaffected.
C) The region principally absorbs gamma rays, X-rays, and interacts with the solar wind.
D) It is being depleted through interactions with human-produced chlorofluorocarbons.
24) How does the ionosphere affect GPS?
A) GPS satellites orbit the Earth in the ionosphere.
B) GPS ground stations lose contact with geosynchronous satellites orbiting near the poles.
C) GPS signals much pass through the ionosphere, whose gases weaken the signal.
D) Positively charged ions in the ionosphere speed up the GPS signal, causing signal error.
25) Which of the following lists the correct sequence of gases, from most to least, in terms of
percentage within the homosphere?
A) nitrogen, argon, oxygen, xenon, carbon dioxide
B) nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, trace gases
C) oxygen, ozone, nitrogen, PAN, carbon dioxide
D) oxygen, nitrogen, neon, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide
26) Which of the following is true regarding the depletion of ozone in the ozonosphere?
A) The depletion is restricted to the arctic and antarctic regions.
B) It results from chemical reactions with chlorine derived from CFCs.
C) It results from the burning of fossil fuels.
D) The notion that ozone is being depleted as a result of human activity has little scientific
evidence to support it.
27) The ozonosphere is critical to life because it
A) affects temperatures.
B) absorbs visible light wavelengths.
C) absorbs most ultraviolet wavelengths.
D) produces the auroras.
28) The three stable (i.e., nonvariable) gases in the atmosphere, in order of abundance from most
to least, are
A) carbon dioxide, argon, oxygen.
B) oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon.
C) nitrogen, oxygen, argon.
D) oxygen, argon, nitrogen.
29) The two most abundant gases in the atmosphere are
A) water vapor and carbon dioxide.
B) nitrogen and water vapor.
C) nitrogen and oxygen.
D) oxygen and carbon dioxide.
30) Nitrogen ( ) is
A) a key component of life, integrated into our bodies directly from the air.
B) cycled through the environment via the activity of bacteria.
C) a product of the radioactive decay of a form of potassium in the crust.
D) now measured at 20.946% by volume in the homosphere.
31) Which of the following is true of nitrogen?
A) The human body obtains the nitrogen it needs from the air.
B) There is very little nitrogen in the atmosphere.
C) The nitrogen the human body needs is derived from food—not the air.
D) Nitrogen is a variable gas.
32) About half of Earth’s crust consists of compounds containing
A) nitrogen.
B) argon.
C) carbon dioxide.
D) oxygen.
E) ozone
33) Oxygen ( ) is
A) a gas which principally originates from volcanic sources.
B) a by-product of photosynthesis.
C) one of the gases from Earth’s earliest atmospheres.
D) now measured at 78.084% by volume in the homosphere.
34) Which is true of the amount of C in our atmosphere?
A) C is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere.
B) The level of C has been decreasing at the rate of 3.1% per year since 2000.
C) The level of C increased at the rate of 1.1% per year from 1990 to 1999.
D) The level of C has been much higher during the past 800,000 years than it is now.
35) Which is true of the level of C in our atmosphere?
A) It is reached 400 ppm in 2013.
B) The rate of increase leveled out in 1976.
C) The level of C was much higher in 1955 than today.
D) The level of C is decreasing at 3.1% per year.
36) Temperatures within the stratosphere
A) decrease with altitude according to the normal lapse rate.
B) remain about the same from the tropopause to the stratopause.
C) increase with altitude because of the absorption of ultraviolet radiation.
D) decrease with altitude due to radiation losses.
37) The percentages of various gases in the atmosphere indicate that the composition of the
atmosphere is controlled
A) totally by the amount and type of gases given off during volcanic eruptions.
B) totally by the composition of comets and meteors that strike Earth.
C) to a significant extent by biological processes occurring on Earth.
D) exclusively by chemical reactions between sunlight and the gases in the atmosphere.
38) Which stable (nonvariable) gas in the atmosphere is inert and unusable in life processes?
A) oxygen
B) nitrogen
C) argon
D) carbon dioxide
39) A by-product of photosynthesis is
A) nitrogen.
B) argon.
C) oxygen.
D) xenon.
40) Which of the gases listed below has accumulated in the atmosphere as a result of biological
processes?
A) 1argon
B) oxygen
C) nitrogen
D) water vapor
41) Why is normal precipitation always slightly acidic?
A) Precipitation dissolved carbon dioxide to form carbomic acid.
B) Nitrogen fixing bacteria form nitric acids which evaporate into the atmosphere.
C) Sulfur dioxide from volcanic explosions combines with water to form sulfuric acid.
D) Chlorine, in the presence of sunlight and hydrogen, is converted to hydrochloric acid.
42) Which of the following is not true of carbon dioxide?
A) It is critically important in regulating the temperature of the planet.
B) Today, it far exceeds its natural range of 180 to 300 pp.
C) It occurs in large amounts in the atmosphere relative to other gases, such as nitrogen and
oxygen.
D) Overall, atmospheric CO2
has increased by 16% from 1992 to 2012.
43) In which two atmospheric zones does temperature increase with altitude?
A) troposphere and mesosphere
B) troposphere and stratosphere
C) stratosphere and mesosphere
D) stratosphere and thermosphere
44) In which two atmospheric zones does temperature decrease with altitude?
A) troposphere and mesosphere
B) troposphere and stratosphere
C) stratosphere and mesosphere
D) stratosphere and thermosphere
E) None of the above—temperature decreases with increasing altitude in all layers of the
atmosphere.
45) Why is the hole in the ozone greatest over Antarctica?
A) The ozone hole is a natural phenomenon related to high polar stratospheric clouds.
B) South American countries have not ratified the Montreal Protocol and continue to release
ozone-destroying CFCs.
C) Chlorine freed from CFCs elsewhere migrate to the Antarctic region, where they are trapped
by the polar vortex.
D) Ozone, a greenhouse gas which traps ultraviolet energy radiated from the Earth’s surface, has
highest concentration in Antarctica.
46) Noctilucent clouds are associated with the ________ whereas the auroras are associated with
the ________.
A) stratosphere; ozonosphere
B) thermosphere; ionosphere
C) troposphere; homosphere
D) mesosphere; ionosphere
47) The homosphere is so called because
A) it is the habitable sphere for humans (Homo sapiens).
B) scientists have been unable to determine its composition and assume it is homogenous.
C) the blend of gases is nearly uniform throughout.
D) it contains only one gas, nitrogen.
48) Which of the following is true of the mesosphere?
A) It contains clouds that are visible at night.
B) Temperatures are uniform through the zone.
C) It is the warmest layer of the atmosphere.
D) It has the greatest vertical extent of all atmospheric layers.
49) In 1974, Dr. Rowland and Dr. Molina made what observation vis-à-vis ozone (O3)?
A) The photochemical interactions of chloroflourocarbons and O3.
B) Automobile exhaust and sunlight were producing photochemical smog.
C) Anthropogenic O3 releases were a major culprit in global warming.
D) Ground-level O3 irritates human eyes and respiratory systems.
50) Which of the following is true of chlorofluorocarbons?
A) They have been used as propellants in spray cans.
B) They are used in refrigeration systems.
C) They are used to make foam products.
D) All of the above are true.
51) Which of the following is true of chlorofluorocarbons?
A) The CFC molecules react with ultraviolet light to release carbon which then destroys ozone.
B) The CFC molecules react with ultraviolet light to release fluorine which then destroys ozone.
C) The CFC molecules react with ultraviolet light to release chlorine which then destroys ozone.
D) Most of the CFC-induced ozone destruction is occurring near the equator, rather than near the
poles.
52) The Montreal Protocol
A) established a framework to address acid precipitation.
B) aims to reduce and eliminate all ozone depleting substances.
C) only addresses CFCs.
D) created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
E) is ineffective because so few countries have ratified it.
53) Why is stratospheric ozone loss a concern?
A) Stratospheric ozone is a major greenhouse gas; its loss will contribute to the cooling of the
planet.
B) Stratospheric ozone absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVB and UVC).
C) Stratospheric ozone is a component of photochemical smog.
D) Stratospheric ozone contributes to the brilliant auroras.
54) Which of the following are affected by the loss of ozone?
A) crop yields
B) phytoplankton populations
C) immune systems
D) eye tissues
E) crop yields, phytoplankton populations, immune systems, and eye tissues
55) Which of the following is not true of UV exposure?
A) UVA radiation is not filtered by the ozone layer and amounts for about 95% of all UV
radiation reaching the Earth’s surface.
B) Only exposure to UVA is a concern, not exposure to UVB and UVC.
C) UV radiation is potentially harmful and individuals should take appropriate precautions
depending on the UV index.
D) UV radiation varies spatially according to the season, local weather conditions, and overhead
ozone depletion.
56) Which of the following is true regarding ozone depletion in Antarctica?
A) Increasing levels of ultraviolet radiation have not actually been measured at this time.
B) The atmosphere above Antarctica has experienced a complete loss of protective ozone.
C) Maximum ozone depletion occurs during the Antarctic spring, following the development of
polar stratospheric clouds in winter.
D) There has actually been a decrease in ultraviolet levels measured at the surface—which is
contrary to what is predicted by ozone depletion models.
57) The atmospheric portion of the biosphere occurs in the
A) heterosphere.
B) troposphere.
C) ozonosphere.
D) lithosphere.