Year 8 - Science
Impact of climate change on sea levels
Climate change and greenhouse gases
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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 explain how global warming can cause sea levels to rise.
Key Notes
- Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere keep it warmer than it would be without them.
- Heating from the Sun controls the average temperature of Earth.
- Increased temperatures melt ice sheets more quickly, moving more water into the sea, making sea levels rise.
- More sea ice melts in summer, but this does not add water to the sea or raise sea levels.
- Warmer oceans and seas expand, causing sea levels to rise.
Vocabulary To Learn
- global warming: the increase in Earth's average surface temperature
- sea level: the average level of the surface of the sea
- ice sheets: thick layers of permanent ice found on land
- glacier: a large mass of ice, moving very slowly downhill because of the gravitational force acting on it
- sea ice: floating ice, formed of frozen sea water
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Melting icebergs and sea ice cause sea levels to rise.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere keep it warmer than it would be without them. Heating from the Sun controls the average temperature of Earth.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'global warming'
the increase in Earth's average surface temperature. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Melting icebergs and sea ice cause sea levels to rise. Correction: A detailed explanation of the anomalous properties of ice is not appropirate for most pupils at this stage. Instead, draw attention to water taking up exactly the same space as the part of a floating iceberg that is underwater.
More Lessons In This Unit
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