5.2 Radiation and the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Success Criteria:

• I am able to explain the enhanced greenhouse effect, including how human activities contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, leading to global warming and climate change.

• I am able to discuss the potential impacts of climate change on ecosystems, weather patterns, sea levels, and human societies, both globally and regionally.

Fun Fact

Did you know that the discovery of the enhanced greenhouse effect traces back to the 19th century? In 1824, a French mathematician and physicist named Joseph Fourier was the first to propose the idea that the Earth's atmosphere acts like a blanket, trapping heat from the Sun and keeping the planet warm. He theorized that without this natural greenhouse effect, Earth would be much colder and possibly uninhabitable.

Learning Tasks

• 5.2 Key knowledge questions p.144

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