Name

2024
Earth and Environmental Science
Task 3 Research: Climate Science
General Instructions
Answer all questions in the space provided on this paper using your prepared
research notes. When you are finished attach your notes to this paper. This is
a take home research task.
Section A:

Multiple Choice questions analysing and interpreting data – Q1-Q10 (10M)

Section B:

Short answer response – Climate Variation Q11-Q16 (20M)

Section C:
Extended response – Natural resources Q17-Q18 (16M)

Section D:

Modelling the Greenhouse Effect and working scientifically skills - Q19-Q20 (12M)

Notes : 4xA4 prepared notes (7M)

Section A: Multiple Choice. Circle the best response. 10M

1. A model for some of the energy entering and leaving Earth’s atmosphere
in 2013 is shown. All components of the balanced energy budget are NOT
shown.
Which set of energy values would result in a reduction in global warming
by 2050?

2. The table below shows some radioisotopes and their relative half-lives.
Which rock could be used to date something from the Cambrian Period?

(A) Carbon-14

(B) Iodine-129

(C) Uranium – 235

(D) Rubidium - 87

3. To gather evidence for climate variation, a dendrochronologist studies

(A) istope ratio’s in corals

(B) gas bubbles in ice cores

(C) the annual growth in tree rings

(D) species depicted in Aboriginal art sites

4. Which of the following is a cyclic event influencing the Earth’s climate?

(A) Eruption of a specific volcano
(B) Changes to the Earth’s albedo
(C) Bolide impacts
(D) Number of sunspots
5. Which atmospheric gas is both the most abundant and most powerful
greenhouse gas?
(A) Water vapour
(B) Carbon dioxide
(C) Methane
(D) Chlorofluorocarbon’s (CFC’s)
6.

(A) Seasonal changes in the rate of photosynthesis

(B) Data taken at intervals rather than continuously
(C) Monthly changes in the combustion of fuel for heating
(D) Random volcanic eruptions occurring throughout the northern hemisphere

7. Identify the type of evidence that allows us to measure temperature the

furthest back in time.
(A) Tree rings
(B) Aboriginal rock art
(C) Oxygen isotope ratio’s
(D) Thermometers

8. Ocean acidification is mostly cause by:

(A) Pollution from major cities
(B) Increased amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide
(C) Decreased amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide
(D) Acid released by undersea volcanic eruptions

9. The graph shows the amount of CO2 in megatonnes (Mt) emitted by

different sources in 1990 and 2000 for a developing country. Over the same
period, the population increased by 15%.

Based on the information provided, what are the most likely reasons for the
differences in the amount of CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2000?
(A) Increased use of power in homes and the introduction of waste reduction
and recycling
(B) Development of more efficient power stations and a change to
hydroelectricity generation
(C) Increase in CO2 emissions from power stations due to an increase in industry
(D) Increase in agricultural production and extensive use of public transport
10. The diagram shows two chemical reactions that occur in the
stratosphere.

What is the combined effect of these two reactions in the stratosphere?

(A) An increase in oxygen molecules and a decrease in ozone
(B) An increase in ozone and a decrease in oxygen molecules
(C) An increase in chlorine atoms and a decrease in oxygen atoms
(D) No change in the relative amounts of ozone and oxygen molecules
Section B: Short answer 20M
11. Identify factors which can lead to natural climate change. (2M)
There are many natural causes for climate change. These causes include
greenhouse gasses, solar activity, volcanic activity, and the change of the earth
rotation and orbit. All of these things lead to the natural change of climates
around the world, although, along with unnatural climate change, it is affecting
the earth in bad ways.

12. Explain how ice cores are able to provide evidence of recent climate
change and pollen grains are able to provide evidence of past climates.
(4M)
Ice cores are able to provide evidence of climate change through the presence of
different trapped gasses held inside the frozen ice. Pollen grains are able to
provide evidence of past climates through the changing colors of the pollen
itself.

13. Scientist use tree rings to map out history of climate for the past 11,000
years.

(a) Estimate the age of the tree in this tree core sample. (1M)
This tree is an estimated 25 years old.
(b) Explain how scientists are able to identify climatic conditions based on
tree rings. (2M)
If someone was to look at a tree’s rings, you can see two starkly different colors
within each time period seen. These two colors represent the wet and dry
seasons that the tree lived through each year. The lighter brown color represents
the dry period, and the dark brown color represents the wet period of each year.

(c) What inferences can be drawn about changes in climate throughout the
life of this tree? (2M)
By looking at this tree, one can view the different climates that were present in
each year. This can be seen by the gradient of the two colors during each year. It
can also be seen in the differentiation in the sizes of each ring of the tree.

