BBE Final Exam 2001 UPDATED Actual
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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"? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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
_______________. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 28
Per the briefing paper, which of the fossil fuels contributes the LEAST to US carbon dioxide
emissions? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- true
About how much of the sun's energy is reflected directly back into space? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1-2 watts/m2
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the Earth overall?
(NOTE: Squiggly dash "~" means " about or approximately.) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
71%
What is the average global temperature? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 15 degrees c
What are the two primary ways that humans impact the earth's energy balance (select two)? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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 ____________ . - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
higher humidity
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 48%
Match the gas emission with its global warming potential.
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Carbon dioxide - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. 265
2. 28
3. 1
Absorption of energy by carbon dioxide is only a theory and cannot really be tested. True or
False? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- false
, In the video, David talked about the 3 types of scientific observational data used to help
assess climate change. What are they? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Temperature,
precipitation, global and local patterns
What process is used to refine petroleum so that products can be collected for various uses? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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?
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
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. -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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"? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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
_______________. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 28
Per the briefing paper, which of the fossil fuels contributes the LEAST to US carbon dioxide
emissions? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- true
About how much of the sun's energy is reflected directly back into space? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1-2 watts/m2
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the Earth overall?
(NOTE: Squiggly dash "~" means " about or approximately.) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
71%
What is the average global temperature? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 15 degrees c
What are the two primary ways that humans impact the earth's energy balance (select two)? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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 ____________ . - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
higher humidity
How much of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 48%
Match the gas emission with its global warming potential.
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Carbon dioxide - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. 265
2. 28
3. 1
Absorption of energy by carbon dioxide is only a theory and cannot really be tested. True or
False? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- false
, In the video, David talked about the 3 types of scientific observational data used to help
assess climate change. What are they? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Temperature,
precipitation, global and local patterns
What process is used to refine petroleum so that products can be collected for various uses? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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. - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 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?
