Lesson 5.9.1.2

5.9.1.2 The Earth's early atmosphere Quiz: AQA Combined Science, Unit 16

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 5.9.1.2, The Earth's early atmosphere: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Combined Science (8464), Unit 16: Chemistry of the atmosphere, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. The Earth is about how old?

    • 4.6 million years
    • 460 million years
    • 46 billion years
    • 4.6 billion years

  2. What was the main gas in the Earth's early atmosphere?

    • Carbon dioxide
    • Nitrogen
    • Methane
    • Oxygen

  3. What feature of the Earth was formed when water vapour in the early atmosphere condensed?

    • The ozone layer
    • The ice caps
    • The atmosphere
    • The oceans

  4. Nitrogen in the early atmosphere came mainly from:

    • Meteorites
    • Volcanoes
    • Photosynthesis
    • Evaporation of oceans

  5. How did carbon dioxide levels decrease after the oceans formed?

    • Escaped into space
    • Destroyed by sunlight
    • Dissolved in oceans
    • Converted to oxygen

  6. Which planets' atmospheres are said to resemble the early Earth's?

    • Mercury and Neptune
    • Uranus and Pluto
    • Mars and Venus
    • Jupiter and Saturn

  7. Why is scientific evidence regarding the Earth's early atmosphere very limited?

    • Long time scale
    • Too much water
    • Simple technology
    • Lack of rocks

  8. What marked the first billion years of the Earth's existence?

    • Global ice ages
    • Intense volcanic activity
    • Solar flare storms
    • Widespread tectonic stability

  9. Which gases were in small proportions in the early atmosphere?

    • Argon only
    • Methane and ammonia
    • Ozone and helium
    • Chlorine and bromine

  10. Water vapour released by volcanoes contributed to:

    • Forming gold
    • Forming the continents
    • Forming the oceans
    • Creating nitrogen

  11. What does evaluating scientific theories about the atmosphere involve?

    • Accepting initial guesses
    • Ignoring old data
    • Weighing available evidence
    • Proving absolute certainty

  12. What caused carbon dioxide to be removed into ocean sediments?

    • Plant photosynthesis
    • Carbonates precipitating
    • Volcanic absorption
    • Atmospheric freezing

  13. Why is reliable scientific evidence for the Earth's early atmosphere limited?

    • Stable ocean levels
    • Vast time scale
    • Modern atmospheric data
    • Recent volcanic activity

  14. Which gas built up gradually in the early atmosphere from volcanic release?

    • Oxygen
    • Chlorine
    • Nitrogen
    • Helium

  15. What was the main oxygen level in the Earth's early atmosphere?

    • Constantly fluctuating
    • Little or none
    • High concentration
    • Equal to nitrogen

  16. What modern planets have atmospheres similar to the early Earth?

    • Mars and Venus
    • Jupiter and Saturn
    • Mercury and Mars
    • Neptune and Uranus

  17. What dissolved in the oceans to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide?

    • Ammonia gas
    • Methane vapour
    • Carbon dioxide
    • Nitrogen gas

  18. Which gas was produced by volcanoes to gradually build up?

    • Hydrogen
    • Oxygen
    • Argon
    • Nitrogen

  19. What condensed to form the oceans during the Earth's formation?

    • Methane liquid
    • Water vapour
    • Liquid ammonia
    • Carbon dioxide

  20. What minor gases were likely present in small proportions initially?

    • Methane and ammonia
    • Oxygen and ozone
    • Helium and neon
    • Argon and radon

All AQA Combined Science quizzes