Lesson Y9-U03-L08

The Evidence for Climate Change Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 15

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U03-L08, The Evidence for Climate Change: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 15: Year 9: Weather, Climate and a Changing Atmosphere, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What term describes indirect evidence of past climate, such as ice cores?

    • Proxy data
    • Weather forecast
    • Satellite reading
    • Direct measurement

  2. Which natural archive preserves tiny air bubbles containing ancient atmospheric gases?

    • Volcanic ash
    • Ocean sand
    • Ice cores
    • Granite rocks

  3. What do wider tree rings generally indicate about a particular year's climate?

    • Cold and dry
    • Frozen solid
    • Dark and windy
    • Warm and wet

  4. Why must scientists use proxy data instead of relying solely on thermometers?

    • Thermometers are recent
    • Proxies are more colourful
    • Ice sheets are magnetic
    • Thermometers only measure wind

  5. Roughly how far back do Antarctic ice cores reach for carbon dioxide history?

    • About 8 million years.
    • About 800 years.
    • About 80 years.
    • About 800,000 years.

  6. Which satellite observation provides direct evidence of global climate change?

    • Shrinking ice sheets
    • Ocean salinity drops
    • Increasing cloud cover
    • Expanding desert dunes

  7. Why do scientists trust climate data more when multiple independent sources agree?

    • Eliminates cost
    • Increases speed
    • Reduces bias
    • Proves certainty

  8. What key factor does the provenance of a source evaluate?

    • Reliability and origin
    • Word count
    • Paper quality
    • Font size

  9. What does the process of peer review involve?

    • Automated spellchecking
    • Public voting
    • Government censorship
    • Expert checking

  10. Which historical written records help scientists reconstruct past weather patterns before thermometers existed?

    • Ship logs
    • Phone bills
    • Novel drafts
    • Tax receipts

  11. What does an anomaly represent on a climate data graph?

    • The average value
    • An unusual data point
    • The axis scale
    • A broken instrument

  12. A graph shows temperature rising by 0.6 degrees over 30 years. What is the rate of change per decade?

    • 1.8 degrees per decade.
    • 0.2 degrees per decade.
    • 0.02 degrees per decade.
    • 0.6 degrees per decade.

  13. Carbon dioxide rose from 317 to 421 parts per million. What is the increase?

    • 104 ppm.
    • 421 ppm.
    • 738 ppm.
    • 94 ppm.

  14. From 1980 (0.3 degrees) to 2020 (1.1 degrees), how much did the temperature change, and over how long?

    • 0.8 degrees over 20 years.
    • 0.3 degrees over 40 years.
    • 1.4 degrees over 40 years.
    • 0.8 degrees over 40 years.

  15. From 1990 (0.4 degrees) to 2010 (0.9 degrees), what is the rate of warming per decade?

    • 0.5 degrees per decade.
    • 0.25 degrees per decade.
    • 2.0 degrees per decade.
    • 0.1 degrees per decade.

  16. Which source type is generally considered most reliable in climate science?

    • Peer-reviewed reports
    • Company advertisements
    • Social media posts
    • Opinion blog articles

  17. Which aspect of source provenance is most compromised by commercial advertising?

    • Author
    • Motive
    • Date
    • Location

  18. What overall trend do global carbon dioxide records show from 1900 to 2023?

    • Steep upward rise
    • Complete stability
    • Steady downward trend
    • Random fluctuation

  19. How should a single unusually cold winter be interpreted regarding global warming?

    • An anomaly
    • Definitive proof
    • Seasonal shift
    • System failure

  20. How is high confidence achieved in climate change predictions?

    • A single computer model
    • Political agreement
    • Multiple independent sources
    • Unquestioned assumptions

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