Global Warming Flashcards
What are greenhouses?
Greenhouses are glass houses in usually cold places which are used for growing plants and vegetation. They trap heat from the sun.
How does a greenhouse work?
When the short waves enter the glass house, light energy is converted to heat energy or thermal energy, and this heat gets trapped inside the house as it cannot escape easily. As a result of that, temperature within the glass house increases.
What are the important greenhouse gases?
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide as well as water vapour, ozone, and Carbon Monoxide are some important greenhouse gases.
What are the sources of Greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases can come from many different sources.
They can come naturally through volcanoes, respiration as well as decomposing of plants, swamps and animals that belch out methane.
However they are also caused due to human activity. Burning of fossil fuels as well as deforestation releases more greenhouse gases which leads to global warming.
What are fossil fuels and how do they lead to global warming?
Fossil fuels are coal, petroleum and natural gas. When we combust fossil fuels, more carbon dioxide is released in the air. Combustion of fossil fuels occurs in vehicles and industries.
How does deforestation lead to global warming?
Before, human beings used breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide and plants and trees would breathe in Carbon Dioxide and release oxygen, so there was a balance, However, due to deforestation, there is less vegetation to take in the carbon dioxide, which leads to excess carbon dioxide.
How does the Earth act as a greenhouse?
When the sun sends out energy as sunlight, the Earth gets heated. The Earth gives out some of the thermal energy again as heat, warming the air. Some of this heat escapes to the outer atmosphere but most get absorbed by the molecules of greenhouse gases. This heats the air even more and average temperature rises.
Greenhouse gases are good, without them, Earth’s average temperature would be -18 degrees Celsius
How does the greenhouse effect lead to global warming?
Due to the releasing of more and more greenhouse gases through human and natural activity, more thermal energy is getting trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, increases the global average temperature. This causes global warming.
