Question: Background: Greenhouse Effect: The solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth is concentrated in short wavelengths, which can easily penetrate the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. The Earth, however, is cooler than the sun and it radiates its heat in the form of energy in the far infrared range. These longer wavelengths are partially absorbed by the greenhouse gases and some of the solar heat is returned to Earth. At a certain temperature these processes are in equilibrium and the surface temperature of the Earth is stable. However, if more greenhouse gases are put in the atmosphere the amount of trapped terrestrial radiation increases, leading to an increase in global temperature. Paragraph: John was interested in climate change issues. To that end, he studied two imaginary situations, case A and case B. In case A, there would not be excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. On the contrary, in case B, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would increase dramatically. John realized that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has many practical implications. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Would the surface temperature of the Earth be lower or higher in case B than in case A?
Answer: higher

Question: Background: Ocean acidification occurs when excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes the oceans to become acidic. Burning fossil fuels has led to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide is then absorbed by the oceans, which lowers the pH of the water. Ocean acidification can kill corals and shellfish. It may also cause marine organisms to reproduce less, which could harm other organisms in the food chain. As a result, there also may be fewer marine organisms for humans to consume. Paragraph: Two islands were situated in different oceans. Hill island used fossil fuels and released a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while Coral island was very protective towards the air and the ocean. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Which island contributed less to the death of corals?
Answer: Coral

Question: Background: Biodiversity is determined by many things, and one of them is abiotic stress. If an environment is highly stressful, biodiversity tends to be low. If abiotic stress does not have a strong presence in an area, the biodiversity will be much higher.This idea leads into the understanding of how abiotic stress and endangered species are related. It has been observed through a variety of environments that as the level of abiotic stress increases, the number of species decreases. This means that species are more likely to become population threatened, endangered, and even extinct, when and where abiotic stress is especially harsh. Paragraph: Two neighboring regions were exposed to different levels of abiotic stress. Eastern region was exposed to high levels of abiotic stress, while Western region was almost stress-free. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Which region had more animal species inhabiting it?
Answer:
Western