Chapter 10, Problem 5VSC

Use the following questions to check your understanding of some of the many types of visual information used in astronomy. For additional practice, try the Chapter 10 Visual Quiz at Mastering Astronomy.

The graph above, a portion of Figure 10.39, shows the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide for the past 800,000 years. Use the information in the graph to answer the following questions.

5. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the graph of global average temperatures and the graph of CO₂ levels? (Focus on the period since about 1960.)

a. The warmest year correlate exactly with the years of greatest CO₂ abundance, indicating that CO₂ is the single most important factor controlling global temperature changes.

b. The warmest years correlate roughly with the years of greatest CO₂ abundance, indicating that CO₂ is important but other factors also contribute to global temperature changes.

c. The warmest years are not correlated with year of high CO₂ abundance, indicating that factors of the than CO₂ have the most important effect on global temperature changes.