AP® Environmental Science Content Quiz Question Bank – Unit 7 – Atmospheric Pollution

95+ Questions and answer key covering every section of Unit 7

Sample Questions

7.3 Thermal Inversion

Content Quiz

Directions: Choose the BEST answer choice for each question.

1. What is a thermal inversion?
   1. A change in the normal temperature gradient in the atmosphere.
   2. A layer of warm air between two cold layers.
   3. A process that cools the air as you go higher in the atmosphere.
   4. A phenomenon that occurs only in coastal areas.
2. How does a thermal inversion affect air pollution?
   1. It traps air pollution close to the ground.
   2. It causes air pollutants to rise higher in the atmosphere.
   3. It increases the dispersion (spreading) of air pollutants.
   4. It reduces the concentration of smog and particulates.
3. How would you describe the normal troposphere in terms of air temperature and altitude?
   1. Warming temperatures as you go higher in the atmosphere.
   2. Cooling temperatures near the surface of the Earth.
   3. Consistently warm temperatures throughout the troposphere.
   4. Gradually decreasing temperatures from the surface to higher altitudes.
4. What causes thermal inversions in coastal areas?
   1. Rising temperatures near the surface of the Earth
   2. Cool breezes blowing onto land from the coast
   3. High altitude mountains casting a shadow on the coast
   4. Warm air descending from higher altitudes
5. How do thermal inversions form in valleys?
   1. Cool air from the valley floor rises to higher altitudes gets trapped by clouds.
   2. The sun’s heat is trapped in the valley, warming the air near the surface.
   3. High mountains shade the valley floor in the late afternoon making the surface slightly cooler than the layer above it.
   4. Warm air from the valley floor rises and mixes with cooler air above causing both layers to become the same temperature.
6. What prevents air masses from mixing during a thermal inversion?
   1. Different wind patterns at different altitudes.
   2. The presence of pollutants in the air.
   3. Differences in temperature causing different densities.
   4. Strong atmospheric pressure in the inversion layer.
7. During a thermal inversion, the air temperature at the Earth’s surface is:
   1. Warmer than the air at higher altitudes.
   2. Cooler than the air at higher altitudes.
   3. The same as the air at higher altitudes.
   4. Unaffected by the temperature at higher altitudes.
8. What type of air pollution is particularly trapped close to the ground during a thermal inversion?
   1. Carbon dioxide
   2. Carbon monoxide
   3. Volatile organic compounds
   4. Photochemical Smog and particulates
9. In the normal troposphere, how does the air temperature change as you go higher in the atmosphere?
   1. It remains constant
   2. It becomes colder
   3. It becomes warmer
   4. It fluctuates randomly
10. How do coastal breezes contribute to the formation of a thermal inversion?
    1. By warming the air near the surface of the Earth
    2. By causing the air at higher altitudes to become cooler
    3. By creating a layer of cool air near the surface of the Earth
    4. By mixing different air masses together

Description

The purpose of these content quizzes is as a homework or notes check. Students often copy reading guides or do not pay attention to video notes but will pay more attention when they have a quiz.



I use these questions by assigning about 10 pages/1-2 sections/1 module of reading along with supplemental videos on Edpuzzle or AP® Daily as homework. Students take a content quiz during the first few minutes of class. My quizzes are open note/open book but timed at 30 seconds per question as I do not expect students to memorize information the first time they read or hear it so they can reference notes/books as needed, but the timer prevents kids from “winging it” and not reading or doing notes.



I typically cover several topics in a quiz so I will take the best questions from each topic and combine them into a 12-15 question quiz, but you can use them as-is below. Some topics have 10-15 questions while others are shorter. There is a total of 130+ questions for this unit.



These are DOK1 and DOK2 questions created to check for reading completion, content mastery, and formative assessment. Use AP® Classroom questions for higher level questions to train students how to use the content in skill questions. AP® Classroom does not provide enough questions per topic for basic content quizzes which is why I created this product.



You are welcome to edit for your own classes, but do NOT upload to the internet or as a document or PDF on an LMS (learning management system) as students often download documents and answer keys and upload to cheating sites such as Course Hero.



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