BBE Final Exam 2001 Actual Questions and Answers with
complete solutions
In the video we saw that the carbon cycle is balanced with some sinks and some
sources of carbon. The two primary sources of anthropogenic carbon are fossil
fuel combustion and land use changes. Indicate which are the three main carbon
sinks for this anthropogenic carbon.
The three primary sinks of carbon are oceans, land and vegetation, and the
atmosphere.
Interesting also that CEMENT application is the third biggest source of CO2e.
True or False? Clearing forests to plant agricultural crops results in an increase
in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
True
Early in the video lecture, Dr. Matsumoto talked about seasonal fluctuations in
CO2 (This is very easy to see when you look at atmospheric concentrations of
CO2 graphs.) What are these seasonal fluctuations due to?
Photosynthesis and respiration or decomposition
Dr. John Baker in the video talked about how work is ongoing on ways to improve
carbon sequestration as part of agricultural practices. What is meant by the term
"carbon sequestration"?
Capturing of atmospheric carbon by plants, soils, and oceans.
True or False. Due to fossil fuel burning, the carbon concentration in the
atmosphere has NOT been constant (and actually increasing) since around 1800,
about the time of the industrial revolution.
True
Algae and other plants play this role in the Carbon Cycle.
Describes how carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere,
geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth.
Describes the amount of carbon dioxide, or equivalent greenhouse gas, caused
by a person, organization, event or product.
Carbon created by human activity.
1. carbon sink
2. carbon cycle
3. carbon footprint
4. anthropogenic carbon
In the briefing paper there was a section titled "Whose carbon is it?" We broke
the emissions down in several ways - one of them being by sector (e.g. industrial,
residential, etc). This serves a purpose, but because of all of the overlap it is
really hard to break it down this way. Some think a better way to think about
"Whose carbon is it?" is to frame the issue as _______________.
Consumer demand
,In the briefing paper we learned about Carbon Dioxide Equivalents. The main
point about carbon dioxide equivalents is that gases trap different amounts of
energy per molecule of gas, and so we have normalized the data into something
called Carbon Dioxide Equivalents. It is also referred to as the Global Warming
Potential (GWP) of the gas.
For instance, a single molecule of methane will trap approximately ____ times the
amount of energy as a single molecule of carbon dioxide, which means it has a
CO2 equivalent of about _____.
Which number should go in the blanks?
28
Per the briefing paper, which of the fossil fuels contributes the LEAST to US
carbon dioxide emissions?
coal
The briefing paper also talks about how carbon cycling is broken down into fast
and slow carbon cycles. The fast carbon cycle refers to the cycling of carbon
through various life forms (e.g. plants and animals).
True or False: The fast carbon cycle results in seasonal changes in atmospheric
CO2 concentrations.
true
About how much of the sun's energy is reflected directly back into space?
29
Solar output is in an 11 year cycle. Solar energy getting to the earth's atmosphere
is about 1366 Watts/m2. This energy varies by about _________________
Watts/m2 depending on the phase of the solar cycle.
1-2 watts/m2
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the Earth overall?
(NOTE: Squiggly dash "~" means " about or approximately.)
71%
What is the average global temperature?
15 degrees c
What are the two primary ways that humans impact the earth's energy balance
(select two)?
1. Land use changes that impact average reflection/absorption
2. increased greenhouse gas emissions
In Minnesota, the frequency of heatwaves has increased over time. Heatwaves are
a function of the combination of both temperature and humidity (dew point).
Recent heatwaves (since 2000 or so) have been driven primarily by ____________
.
higher humidity
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land?
48%
, Match the gas emission with its global warming potential.
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Carbon dioxide
1. 265
2. 28
3. 1
Absorption of energy by carbon dioxide is only a theory and cannot really be
tested. True or False?
false
In the video, David talked about the 3 types of scientific observational data used
to help assess climate change. What are they?
Temperature, precipitation, global and local patterns
What process is used to refine petroleum so that products can be collected for
various uses?
Distillation
Water is used in the Extraction (E) and Production (P) of petroleum and is also
used in the production of ethanol and other biofuels.
According to the Argonne National Lab report mentioned in the Briefing, what is
the typical range of water use for gasoline extraction and production?
2.8 to 6.6 gallons of water per gallon of gasoline
Natural gas accounts for what percent of our total energy supply?
What % of transportation energy comes from petroleum?
What % of transportation energy comes from biofuel/renewables?
What % of petroleum is used for transportation?
How much petroleum is used in industry?
1. 29
2. 92
3. 5
4. 72
5. 23
According to the most recent EIA publication called "Where our oil comes from"
which are the three top producing oil states.
texas, ND, CALi
We always talk about petroleum as a transportation fuel, but petroleum also gets
used in industry. Based on Figure 3, what % of the petroleum is used in industry?
(Note about 13% of it is used to make products such as plastics and solvents.
The rest goes to processes in industry (heating, etc.))
