| A | B |
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| Gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet light have _____ wavelengths of energy than visible light and ____ energies. | shorter, higher,  |
| Radiowaves, microwaves, and infrared have _____ wavelengths of energy than visible light and ____ energies. | longer, lower |
| When energy of a certain wavelength strikes a substance (like the gases in our atmosphere, a leaf on a tree, or the glass in our windows) it can do one of three things. It can be ____, _____, or ______. | absorbed, transmitted, reflected |
| Energy that strikes an object and bounces back is said to be ______. | reflected |
| Energy that strikes an object and passes right through the object (like visible light going through glass) is said to be ______. | transmitted |
| Energy that strikes an object and causes the object to gain energy (by causing its electrons to move further from the nucleus) is said to be ______. | absorbed |
| The higher energy wavelengths of energy that reach the earth are absorbed by the ground (and water), causing the Earth to heat up. The Earth tries to cool down by radiating energy back into space, usually in the form of longer wavelength ________ rays that can be blocked from escaping by greenhouse gases. | infrared,  |
| The Earth must ____ or ____ about the same amount of energy coming in from the sun back out into space, or else the Earth will gain more and more energy, causing it to heat up. | radiate, reflect, |
| Greenhouse gases are gases that transmit energy coming from the ____ but absorb energy coming from the ____. | sun, ground |
| The greenhouse effect is what keeps our planet _______________. | warm enough for life to exist |
| _________ refers to the increase in average temperature of the Earth's biosphere. | Global warming |
| Name at least 2 different types of evidence that global warming is happening. | Temperature records, shrinking ice caps and glaciers, rising sea levels |
| The extra energy in the atmosphere due to the warming of Earth's climate may be leading to stronger ______. | storms |
| Besides temperature, what else has been rising due to global warming? | sea levels (due to melting ice caps and glaciers) |
| The extremely high rate of ______ of many species around the world may in part be due to global climate change. | extinction |
| Which gas gets the majority of the blame for global warming? | carbon dioxide (Even though water vapor is in higher concentrations on average than CO2, and produces most of the greenhouse effect humans have not been directly adding any additional water vapor to the air. Methane is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but is in a much lower concentration in the air than CO2) |
| Which gas is the second leading culprit for causing global warming, and is an even stronger greenhouse gas than the one that gets most of the blame for global warming? | Methane (Methane is even more efficient at trapping heat than CO2, but there's much less of it, so it doesn't get as much of the blame) |
| There is a lot of ____ trapped in arctic permafrost. As global temperatures rise, more and more permafrost melts, releasing this greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. The system just described is an example of a _____ feedback system. | methane, positive (It's an example of a positive feedback because it accelerates global warming. The warming causes permafrost to melt, releasing more methane, which traps more heat, which causes more permafrost melting, which releases more methane, which traps more heat, etc....) |
| Global climate change may be causing some areas of the world to be getting too dry to grow crops. This is a phenomenon known as _____. | desertification (which literally means, "the process of becoming desert-like") |
| Which animal receives a lot of blame for increases in atmospheric methane levels? | Cows (They release a lot of methane when they release gas from their posterior area, just below their tails. This release of gas is politely known as flatulence.) |
| The main cause of the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the ______. | burning of fossil fuels |
| A growing tree can help lower the amount of _______ in the atmosphere because it is a gas that is required (along with water), for photosynthesis to occur. Photosynthesis converts the carbon atoms in this gas into the organic molecules that make up the growing tree. | carbon dioxide |
| Which human activity is the second leading cause of the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere? | Deforestation (Cutting down forests prevents trees from doing photosynthesis, leading to less CO2 being taken out of the atmosphere. Often times, the forests are burned to clear them quickly so the land can be farmed. Burning the trees releases the carbon stored in the trees directly back into the atmosphere as CO2) |
| If global warming caused the average amount of cloud cover on this planet to increase, that would be an example of a _____ feedback because clouds are good at reflecting energy from the sun back out into space, and would help slow down global warming. | negative (A negative feedback happens when anything that is caused by the increase in something works to slow down the increase in that original cause) |
| ____ feedbacks cause a trend to slow down or reverse themselves. | Negative |
| ____ feedbacks cause a trend to speed up. | Positive (An example of a positive feedback with global warming is melting of snow and ice. Global warming causes there to be less snow and ice covering the planet. With less snow and ice to reflect the suns energy back out into space, the earth warms up more and causes even more snow and ice to melt. Both trends are sped up) |
| ____ feedbacks work to achieve homeostasis in a system. | Negative (because they help to bring a system back to a normal level. For example, sweating is an example of a negative feedback because it is caused by being overheated, but then it helps the body cool down and get back to its normal temperature) |
| The amount of carbon dioxide that you are responsible for putting into the air by directly burning fossil fuels for things like heating and transportation is known as your ______. | primary carbon footprint |
| The amount of carbon dioxide that you are responsible for putting into the air by buying products (that require CO2 emitting energy in order to be built in factories) is known as your ______. | secondary carbon footprint |
| Which type of fossil fuel is used to generate most of the electricity in the United States? | Natural gas |
| Which type of fossil fuel is used to generate most of the electricity in the World? | Coal |
| Which type of fossil fuel provides for most of the World's energy needs? | Oil |
| A controversial method of drilling for natural gas that involves injecting toxic chemicals thousands of feet underground at high pressures to break up shale rock and release methane gas. | fracking |
| Which country would the Keystone XL pipeline have connected to oil refineries in the United States? | Canada |
| Which fossil fuel is the least polluting in terms of the amount of CO2 produced when it is burned to supply a certain amount of energy? | Natural Gas |
| TRUE or FALSE: Natural gas does not produce greenhouse gases when it is burned. | False |
| When the price of something, like gasoline, goes down, people use ____ of it. | more |
