What are greenhouse gases?

• gases that cause climate change
• gases that emit green smoke
• gases that are used to make green colored glass

Visible light reaches Earth’s surface while infrared light is trapped as heat. Which characteristic of Earth’s atmosphere causes this to happen?

• the hole in the ozone
• the greenhouse effect
• atmospheric pressure
• the inversion layer

The average temperature of the surface of Earth has increased approximately 1°C in the past century. Which reason best explains this increase in temperature?

• lower levels of ozone in the atmosphere
• lower levels of nitrogen in the atmosphere
• higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere

Which of the following is the best conclusion that can be made from this graph?

• atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been decreasing since 1960
• Hawaii has a lot of carbon dioxide
• humans have been working hard to decrease carbon dioxide levels
• atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased steadily since 1960

Which of the following gases DOES NOT trap heat?

• carbon dioxide
• nitrogen
• water vapor
• methane

Compared to other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is very effective in trapping heat near the surface of the Earth.

• true
• false

Which of the following have been linked to climate change?  

• droughts
• flooding
• melting of polar ice caps
• all of the above

Which is a primary energy source used by power plants to generate electricity?

• coal
• wood
• gasoline
• batteries

Changes in temperature are expected to be greatest

• near the equator
• near the poles
• between the equator and the North Pole
• between the equator and the South Pole

The main human activity that releases greenhouse gases is

• using bottled water
• burning fossil fuels
• texting on cellphones
• eating meat