Understanding the climatic greenhouse effect

In this introductory activity, students will discover the physical mechanisms behind our climate and its warming.

Duration: 90 minutes

Level : Middle and high school

How to use: Click on the Preview button to see the activity. Click on the three dots to copy the activity to your Graasp space and share a Player link with your students.

Learning objectives

By the end of the activity, students will be able to :

1. Distinguish between weather and climate
2. Recognize that any type of radiation can be described as an electric wave
3. Identify the IR, VIS and UV domains of the electromagnetic spectrum
4. Recognize that the Earth's surface emits "thermal" radiation through the agitation of charges in matter
5. Distinguish greenhouse gas (GHG) molecules from other gases on the basis of the number of atoms
6. Recognize that GHG molecules only absorb IR radiation through vibration
7. Explain the re-emission of radiation by GHG molecules
8. Recognize that the natural greenhouse effect is necessary to maintain a viable temperature at the Earth's surface
9. Explain that increasing GHG concentrations lead to an intensification of the greenhouse effect