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What Is The Difference Between Water Vapour And Carbon Dioxide As Greenhouse Gases? — Reading Comprehension

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This educational passage, audio integrated for diverse learners, explores the crucial differences between water vapour and carbon dioxide as greenhouse gases. It clarifies how each contributes to the Earth's natural warming effect and explains why understanding these differences is important for studying climate change. Aligned with NGSS MS-ESS3-5, students will gain insight into the factors causing the rise in global temperatures over the past century, making connections between atmospheric composition and the planet's heat balance. Key terms like 'greenhouse effect' and 'infrared radiation' are defined simply to enhance comprehension.

CONTENT PREVIEW

Earth surrounded by greenhouse gases trapping heat, with human activities releasing CO2. — Greenhouse gases trap heat around Earth; CO2 from human activity thickens the warming blanket.

Have you ever wondered why our planet Earth stays warm enough for us to live on? It's thanks to something called the greenhouse effect! Just like a greenhouse for plants, certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun. These are called greenhouse gases. Think of them as a cozy blanket around our planet.

So, what's the difference between CO2 and greenhouse gases? Well, CO2, or carbon dioxide, is one very important type of greenhouse gas. It's like saying a dog is a type of animal – all dogs are animals, but not all animals are dogs. Similarly, all carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, but not all greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide.

Other important greenhouse gases include methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor. Each of these gases plays a role in trapping heat. However, carbon dioxide is often discussed the most when we talk about global warming and climate change because human activities release a lot of it.

Since the Industrial Revolution, about 250 years ago, humans have been burning a lot of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas to power factories, cars, and homes. When these fuels burn, they release large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. This extra CO2, along with other greenhouse gases from various human activities like farming and deforestation, makes the atmosphere's 'blanket' thicker, trapping more heat.

This increase in trapped heat causes Earth's average temperature to rise, which is what we call global warming. This warming then leads to climate change, bringing more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other significant impacts around the world. Understanding the difference and connection between CO2 and greenhouse gases is key to understanding why our planet's climate is changing.

Interesting Fact: Without any greenhouse gases, Earth's average temperature would be around -18°C (0°F), making it too cold for most life!

What is the main role of greenhouse gases?

Cooling the EarthTrapping sun's heatCreating windMaking rain

Which of these is a greenhouse gas?

OxygenNitrogenCarbon DioxideHydrogen

CO2 is a type of greenhouse gas. (True/False)

TrueFalse

Which word means the entire layer of gases surrounding Earth?

HydrosphereLithosphereAtmosphereBiosphere

How do human activities mainly increase CO2?

Planting treesBurning fossil fuelsUsing solar powerRecycling waste

What does a 'thicker blanket' of gases cause?