Evidence for global warming
I can describe some evidence that global warming is caused by human activity
- Year 8
Evidence for global warming
I can describe some evidence that global warming is caused by human activity
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Global surface temperatures are calculated from tens of thousands of measurements worldwide
- Temperatures are compared with the long-term average for each region
- Since the industrial revolution, in the 1850s, overall global surface temperatures have been increasing
- Evidence from trees rings and ice cores provides data of longer-term changes in temperature
- Scientists can explain how increased levels of greenhouse gases contribute to global warming
Keywords
Global warming - an increase in Earth’s average surface temperature
Global surface temperature - the average temperature of all the places on Earth’s surface
Tree rings - a pattern of rings on the cross-section of tree trunk showing the yearly growth of the tree
Ice core - a long cylinder of ice drilled out of an ice sheet or glacier
Greenhouse gases - gases in the atmosphere that keep it warmer than it would be without them
Common misconception
Reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases will lower the global surface temperature.
Discuss the effect of adding greenhouse gases more slowly to what is already in the atmosphere. Task B is helpful for consolidating a better understanding of this.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is global warming?
Q2.What human activities produce lots of carbon dioxide emissions?
Q3.What has happened to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution in the 1850s?
Q4.Match each word or phrase with its definition.
Q5.Which of these is not caused by climate change?
Q6.Which of these an example of climate change?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How often to automatic weather stations record the temperature?
Q2.What is global surface temperature?
Q3.Which of these can be used to work out temperatures in the years before measurements were taken?
Q4.What can be used to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere thousands of years ago?
Q5.What would reducing carbon dioxide emissions do to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Q6.A model of a bath filling with water can represent the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Match each part of the model with what it represents.
