What Happens When We Add More Greenhouse Gases?

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Scientists have monitored the amount of gases in the atmosphere and global temperatures for many years.

This interactive uses the relationship between some gases in the atmosphere and temperature to model and test how temperature might be influenced by changing amounts of these gases. Explore the interactive and notice the relationship between the amounts of these gases and the temperature. 

1. Copy the handout or get one from your teacher.

2. Use the interactive to complete Investigation 2 on the handout.

   1. Test what happens when you adjust the levels of CO2, CH4, and H2O.

   2. Test CO2 and temperature, looking for a pattern.

3. Be prepared to share your results and discuss the following questions:

   1. What did you observe when you adjusted the 3 in each scenarios?

   2. When you investigated CO2 and temperature, what pattern did you observe?

   3. How does the amount of gases affect the temperature and the amount of energy from infrared radiation staying in the atmosphere?

   4. Brainstorm: Why do we think the gases do this to infrared radiation?

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Credits

Climate Education Pathways.

See the About the Data and Representations section in the interactive for more details.