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AQA Chemistry GCSE > Greenhouse gases climate change all that > Flashcards

Greenhouse gases climate change all that Flashcards

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1
Q

why are greenhouse gases important

A

they maintain the temperature of the Earth, and allows the Earth to be warm enough to support life

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2
Q

what are the 3 greenhouse gases

A
  • carbon dioxide
  • water vapour
  • methane
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3
Q

what do greenhouse gases do

A
  • they absorb heat radiated from the Earth
  • they then release energy in all directions, which keeps the Earth warm enough to support life
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4
Q

how does the greenhouse effect work

A
  • energy from the sun travels to the Earth as short wavelength radiation like UV or visible light
  • some of the short wavelength radiation simply reflects back into space but most of it passes easily through the atmosphere
  • The energy of the radiation is absorbed when it reaches the surface of the earth
  • the surface of the earth now radiates the energy as long wavelength radiation such as infared
  • the energy in the long wavelength radiation is absorbed
  • because the energy is trapped in the atmosphere, this causes the temperature of the atmosphere to increase
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5
Q

what forms of human activity increase the amount of CO2 in the air

A
  • deforestation
    land for grazing cattle
  • burning fossil fuels
    coal for electricity, petrol and diesel to power cars, gas to heat out homes
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6
Q

what forms of human activity increase the amount of methane

A
  • agriculture - growing rice in paddy fields, methanes also released when cows pass wind
  • landfills
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7
Q

what is evidence for climate change based on

A

peer review

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8
Q

why is it difficult to fully understand Earth’s climate

A

because it’s so complex, and there are so many variables, so its hard to make a model that isn’t oversimplified, and this leads to speculation

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9
Q

what is speculation

A

where stories may be biased or only some of the information is given

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10
Q

consequences if climate change

A
  • polar ice caps melting, causing a rise in sea levels, causing increased flooding in coastal areas and coastal erosion
  • changes in rainfall pattern may cause regions to have too much or too little water, may affect ability to produce food
  • frequency and severity of storms may increase
  • changes in temperature and water available in a habitat may affect wild species
  • increasing temperatures could change the distribution of animals such as insects and could change the distribution of insect bourse diseases such as malaria
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11
Q

why does most short wavelength radiation pass easily through the atmosphere

A

because short wavelength radiation does not interact strongly with the gas molecules in the atmosphere

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12
Q

what are fossil fuels used for (give examples)

A
  • coal for electricity
  • petrol and diesel to power cars
  • gas to heat homes
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13
Q

why does an increase in the amounts of greenhouse gases cause an increase in temperature

A

because more of the energy from the sun is being trapped

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14
Q

what is a carbon footprint

A

the carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product, service or event

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15
Q

how can we reduce our carbon dioxide emmisions

A
  • insulating our homes
  • turning down heating
  • use public transport as they release less co2 per passenger
  • ## use renewable electricity sources like solar power
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16
Q

what are the problems with reducing co2 emissions

A
  • most of the solutions are expensive, people are reluctant to pay
  • some are inconvenient, people would rather drive than take public transport
17
Q

how to reduce methane emissions

A
  • eat less beef and dairy products
  • trapping methane released by landfills and burning it to produce electricity
18
Q

problems with reducing methane emissions

A
  • people enjoy eating meat and dairy and are probably unlikely to change their diet
  • trapping and burning methane costs money
19
Q

why is burning methane for electricity a good idea

A

methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than co2

20
Q

what are fuels

A

things that release energy when they are combusted (burned)

21
Q

examples of fuels

A
  • coal
  • hydrocarbons
22
Q

what happens when we burn fuels

A

the carbon and hydrogen atoms react with oxygen in the air (they are oxidised)

23
Q

what is complete combustion

A

combustion that gives us co2 and water vapour as a product

24
Q

what happens during incomplete combustion

A

we make carbon monoxide rather than CO2, as there is not enough oxygen

25
Q

what is carbon monoxide

A

a toxic gas with no colour or smell

26
Q

what fuel contains sulfur

A

coal

27
Q

what happens when coal is burned

A

sulfur atoms are oxidised
- this produces sulfur dioxide

28
Q

consequences of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

A
  • can cause breathing problems in humans
  • they dissolve in rainwater to form acid rain, and these can damage trees and corrode buildings made from limestone
29
Q

what are particulates

A

particles of soot or unburned hydrocarbons

30
Q

what do particulates do

A
  • increase the risk of lung and heart disease
  • can reduce the amount of energy from the sun that reaches the earths surface
  • this is called global dimming
31
Q

what might global dimming affect

A

rainfall patterns

32
Q

why do most of the short wavelength radiation pass easily through the atmosphere

A

because short wavelength radiation does not interact strongly with the gas molecules in the atmosphere

33
Q

how is co2 taken in

A

by plants for photosynthesis

34
Q

why is peer review used

A

to allow scientists to detect false claims eg based on poor evidence or bias

35
Q

how are oxides of nitrogen produced

A
  • high temperatures in engines of cats cause nitrogen and oxygen from the air to react
  • this produces a range of different molecules so scientists call them all oxides of nitrogen

AQA Chemistry GCSE (27 decks)

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