-
Quizzes //
The carbon cycle
Try this 15-question A level quiz to see how much you know about the carbon cycle, its stores and sinks, as well as the place of the lithosphere, atmosphere and cryosphere in the system.
If you haven't already done them, work through the ‘Carbon cycle’ and ‘Peatlands and the carbon cycle’ units to find out more. Or look at them again to help fill in any gaps in your knowledge about the carbon cycle!
HIGH SCORES
| Rank | Name | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | K.B | 30 |
| 2nd | ABR | 30 |
| 3rd | ABR | 30 |
| 4th | meh | 30 |
| 5th | sus | 30 |
| 6th | YXQ | 30 |
| 7th | Kar | 30 |
| 8th | BUM | 30 |
| 9th | col | 30 |
| 10th | GJR | 30 |
QUIZZES // The carbon cycle
Q1. Which one of these processes takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
Transpiration
Respiration
Evaporation
Q2. Which one of these processes releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?
Fossilisation
Photosynthesis
Excretion
Combustion
Q3. Which one of the following is the largest store (or sink) of carbon?
The biosphere
The atmosphere
The lithosphere
The hydrosphere
Q4. Which one of these carbon stores is the soil store?
The lithosphere
The cryosphere
The biosphere
The pedosphere
Q5. Carbon is often measured in GtC – a gigatonne of carbon dioxide. How much is a gigatonne?
One thousand tonnes
One hundred thousand tonnes
One million tonnes
One billion tonnes
Q6. Which one of these terrestrial ecosystems' soil stores the most carbon?
Boreal moist
Boreal dry
Tropical moist
Tropical dry
Q7. Annual fluctuations in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 naturally occur because of which one of the following?
Plants respire all the time but photosynthesis stops when it gets dark
Volcanic activity increases in winter
Northern hemisphere plants lose their leaves in winter, reducing photosynthesis
Human activities produce more CO2 in winter
Q8. What percentage of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide?
0.04%
0.9%
20.9%
78%
Q9. In the slow carbon cycle (long-term carbon cycle) how long does it take for carbon to move between the rock, soil, ocean and atmosphere?
Between 1 and 2 million years
Between 10 and 20 million years
Between 100 and 200 million years
Between 1 billion and 2 billion years
Q10. What is the term given to describe natural CO2 outgassing events, such as occurred in Lake Nyos, Cameroon, in 1986?
Hydrothermal eruption
Phreatomagmatic eruption
Limnic eruption
Plinian eruption
Q11. What do negative emission schemes aim to do?
Create a new carbon sink / amplify the actions of an old carbon sink
Reduce carbon emissions from human activities through economic incentives
Reduce carbon emissions from human activities through changes in legislation
Provide geoengineering solutions to global warming, e.g. spraying sunlight-reflecting aerosols into the lower atmosphere
Q12. Peatlands are an important global store of carbon – globally, they account for about 650 GtC. Where are most of the world’s peatlands located?
Sub-Saharan Africa
Amazon River Basin
Indonesia
Northern Europe, Russia, Canada and Alaska
Q13. What does the term ‘global carbon budget’ refer to?
The total amount of carbon in all global carbon stores
The amount of carbon in the atmosphere
How much carbon is emitted compared to how much is absorbed
The measurement of the transfer of carbon between the land and the oceans
Q14. Which one of the following terms would be crucial to use in explaining why peatlands accumulate carbon?
Biomass
Anaerobic conditions
Carbon source
Carbon density
Q15. Which of the following processes takes the most carbon out of the atmosphere?
Plant respiration
Plant photosynthesis
Ocean uptake
Litter fall
Finished!
You scored this time. The more correct answers you give, and the fewer incorrect answers you guess, the better your score.
