Climate Change Study Guide KEY
DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE
Use this key to check your answers on your study guide.
1. Of the solar radiation that reaches the Earth, how much is deflected (by the
atmosphere)? 25%
How much is absorbed right away by the atmosphere? 20%
How much reaches the surface? 50%
2. What happens to the radiation that reaches the surface? It is absorbed, which
heats the surface. It is then radiated out as infrared energy (heat).
3. What is the main cause of the atmosphere heating up? The infrared energy that is
radiated out from the surface is absorbed and spread by the gases in the
atmosphere.
4. Which gasses are considered to be “greenhouse gasses”? Carbon dioxide,
methane, water vapor (These occur naturally.)
5. What is the main effect of the “Greenhouse Effect”? It keeps the earth at a good
(warm) temperature for living things
6. What is Earth’s average temperature? 59°
°°
°F or 15°
°°
°C
7. Our notes state that “growth patterns visible in tree rings tell scientists what the
temperature and precipitation were in a specific area”. How do they do that? (What does
a thin tree ring tell scientists? What do thick rings mean?) Trees grow one ring a year.
If it is a good year (wet, warm), the ring is thick. If it is a bad growing season (dry,
cold), the ring is thin. Scientists look at the pattern of thick/thin rings to see what
the climate was over time.
8. If scientists find fossils and different types of pollen in the ground, HOW does that
help scientists understand what climate had been in that area in the past?
They tell scientists what plants/animals used to live in an area. Because
plants/animals need certain conditions to survive, scientists can then infer what
the climate/conditions must have been like at the time.
9. What information do ice core samples tell scientists about climates in the past?
Ice core samples tell scientists about the temperature, precipitation, CO2 levels,
and whether there were volcanic eruptions or dust storms during a time period.
10. How far back do ice core samples go in time? ~300,000 years
11. How are tree core samples, soil samples that contain pollen, and ice core samples
similar? All three types of evidence have layers that help scientists understand
climate. Another similarity is that different samples can be pieced together to
create a larger sample set of data that goes farther back in time.
