InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Drivers of Sea Level Change on Geologic Time Scales > Extrinsic Controls and Sea Level > Learning Check Point
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Initial Publication Date: December 7, 2016

Learning Check Point

Extrinsic Controls

Please take a few moments to think about what you just learned, then answer the following questions to test your knowledge.

Question 1 - Multiple Choice

Of the roles that greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) have in Earth's climate system, which is not accurate?

a. help trap and hold thermal (long-wavelength) energy in the atmosphere.
b. allow for penetration of light (short-wavelength) energy through the atmosphere.
c. help prevent the earth from cooling substantially each night
d. are produced by chemical weathering of rocks so when more rocks are weathered, the climate system warms up.

Question 2 - Multiple Choice

Milankovitch cycles include the ___________ cycle which has average durations of up to 120 ky, the time it takes for the Earth's orbit to change from a more rounded orbit to a more oval-shaped orbit, and the __________ cycle which has average durations of around 20 ky, and the ______ cycle which has a duration of around 40 ky which is driven by changes in the tilt angle of the earth, relative to the sun.

a. obliquity, eccentricity, precession
b. eccentricity, obliquity, precession
c. eccentricity, precession, obliquity
d. obliquity, precession, eccentricity

Question 3 - Multiple Choice

Besides changes in the shape and orientation of the earth and its orbital perturbations, which of the following is an extrinsic variable that needs to be considered in the Earth's climate system and as a control of sea-level change?

a. rates of mantle upwelling and sea floor spreading
b. solar output and sun spot cycles
c. burning of fossil fuels
d. lunar reflectivity


These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »