How the greenhouse effect works, how human activity adds greenhouse gases, reading the data, carbon footprints, and the pollutants made when fuels burn.
What you will learn
- Explain the greenhouse effect
- Name human activities that add carbon dioxide and methane
- Read a gas concentration graph and calculate a percentage change
- Match each combustion pollutant to its source and effect
The greenhouse effect
- Short wavelength radiation from the Sun (mostly visible light) passes through the atmosphere and warms the surface.
- The warm surface gives off longer wavelength infrared radiation.
- Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour) absorb infrared and re-emit it in all directions, some back towards the surface. Nitrogen, oxygen and argon do not.
The greenhouse effect itself keeps the Earth warm enough for life. The problem is adding more greenhouse gases, which warms it further.
The rest of this lesson and its 11 practice questions are locked.
In this lesson
- The greenhouse effect
- Human activity, evidence and carbon footprint
- Pollutants from burning fuels
- Try it: Read the curve
11 practice questions, marked as you go; about 25 minutes in all.
Key terms
Longer wavelength infrared, Greenhouse gases, Carbon footprint
In this unit: The Earth's atmosphere
The air now and how it formed, greenhouse gases and climate change, carbon footprints and the pollutants from burning fuels. Its later lessons on water, life cycles, materials and the Haber process stay here too; Using resources teaches them in full.