Paper 2 (9)

Question 1

Roughly how old is the planet Earth?

Answer 1

Around 4.6 billion years old

Question 2

Which gas makes up around 80% (78.09% to be exact) of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 2

Nitrogen

Question 3

Which gas makes up around 20% (20.95% to be exact) of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 3

Oxygen

Question 4

Give 2 gases which contribute to less than 1% to the Earths atmosphere:

Answer 4

Argon
Carbon dioxide

Question 5

In the first billion years, the gases that formed Earth’s early atmosphere came mainly from which source?

Answer 5

Volcanic activity

Question 6

During the first billion years, which two of the following gases were released from volcanoes?

Answer 6

Water vapour
Carbon dioxide

Question 7

1) Around a billion years after it formed, the earth began to c___. This allowed water vapour to c_______ into liquid water and form the o_____.
2) When the oceans formed, carbon dioxide d________ in the water, and c___________ were precipitated, producing s________.
3) Steps 1 & 2 dramatically reduced the amounts of water vapour and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Answer 7

cool
condense
oceans
dissolved
carbonates
sediments

Question 8

Starting 2.7 billion years ago, which process started to increase the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, and further decreased the amount of carbon dioxide?

Answer 8

Photosynthesis by plants and algae

Question 9

Complete the word equation for photosynthesis:
carbon dioxide + ______ ➔ oxygen + _______

Answer 9

carbon dioxide + water ➔ oxygen + glucose

Question 10

As photosynthetic organisms such as plants and algae died, the carbon they contained became trapped in ____________ rocks, and _______ fuels.

Answer 10

sedimentary
fossil

Question 11

The ___________ is a layer of gases surrounding the Earth that is held in place by gravity.

Answer 11

atmosphere

Question 12

Which three of the following are greenhouse gases (GHGs)?

Answer 12

Water vapour
Carbon dioxide
Methane

Question 13

Greenhouse effect (5 steps)

Answer 13

1) Solar radiation from the sun passes through the atmosphere and hits the earth.
2) Some of this energy is reflected straight back towards space, and some of it is absorbed by the earth and then re-emitted towards space.
3) Some of the energy makes it all the way to space, but much of it is absorbed by small molecules called greenhouse gases.
4) These molecules then re-emit the energy and the whole process of absorption and emission happens over and over again.
5) This trapped energy keeps the atmosphere warmer and more stable than it otherwise would be.

Question 14

True or false? Until now, the Earth’s atmosphere has always been the same temperature.

Answer 14

False
The Earth’s temperature has fluctuated. What’s concerning is that this time, the changes are happening very quickly, and are being caused by human activity.

Question 15

How are global warming and climate change different?

Answer 15

-> Global warming refers to the overall increase in the Earth’s temperature
-> Climate change is a consequence of global warming and refers to the effects on the climate, such as large-scale shifts in weather patterns

Question 16

One effect of global warming is the m______ of ice caps. This will increase the volume of water in the ocean and could lead to seasonal f_______, or the submersion of entire islands. This is made worse by the fact that water e______ when it is heated, so it will also increase in volume.

Answer 16

melting
flooding
expands

Question 17

What’s the difference between the climate and the weather?

Answer 17

-> Weather refers to short term atmospheric conditions, like whether it’s raining or sunny on a particular day
-> Climate describes the typical weather conditions in an entire region for a very long time

Question 18

Which is an impact of climate change?

Answer 18

Species in affected areas may become extinct

Question 19

The c_____ footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product, s_______, or event.

Answer 19

carbon
service

Question 20

When calculating carbon footprints, would a mobile phone be considered a product, service, or event?

Answer 20

Product

Question 21

When calculating carbon footprints, would a plane flight be considered a product, service, or event?

Answer 21

service

Question 22

Give three factors you would you need to take into account when calculating the carbon footprint of a car.

Answer 22

How all the raw materials were sourced
The manufacturing process
The total amount of fuel it will use over its lifetime
How it’s disposed of

Question 23

Give three general ways we could reduce the carbon footprint of a product.

Answer 23

Create it using fewer, or more sustainable, raw materials
Use a more efficient manufacturing process (e.g. less energy or less waste)
Use renewable energy resources (e.g. wind, solar, or nuclear)
Recycle it, rather than disposing of it in landfill

Question 24

____________ can help reduce carbon footprints by introducing new laws and regulations, or taxing companies based on the quantity of __________ gases they emit.

Answer 24

Governments
greenhouse

Question 25

Why is it hard to use more renewable energy resources, rather than fossil fuels?

Answer 25

Many of our existing products (e.g. cars) require fossil fuels
Renewable energy is generally more expensive

Question 26

Carbon _______ technology allows us to trap carbon and store it deep underground. A downside is that it is very expensive.

Answer 26

capture

Question 27

Complete the equation for the complete combustion of a hydrocarbon.

Hydrocarbon + _______ ➔ carbon _______ + _______

Answer 27

oxygen
dioxide
water

Question 28

Incomplete combustion can lead to the formation of small particles of carbon, which are called ‘particulates’, or ‘soot’.

Which two of the following describe the adverse effects of these particulates?

Answer 28

Cause respiratory problems as the particles damage our lungs
Forms clouds of smog which reflect light back to space

Question 29

Which two products are formed by the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons?

Answer 29

Carbon monoxide
Particulates

Question 30

Describe why (2 points) carbon monoxide is harmful for humans.

Answer 30

-> When we breathe in carbon monoxide it diffuses into our bloodstream, and binds to our haemoglobin
-> This reduces the amount of oxygen that haemoglobin can carry
-> So less oxygen is transported to the tissues, which can cause symptoms such as fainting, coma and death

Question 31

When burning fossil fuels, how is sulfur dioxide formed?

Answer 31

Sulfur is an impurity in some fossil fuels and is oxidised when they’re combusted

Question 32

When burning fossil fuels in an engine, how are nitrogen oxides formed?

Answer 32

Nitrogen from the air is oxidised at the high temperature inside the engine

Question 33

Give 2 gases which can form acid rain:

Answer 33

Nitrogen oxides
Sulfur dioxide

Question 34

Can you give 2 adverse effects of acid rain?

Answer 34

It damages certain buildings and statues
It makes the soil more acidic, which harms plants

Question 35

Other than acid rain, what problem is caused by sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen?

Answer 35

Respiratory problems in humans