Climate Change Study Materials

Climate Change Name Alli Directions: Read the text passage in each section, then answer the questions that follow. Greenhouse Gases Earth's atmosphere, the envelope of gases around Earth, is made of different gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen. Other atmospheric gases, like carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, are called greenhouse gases. Greenhouses gases are larger molecules that can absorb infrared radiation. When greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation, they vibrate, causing the air around them to warm, much like your body gains heat when you shiver. These molecules then release infrared radiation, which causes more molecules to vibrate, ultimately warming the atmosphere. The more greenhouse gases there are, the warmer the atmosphere can get. This process is known as the greenhouse effect because. like the glass in a greenhouse, greenhouse gases trap heat instead of letting it escape into space. 1. What are greenhouse gases? They are largess molecules that can absorb immersed radiation. 2. Why is "greenhouse" a part of the title "greenhouse gases"? Because, like the glass in a house, greenhouse gases trap heat instead of lelling it greenhouse, escape into space. 3. Complete the following chart: Cause Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation. Effect #1 They vibrate Effect #2 Warms the atmosphere 4. Explain how an increase in greenhouse gases leads to a warmer atmosphere. They Vibrate causing the air to warm like Linen your body gains hea from when you shiver Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that naturally enters the atmosphere through animal respiration and other Earth processes. Before human activity, it was balanced in the carbon cycle, a series of processes that cycle carbon in and out of the atmosphere through living and non-living things. However, today extra C*O_{2} enters the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (for example oil and coal) for electricity and transportation. Fossil fuels were formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals and are found deep in Earth's crust. Before humans burned fossil fuels at high rates, the carbon contained in fossil fuels would have stayed underground. Burning them increases in the C*O_{2} atmosphere and causes an increase in the greenhouse effect. Scientists have evidence to support this because Earth's average temperature has been increasing right along with the increasing C*O_{2} levels. 5. Why is there extra C*O_{2} in the atmosphere in our modern era? By barning fossil fuels for electricity & transportion 6. Complete the blank sections of the following chart: Cause The eaths average tempo C*O_{2} levels. Effect An increase in the greenhouse effect leads to warming temperatures. Evidence Because the Earth's average temp has lacer increasing right aler with the increasing (D) 2 levels 7. Complete the Claims-Evidence-Reasoning chart to answer the following question: Could burning fossil fuels lead to the warming of Earth's atmosphere? My Claim Burning fossil fuels... leads to Extra 102 in the atmo -sphere My Evidence Electricity & transporter -tion. My Reasoning Burning them increases the earth's Co2 in the atmosphere & inere cure in the greenhouse effect 8. Name one way that humans could decrease the amount of C*O_{2} entering the atmosphere. Burn fossil fuels less, Less transportation, Ocean Release of Carbon Dioxide Oceans absorb up to half of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, acting as a carbon sink a part of the environment that stores carbon. The upper layer of the ocean absorbs C*O_{2} The cooler the water temperature, the more C*O_{2} the water can hold. So, as Earth's warming occurs, solubility (the amount C*O_{2} that water can hold) decreases, so some of the that was stored in the ocean is released into C*O_{2} the air. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, then accumulates in the atmosphere and increases the greenhouse effect. The warmer Earth's atmosphere becomes, the less that the ocean can hold. The less it holds, the more it releases into the atmosphere, and the warming trend continues. C*O_{2} 9. Complete the blanks in the following flow chart: As oceans warm, they hold C*O_{2} carbon dioxide. C*O_{2} is released into the and the greenhouse effect increases. Because of further warming, the ocean can store even less C*O_{2} Even more C*O_{2} is released, so temperatures Warm Deforestation Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, leading to an increase in the greenhouse effect. Trees help to balance this by removing C*O_{2} from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. However, the number of trees on Earth is decreasing every year due to deforestation. Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something else, such as agricultural and new homes. In fact, forests have shrunk by 502,000 square miles an area bigger than South Africa - in the past 25 years. Decreasing numbers of trees have contributed to higher C*O_{z} levels in the atmosphere. 10. What is deforestation? removal of trees to make room for something else. 11. Complete the blank sections of the following chart: Cause Effect on Earth's Atmosphere Deforestation Decreasing numbers of trees have contributed to higher levels in the atmosphere 12. Complete the Claims-Evidence-Reasoning chart to respond to the following statement: Predict what will happen to Earth's atmosphere if deforestation continues in large amounts. My Claim My Evidence My Reasoning If deforestation continues...