Year 5 - Geography
Carbon footprints
Sustainable world: does it matter how we live?
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit introduces sustainability by exploring how human choices affect the environment. Pupils learn about energy use, food waste, biodiversity and urban living, and consider how individuals and communities can work towards a more sustainable future.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain what a carbon footprint is and identify changes likely to make a positive difference.
Key Notes
- A carbon footprint is a measure of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of our activities.
- By adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect.
- Human activity is a major cause of rapid climate change; the main cause is burning fossil fuels.
- Calculating our carbon footprint helps us to measure our impact on the planet and plan our daily activities accordingly.
Vocabulary To Learn
- climate change: Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet's climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.
- greenhouse gas: Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat.
- global warming: Global warming is the increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time.
- fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are natural substances that were formed over millions of years from the buried remains of ancient organisms; they include coal, oil and gas.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Children may have heard about the ozone layer and think this is the main cause of climate change.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.
A carbon footprint is a measure of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of our activities. By adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect.
2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'climate change'
Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet's climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.
3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.
Mistake: Children may have heard about the ozone layer and think this is the main cause of climate change. Correction: Whilst ozone depletion and climate change are linked, it is not a major cause of climate change.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 5 Geography guide library.