Questions and Answers
What is the greenhouse effect?
A natural process that warms the Earth's surface
Which of the following are greenhouse gases?
Carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor
What role do greenhouse gases play in the atmosphere?
Trapping heat within the atmosphere
How do human activities contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect?
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What is the primary cause of global warming and climate change according to the text?
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How do greenhouse gases affect the Earth's temperature?
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What does burning fossil fuels contribute to in terms of climate change?
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Why is deforestation mentioned as a cause of climate change?
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What term describes long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns in a region?
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How do greenhouse gases impact global warming?
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Study Notes
Global Warming
Global warming is a significant increase in the Earth's average temperature levels due to human activities that have led to greenhouse gas emissions, altering the climate system.
Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth's surface. When the Sun's energy reaches the Earth's atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases. These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, and ozone. They act like a blanket around the earth, trapping heat within the atmosphere to maintain an average temperature suitable for life.
However, human activities have significantly increased the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere, leading to enhanced greenhouse effects. This is where the term "greenhouse gas" comes from - the increased presence of these gases in the atmosphere acts like a greenhouse glass window, trapping more heat than necessary, causing the planet's temperature to rise.
Climate Change
Climate change refers to long-term changes in temperatures and typical weather patterns in a place. Changes in climate happen naturally, but some of them are caused by human activity, like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrialization. These activities release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change.
Climate change causes many effects, including rising sea levels; changing precipitation patterns; increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, and floods; and changes in ecosystems and wildlife populations. It also affects agriculture, forestry, water resources, energy production, air quality, transportation, and coastal areas, among other sectors and systems.
In conclusion, global warming is a consequence of an enhanced greenhouse effect, primarily driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This leads to climate change, with far-reaching impacts on our planet's health and human societies.
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