Baird Chem in Your life Chapter 16
1. When during a 24-hour period does most of the change in air temperature occur?
a. dawn
b. dusk
c. noon
d. midnight
a: The greatest change occurs when the temperature is the lowest.
2. Throughout the world, which of the following is accepted evidence that there is global warming?
a. Warming waters are killing much of the corals in the ocean.
b. Earth’s ice cover is increasing.
c. Mosquito-borne diseases have reached lower altitudes.
d. Winters are shorter by 10 weeks.
a: Page 588 describes other evidence for global warming.
3. What form of light does the Earth emit?
a. thermal infrared
b. visible light
c. near ultraviolet
d. ultraviolet
a: Thermal infrared is defined on page 589.
4. What is the wavelength of Infrared light
a. greater than 750 nm and less than 1,000,000 nm
b. less than 750 nm and more than 300 nm
c. 750 nm
d. greater than 750 nm and less than 1000 nm
c: Page 589 describes infrared radiation.
5. Which of the following is the most important greenhouse gas in the Earth’s atmosphere?
a. H2O
b. CO
c. NO2
d. CH4
a: This is described on page 591.
6. What range of wave length is the atmospheric window?
a. 8–13 micrometers
b. 8–22 micrometers
c. 14–16 micrometers
d. 4–8 micrometers
a: The atmospheric windows are described on page 593.
7. What is the major source responsible for the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the
atmosphere?
a. combustion of fossil fuels
b. energy used to produce goods
c. heating and cooling factories
d. increase of trees
a: Combustion of natural gas, coal, and petroleum products is the major source of CO2.
8. What period of time is required for carbon dioxide molecules to find a permanent sink?
a. many decades to 100 years
b. a few decades
c. less than 10 years
d. more than 100 centuries
a: Permanent sinks take decades to occur, usually up to 100 years.
9. How much more does CH contribute to global warming than CO2?
a. 21 times as much
b. five times as much
c. ten times as much
d. twice as much
a: Methane retains infrared radiation 21 times greater than CO2.
10. What natural gas do wetlands release?
a. methane
b. water vapor
c. carbon dioxide
d. butane
a: Methane, usually called swamp gas, as described on page 598.
11. What occurs in the process of nitrification?
a. Nitrogen in the form of ammonia is converted to NO2.
b. Nitrogen in the form of NO3 forms nitrogen gas.
c. Nitrogen in the air forms ammonia.
d. NO−3 ions form NO2 gas molecules.
a: Nitrification is described on page 599.
12. What occurs in the process of denitrification?
a. Nitrogen in the form of NO−3 is converted to N2
b. Nitrogen in the form of ammonia is converted to N2
c. N2 is converted to ammonia.
d. Ammonia is converted to NO−3.
a: Denitrification is described on page 600.
13. Which of the following represents the phenomenon called positive feedback?
a. an increase in H2O from global warming that produces additional global warming
b. the evaporation of ocean water that increases H2O molecules in the air
c. the melting of glaciers that warm the waters of the Earth
d. the evaporation of H2O that increases clouds that trap more heat
a: The definition and description is on page 601.
14. What effect does a sulfate aerosol have on air?
a. cools the air at ground level
b. warms the air at ground level
c. causes the air to rise at ground level
d. causes the air to sink at ground level
a: The sulfate radical reduces the droplet size of H2O molecules and therefore has a cooling effect.
15. By how many degrees is the global air temperature likely to increase by the year 2100?
a. 1.9–2.9 degrees; C
b. 0.9–1.9degrees; C
c. 2.9–3.9degrees; C
d. 3.9–4.9degrees; C
a: This is described as a range on page 606.