Carbon Dioxide

Question 1

what are greenhouse gases and how does human activity affect them?

Answer 1

• carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas
• the temperature of the earth is a balance between the heat it gets fro the sun and the heat it radiates back out into space
• gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour naturally act as an insulating layer - they are often called greenhouse gases
• they absorb most of the heat that would normally be radiated out into space, and re-radiate it in all directions, including back towards the earth
• human activity affects the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• it is because of human activity that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing - carbon dioxide has been released into the air faster than it is being removed and this is linked to climate change

Question 2

how does deforestation contribute to the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Answer 2

fewer trees means less carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis

Question 3

how does burning fossil fuels contribute to the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Answer 3

carbon that was trapped in these fuels are being released as carbon dioxide

Question 4

how does the increase in carbon dioxide emissions link to climate change?

Answer 4

• there is a correlation between increasing levels of carbon dioxide and the gradual heating up of the Earth’s atmosphere (global warming)
• although the Earth’s temperature varies naturally, there is a scientific consensus that the extra carbon dioxide has caused the average temperature of the Earth to increase
• global warming is a type of climate change and causes other types of climate change, such as changing rainfall patterns, severe flooding due to polar ice caps melting and sea level rise