14. Using a specific example explain how Aboriginal art can provide
evidence of changing climates in Australia. (3M)
Aboriginal art is a great way to see how different cultures perceive climate
change. Not only does the traditional aboriginal art showcase their cultures
perception on climate change, but it can also show the physical changes felt in
the areas surrounding where the art is located. If the art was located on a rock
face, we can view the conditions the artists lived in by dating the art itself.

15. Describe the type of data provided by corals about variations in climate.
(3M)
Coral and coral bleaching provides substantial amounts of data on climate
change. Not only is climate change felt in temperature, but the effects of such
change can be seen visually at places like the Great Barrier Reef, where large
amounts of coral bleaching have occurred, and still is happening now. By
viewing the videos and photographical evidence on what coral reefs looked like
10 years ago compared to now, it is obvious that climate change has a large
effect on ecosystems on land and in the ocean.

16. Mircrofossils found in ocean sediments are able to provide much more
precise climate data than fossils. Identify a group of microscopic
organisms, whose fossilized remains can be found in ocean sediments and
explain how they are able to provide evidence of ancient climate change.
(3M)
A group of microscopic organisms that can be found in ocean sediments are
marine meiofauna. Because the meiofauna are so small and sensitive to
changing conditions, it is quite easy to view how evidence of climate change
can be produced back in time.

Section C: Extended responses 16M

17. Discuss the extraction, management and use of a natural non-renewable
Australian resource you have researched this semester. (8M) 1 page
Coal is a non-renewable form of fossil fuel that is used to create electricity. It is
the world largest source of energy for electricity. Fossil fuels are the leftover
remnants of organisms from ancient times. There are two ways humans
excavate coal. These methods are called surface mining and underground
mining. Surface mining is used when the coal is sitting less than 150-200 feet
below ground. Large machineries are used to remove the top layers of soil, rock
and other unusable materials in order to reach the coal. Underground mining is
used when the coal is sitting lower than 150-200 feet below ground. Coal waste
is often disposed of into landfills, mine and quarry fills, and surface
impoundments. Most coal fired power stations dispose of their waste on site,
often in the form of surface impoundments. Coal companies who use landfill as
their disposal sites are often located away from the locations. Waste
management is often influenced and changed by the characteristics of the waste
itself, including chemical composition, mineral components, and combustion
techniques. Not only is coal used for the production of energy, it is also used in
cement production, medicines, tar, home and commercial heating, ect. Coal
produces 80% of Australia’s electricity requirements each year.
18. Evaluate the past, present and future use of this resource and whether
it can be extracted and or used sustainably. (8M)

Coal in the past was a large resource that was believed to be a sustainable
resource. It has been used for heating for millions of years. There is evidence
that the Romans used in in 100-200 AD. Coal mining goes back thousands of
years. Early mines were documented in ancient China, the Roman Empire, etc.
In present times, coal mining is a large industry. A lot of power stations use coal
combustion to power them and the areas they are supplying energy to. It is the
largest form of electricity in the world. In the future, coal will become a very
scarcely found resource. The prices for coal will rise substantially, due to the
lack of the material.

Section D: Modelling and working scientifically skills 12M

19. A simple model used to describe the Earth’s greenhouse effect is that of
a glass greenhouse. Describe how this model explains the causes of the
natural greenhouse effect and identify limitations of this model in
understanding Earth’s greenhouse effect? (6M)
A glass greenhouse showcases the natural greenhouse effect well. Like how
gasses get stuck in the Earth’s atmosphere, the sun’s heat gets trapped inside of
the glass greenhouse. Due to this, the greenhouse will stay warm while the
outside temperature is cold. The gasses, for example carbon dioxide, hold and
trap heat that is extremely close to how a greenhouse will trap the sun’s heat
inside its glass walls. A glass greenhouse will showcase the workings of
greenhouse gasses in a simplified way, making it easier to understand and
interpret.

20. You have utilised a range of scientific skills this semester to model the
Greenhouse effect. Discuss the working scientifically skills you engaged to
determine the difference between anthropogenic greenhouse v’s natural
greenhouse effects. (6M)

Anthropogenic greenhouse effects are a result of human actions. These may

include the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and livestock farming. Skills
needed to compare and determine the differences between anthropogenic and
natural greenhouse effects are creative thinking, problem solving, the ability to
identify and explain, monitor local and global climate, etc. Analyzing data is a
large component in comparing the differences between the two greenhouse
effects. The Anthropogenic greenhouse effect is a result of human error, that of
which adds to the greenhouse gasses, and therefore the natural greenhouse
effect.