20-25
complete solutions
In the video we saw that the carbon cycle is balanced with some sinks and some
sources of carbon. The two primary sources of anthropogenic carbon are fossil
fuel combustion and land use changes. Indicate which are the three main carbon
sinks for this anthropogenic carbon.
The three primary sinks of carbon are oceans, land and vegetation, and the
atmosphere.
Interesting also that CEMENT application is the third biggest source of CO2e.
True or False? Clearing forests to plant agricultural crops results in an increase
in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
True
Early in the video lecture, Dr. Matsumoto talked about seasonal fluctuations in
CO2 (This is very easy to see when you look at atmospheric concentrations of
CO2 graphs.) What are these seasonal fluctuations due to?
Photosynthesis and respiration or decomposition
Dr. John Baker in the video talked about how work is ongoing on ways to improve
carbon sequestration as part of agricultural practices. What is meant by the term
"carbon sequestration"?
Capturing of atmospheric carbon by plants, soils, and oceans.
True or False. Due to fossil fuel burning, the carbon concentration in the
atmosphere has NOT been constant (and actually increasing) since around 1800,
about the time of the industrial revolution.
True
Algae and other plants play this role in the Carbon Cycle.
Describes how carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere,
geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth.
Describes the amount of carbon dioxide, or equivalent greenhouse gas, caused
by a person, organization, event or product.
Carbon created by human activity.
1. carbon sink
2. carbon cycle
3. carbon footprint
4. anthropogenic carbon
In the briefing paper there was a section titled "Whose carbon is it?" We broke
the emissions down in several ways - one of them being by sector (e.g. industrial,
residential, etc). This serves a purpose, but because of all of the overlap it is
really hard to break it down this way. Some think a better way to think about
"Whose carbon is it?" is to frame the issue as _______________.
Consumer demand
,In the briefing paper we learned about Carbon Dioxide Equivalents. The main
point about carbon dioxide equivalents is that gases trap different amounts of
energy per molecule of gas, and so we have normalized the data into something
called Carbon Dioxide Equivalents. It is also referred to as the Global Warming
Potential (GWP) of the gas.
For instance, a single molecule of methane will trap approximately ____ times the
amount of energy as a single molecule of carbon dioxide, which means it has a
CO2 equivalent of about _____.
Which number should go in the blanks?
28
Per the briefing paper, which of the fossil fuels contributes the LEAST to US
carbon dioxide emissions?
coal
The briefing paper also talks about how carbon cycling is broken down into fast
and slow carbon cycles. The fast carbon cycle refers to the cycling of carbon
through various life forms (e.g. plants and animals).
True or False: The fast carbon cycle results in seasonal changes in atmospheric
CO2 concentrations.
true
About how much of the sun's energy is reflected directly back into space?
29
Solar output is in an 11 year cycle. Solar energy getting to the earth's atmosphere
is about 1366 Watts/m2. This energy varies by about _________________
Watts/m2 depending on the phase of the solar cycle.
1-2 watts/m2
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the Earth overall?
(NOTE: Squiggly dash "~" means " about or approximately.)
71%
What is the average global temperature?
15 degrees c
What are the two primary ways that humans impact the earth's energy balance
(select two)?
1. Land use changes that impact average reflection/absorption
2. increased greenhouse gas emissions
In Minnesota, the frequency of heatwaves has increased over time. Heatwaves are
a function of the combination of both temperature and humidity (dew point).
Recent heatwaves (since 2000 or so) have been driven primarily by ____________
.
higher humidity
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land?
48%
, Match the gas emission with its global warming potential.
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Carbon dioxide
1. 265
2. 28
3. 1
Absorption of energy by carbon dioxide is only a theory and cannot really be
tested. True or False?
false
In the video, David talked about the 3 types of scientific observational data used
to help assess climate change. What are they?
Temperature, precipitation, global and local patterns
What process is used to refine petroleum so that products can be collected for
various uses?
Distillation
Water is used in the Extraction (E) and Production (P) of petroleum and is also
used in the production of ethanol and other biofuels.
According to the Argonne National Lab report mentioned in the Briefing, what is
the typical range of water use for gasoline extraction and production?
2.8 to 6.6 gallons of water per gallon of gasoline
Natural gas accounts for what percent of our total energy supply?
What % of transportation energy comes from petroleum?
What % of transportation energy comes from biofuel/renewables?
What % of petroleum is used for transportation?
How much petroleum is used in industry?
1. 29
2. 92
3. 5
4. 72
5. 23
According to the most recent EIA publication called "Where our oil comes from"
which are the three top producing oil states.
texas, ND, CALi
We always talk about petroleum as a transportation fuel, but petroleum also gets
used in industry. Based on Figure 3, what % of the petroleum is used in industry?
(Note about 13% of it is used to make products such as plastics and solvents.
The rest goes to processes in industry (heating, etc.))
20-25
