Year 8 - Science
Greenhouse gases and global warming
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils learn about greenhouse gas emissions from transport and industry, and the use of renewable energy resources and changes to transport infrastructure that could reduce emissions.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe greenhouse gases and the effects of adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Key Notes
- Increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is leading to global warming and climate change
- Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, released by living organisms and produced when burning fuels
- Methane is a greenhouse gas, released by living organisms and from the ground
- Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can reduce the rate of global warming and may even help to reverse it
Vocabulary To Learn
- greenhouse effect: the effect of some gases in the atmosphere that keep Earth's surface warmer than it would be without them
- greenhouse gases: gases in the atmosphere that keep it warmer than it would be without them
- global warming: the increase in Earth's average surface temperature
- carbon dioxide: a compound made of carbon and oxygen (CO₂) that is a gas at room temperature
- methane: a compound made of carbon and hydrogen (CH₄) that is a gas at room temperature
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The greenhouse effect is the same as global warming.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is leading to global warming and climate change. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, released by living organisms and produced when burning fuels.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'greenhouse effect'
the effect of some gases in the atmosphere that keep Earth's surface warmer than it would be without them. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: The greenhouse effect is the same as global warming. Correction: Discuss the natural greenhouse effect and how it enables life on Earth to flourish. Emphasise that global warming refers to an increasing temperature, rather than to a temperature that is warmer.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Science guide library.