Lesson Y8-U05-L03

Y8-U05-L03 How Do We Know? The Evidence for Recent Warming Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 11

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U05-L03, How Do We Know? The Evidence for Recent Warming: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 11: Year 8: Climate Change: Evidence and Choices, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a trend in data?

    • The average height of a glacier across the whole valley
    • A single value measured on one day at one weather station, which is then averaged with the others
    • The highest value ever recorded on a graph of the data
    • The general direction the data is moving over time, such as up or down

  2. What is an anomaly in climate data?

    • The highest mountain on a continent, measured in metres
    • A reading taken from a tree ring that shows past growth and the rainfall of that year
    • How far a value sits above or below the long-term average
    • A type of cloud seen only at night in the mountains

  3. What is an instrumental record?

    • Direct measurements from real instruments such as thermometers
    • Estimates made from tree rings and ice cores, which are indirect
    • Photos taken from aircraft only, over the sea and the coast
    • Memories told by older people about the weather of their youth

  4. What is a glacier?

    • A slow-moving mass of ice on land that can grow or shrink
    • A crater left by a volcano after an eruption and erosion
    • A type of cloud at high altitude that forms over the peaks
    • A fast-flowing river of warm water running through a valley

  5. On a line graph of climate data, which axis shows the year?

    • The key in the corner, showing the colours used
    • The side (vertical) axis showing the values
    • The title of the graph, written at the very top
    • The bottom (horizontal) axis

  6. Which instrument is most often used to record changes in air temperature over time?

    • Rain gauge
    • Thermometer
    • Anemometer
    • Barometer

  7. What is the main evidence scientists use to show that the global average temperature has risen since 1900?

    • Football scores from the 1900s
    • Records from weather stations
    • Photos of holiday beaches
    • Diary entries from one village

  8. What do scientists call the difference between a measured temperature and a long-term average?

    • Temperature range
    • Temperature anomaly
    • Temperature drift
    • Temperature peak

  9. Roughly how much has the world's average temperature risen since 1900?

    • About 0.2 Celsius
    • About 0.8 Celsius
    • About 1.2 Celsius
    • About 2.0 Celsius

  10. Which part of the Earth system has shown a large fall in summer sea ice since 1980?

    • The Arctic Ocean
    • The Pacific Ocean near Japan
    • The Himalayan foothills
    • The Sahara Desert

  11. Compared with 1980, how has the area of Arctic sea ice in summer changed by 2020?

    • It has decreased
    • It has increased greatly
    • It has doubled
    • It has stayed the same

  12. Which statement best describes the trend in Arctic summer sea ice since 1980?

    • Steadily shrinking over decades
    • Going up and down with no trend
    • Growing steadily each decade
    • Staying flat with no change

  13. Which of these is an independent source of evidence for recent warming?

    • Shrinking glaciers
    • The colour of a city's buildings
    • The result of a football match
    • A single hot summer day

  14. Why are sea levels rising as the climate warms?

    • The Sun removes sea water from the planet and sends it to space
    • Rain falls only over deserts, so the seas gain no extra water
    • Warmer water expands and melting ice adds water to the oceans
    • Warm water freezes and shrinks the sea, so levels fall each year

  15. A pupil says one hot summer proves the climate has changed. Why is this weak evidence?

    • A hot summer always proves climate change, so no evidence is needed from any other source or any other year
    • One hot summer is weather, while climate is the long-term trend over decades
    • Summers are never hot in the UK, so the pupil must be mistaken
    • Climate is only measured in a single summer at one weather station

  16. What is the main link between rising air temperature and sea ice in the Arctic?

    • Sea ice forms only in heatwaves
    • Heat has no effect on sea ice
    • Warmer air melts sea ice
    • Warm air thickens sea ice

  17. Global temperature anomaly rose from about plus 0.3 Celsius in 1980 to about plus 1.0 Celsius in 2020. What is the change?

    • A rise of about 0.7 Celsius
    • A rise of about 7 Celsius
    • No change at all across the forty years
    • A fall of about 0.7 Celsius

  18. Arctic sea ice fell from about 7.5 to about 4.0 million square km between 1980 and 2020. What is the closest percentage fall?

    • About 47%
    • About 20%
    • About 90%
    • About 5%

  19. Why is evidence from several independent sources stronger than evidence from one source?

    • One source is always wrong and should never be trusted anyway
    • Several sources repeat the same mistake, which makes the wrong answer look stronger to everyone
    • Several sources always cost less money than one good study
    • Independent sources agreeing are unlikely to be wrong in the same way

  20. Which is the best description of how we know the climate is warming now?

    • Old photos alone prove the climate changed in every region at once
    • Tree rings from 1900 show warming in every year since, in every place on Earth, and nobody has ever checked them
    • A single weather station shows one hot day, which proves the case
    • Thermometers, shrinking glaciers and rising seas all agree on warming, so the conclusion is strong

All KS3 Geography quizzes