Mastering Astronomy Chapter 10 pt 2

Which of the following statements about the greenhouse effect is true?

All of the above are true

Of the four gases CO2, H2O, N2, and O2, which are greenhouse gases?

CO2 and H2O

If Earth were to warm up a bit, what would happen?

Carbonate materials would form in the oceans more rapidly, the atmospheric CO2 content would decrease, and the greenhouse effect would weaken slowly over time.

Deuterium is more abundant on Venus than elsewhere in the solar system. What do we think this fact tells us about Venus?

It once had huge amounts of water inn its atmosphere.

What is the importance of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle?

It regulates the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere, keeping temperatures moderate.

Why is Mars red?

Its surface rocks were rusted by oxygen.

Venus may have started with an ocean's worth of water. Where is its water now?

The water was lost when ultraviolet light broke apart water molecules and the hydrogen escaped to space.

Geological evidence points to a history of extended ice ages in Earth's history. How did Earth recover from this snowball phase?

Volcanoes continued to inject CO2 into Earth's atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect to the point where ice melted

Which of the following is NOT an expected consequence of global warming?

Warming up of the entire Earth by the same amount.

Why would the weather become more severe as the greenhouse effect increased?

Warming would increase the evaporation of the oceans, leading to more water in the atmosphere and more frequent and severe storms.

What do we mean by a runaway greenhouse effect?

a greenhouse effect that keeps getting stronger until all of a planet's greenhouse gases are in its atmosphere

Why does the burning of fossil fuels increase the greenhouse effect on Earth?

burning releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Earth's atmosphere contains only small amounts of carbon dioxide because

carbon dioxide dissolves in water, and most of it is now contained in the oceans and carbonate rocks.

Which of the following is not a product of outgassing?

oxygen

From where did the molecular oxygen in Earth's atmosphere originate?

photosynthesis from single-celled organisms

What are fossil fuels?

the carbon-rich remains of plants that died millions of years ago

Based on everything we have learned about Venus and Mars, what is the most surprising aspect of Earth's climate history?

the fact that the temperature of our planet has remained relatively steady throughout our planet's history