Lesson 3.1.1

3.1.1 How and why has climate changed in the geological past? Quiz: OCR Geography, Unit 5

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.1.1, How and why has climate changed in the geological past?: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Geography (H481), Unit 5: Climate Change, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which climate reconstruction method uses annual growth rings in trees to study past climates?

    • Palynology
    • Radiometric dating
    • Dendrochronology
    • Ice core analysis

  2. What do ice cores trap that allows scientists to analyse past atmospheric gas concentrations?

    • Dust particles
    • Pollen grains
    • Volcanic ash
    • Air bubbles

  3. Which microfossils found in marine sediment cores provide evidence of past ocean temperatures?

    • Ammonites
    • Trilobites
    • Foraminifera
    • Stromatolites

  4. What is the name of the current geological interglacial epoch that began roughly 11,700 years ago?

    • Holocene
    • Pliocene
    • Pleistocene
    • Eemian

  5. Which geological period is characterised by repeated cycles of glacial and interglacial stages?

    • Quaternary
    • Neogene
    • Cretaceous
    • Palaeogene

  6. Around how many million years ago did the major glaciation of Antarctica begin?

    • 2.6 million
    • 100 million
    • 35 million
    • 10 million

  7. Over what timeframe has Earth transitioned from warm greenhouse to cooler icehouse conditions?

    • 10,000 years
    • 10 million years
    • 100 million years
    • 1 million years

  8. Which Milankovitch cycle describes changes in the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun?

    • Obliquity
    • Eccentricity
    • Axial tilt
    • Precession

  9. What is the approximate timescale of the Milankovitch cycle for Earth's obliquity or axial tilt?

    • 21,000 years
    • 11 years
    • 100,000 years
    • 41,000 years

  10. Which term describes the gradual wobble of Earth's rotational axis over a 21,000-year cycle?

    • Obliquity shift
    • Axial precession
    • Solar irradiance
    • Orbital eccentricity

  11. What short-term solar cycle causes minor variations in solar energy output roughly every 11 years?

    • Croll cycle
    • Schwabe cycle
    • Milankovitch cycle
    • Suess cycle

  12. Which pollutant emitted during explosive volcanic eruptions causes short-term global cooling by blocking sunlight?

    • Carbon dioxide
    • Sulphur dioxide
    • Water vapour
    • Methane gas

  13. How does continental drift affect global climate over millions of years?

    • Causes orbital precession
    • Changes axial tilt
    • Alters ocean currents
    • Increases sunspot activity

  14. Which natural greenhouse gas plays the primary long-term role in regulating Earth's thermostat?

    • Ozone
    • Nitrous oxide
    • Carbon dioxide
    • Methane

  15. Which fossilised micro-structures in lake sediments allow scientists to identify past vegetation and climate?

    • Diatoms
    • Tree rings
    • Pollen grains
    • Ice crystals

  16. What term describes periods in Earth's history without permanent ice sheets at either pole?

    • Icehouse Earth
    • Snowball Earth
    • Interglacial Earth
    • Greenhouse Earth

  17. How does expanding ice cover accelerate global cooling during a glacial onset?

    • Increases surface albedo
    • Increases surface absorption
    • Decreases solar reflection
    • Traps atmospheric methane

  18. What was the warm interglacial period immediately preceding our current Holocene epoch called?

    • Younger Dryas
    • Little Ice Age
    • Eemian
    • Bølling-Allerød

  19. What prolonged period of extremely low sunspot activity coincided with the Little Ice Age?

    • Maunder Minimum
    • Sporer Minimum
    • Dalton Minimum
    • Oort Minimum

  20. Which natural greenhouse gas released from thawing permafrost provides positive feedback during warming?

    • Sulphur dioxide
    • Argon
    • Methane
    • Nitrogen dioxide

All OCR Geography quizzes