MODULE 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer?

Table of Contents
MODULE 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer? ....................................................................................................................1
Module Overview ..........................................................................................................................................................2
Module 1 Vocabulary.....................................................................................................................................................4
Module 1 Vocabulary Flashcards ...................................................................................................................................8
Lesson 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer? ......................................................................................................................12
Lesson 2: Language Focus: Previewing Texts ...............................................................................................................14
Quiz 1: Previewing Texts ..............................................................................................................................................17
Lesson 3: Warming Experiment (Part 1) ......................................................................................................................19
Warming Experiment Chart .........................................................................................................................................22
Lesson 4: Warming Experiment (Part 2) ......................................................................................................................23
Optional Discussion: Warming Factors ........................................................................................................................25
Lesson 5: Global Warming vs. Climate Change ............................................................................................................26
Intermediate Reading Practice: Climate Change: How Do We Know? ........................................................................28
Advanced Reading Practice: Climate Change: How Do We Know? .............................................................................32
Lesson 6: Comparative Adjectives ...............................................................................................................................38
Quiz: Comparative Adjectives ......................................................................................................................................41
Module 1: Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead .....................................................................................................................42

© 2021 by FHI 360. “Module 1 Packet: Is the Earth Getting Warmer” for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government
and administered by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of “Unit 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer?”, by The
1
University of Pennsylvania licensed under the Creative Commons Share-Alike License. To view a copy of the
license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Module Overview

This work is a derivative of "Untitled" by Jan Tinneburg, "El Porvenir" by Valentin Betancur under Unsplash license, and "Untitled" by
Nattanan23 under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the Online Professional English Network,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by FHI 360.

This PDF does not include quiz questions. You must complete all quizzes online. You must pass each quiz with at
least 70% to move to Module 2.

OVERVIEW
Welcome to Module 1 of the English for STEM MOOC! For the last several years, scientists have been asking the
question “Is the Earth getting warmer?” In this module, you will investigate this question by observing a global
warming experiment. After looking at the data from the experiment, you will make an educated guess about why
the world is getting warmer and develop a definition for the term climate change. In addition, you will learn how to
preview texts and practice some of the language used to make comparisons when talking about global warming
and climate change.
Learning Objectives:
• Observe an experiment.
• Analyze the data of an experiment to draw conclusions.
• Preview texts
• Use comparative adjectives in writing.
• Develop a definition for the term climate change.
• Define and accurately use content-related vocabulary in course activities and games.
• Read, watch, and listen to a variety of texts and multimedia sources.
• Demonstrate your understanding of these texts and key course ideas through participation in discussion
boards.

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To-Do List

In order to successfully complete Module 1, please do the following:

1. Review: Module 1 videos, presentations, and articles. (1 - 2 hours)

2. Discuss: Optional: Join your colleagues in two group discussions on reading strategies
a. Warming Experiment Factors (30 minutes)
b. Defining Climate Change (30 minutes)
3. Check-In: Complete the following quizzes:
a. Language Focus: Previewing Texts* (20 minutes)
b. Reading Practice: Climate Change: How Do We Know? (30 minutes)
c. Language Focus: Comparative Adjectives* (20 minutes)
d. Module 1 Vocabulary Review* (20 minutes)
e. Module 1 Check (5 minutes)

*You must score at least 70% on all graded quizzes to receive your digital badge and certificate.

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Module 1 Vocabulary
Module 1 will feature the following key vocabulary words. They will be highlighted in bold. You can return to this
page to review as needed. These words may appear in quizzes throughout the course.

ATMOSPHERE (N)

"ISS063-E-065220 " by Expedition 63 Crew via NASA Earth Observatory is under Public Domain / US Government Works.

Definition: Atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding a planet.

Sample sentence: The Earth gets warmer when heat is trapped in the atmosphere.

A CAPTION (N)

"Caption" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY

Definition: A caption is the words below a picture that explain the picture
Sample Sentence: Pictures and their captions can help us make a guess at the main idea of a text.

CLIMATE (N)

"Untitled Image" by Heiko Stein via Pixabay is licensed under the Pixabay license.

Definition: Climate is the weather conditions in a region or area over a long time.
Sample Sentence: The climate in the Middle East is hot and dry.

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A CONTROL(N)

This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

Definition: In an experiment, a control is the thing that scientists do not change, so they can compare results.
Sample sentence: In our experiment, Jar A will be our control.

A D E P E N D E NT V A R I A B L E ( N )

This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

Definition: In an experiment, a dependent variable is the thing scientists want to observe or measure.
Sample Sentence: In our experiment, our dependent variable is temperature.

THE MAIN IDEA (N)

This work is a derivative of ""image" : by "geralt" via Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI
360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and
administered by FHI 360.

5
Definition: The main idea is the overall general message of a text.
Sample Sentence: I previewed the text to get the main idea.

A METEOROLOGIST (N)

“Image” by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license

Definition: A meteorologist is a scientist who studies the weather and the Earth's atmosphere.
Sample sentence: Nearly all meteorologists believe the Earth is getting warmer.

TO PREDICT (V)

"Glass orb in Study II" by Michael Dziedzic via Unsplash is licensed under Unsplash license.

Definition: When you predict, you use small pieces of information to make a guess about something.
Sample Sentence: Before reading a new text, think about what you already know about the topic and predict the
main idea of the text.

REPLICATE (V)

This work is a derivative of "Image" by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license. T This derivative is licensed under CC
BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360.

Definition: When you replicate something, you are able to copy it in the exact way someone else did.

6
Sample sentence: A second scientist replicated the experiment and she made the same observations as the first
scientist.

RESEARCH (N)

This work is a derivative of "Image" by ElasticComputeFarm and "Image" by Michal Jarmoluk via Pixabay. under Pixabay license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

Definition: Research is the careful study to find and report new information about something.
Sample sentence: Some research is done through experiments, but a lot of research is done by reading about
other people's experiments.

SUBHEADING (N)

"Subheading" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY.

Definition: A subheading is the small title that introduces different sections of a text.
Sample Sentence: Reading the subheadings can help you understand the main idea of a text.

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Module 1 Vocabulary Flashcards
1 1

Atmosphere (n)

a layer of gases surrounding a planet

2 2

A caption (n)

the words below a picture that explain the picture

3 3

Climate (n)
The weather conditions in a region or area over a long
time

4 4

A control (n)

The thing that scientists do not change, so that they

can compare results.

8
 5 5

A dependent variable
(n)
In an experiment, the thing that scientists want to
observe or measure

6 6

The main idea (n)

The overall message of a text.

7 7

A meteorologist (n)

A scientist who studies the weather and the Earth’s

atmosphere

8 8

To predict (v)

To use small pieces of information to make a guess

about something.

9
 9 9

To replicate (v)

To copy something in the exact way someone else did

it.

10 10

Research (n)

The careful study to find and report new information

about something.

11 11

a subheading (n)

The small title that introduces different sections of a

text.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. "ISS063-E-065220 " by Expedition 63 Crew via NASA Earth Observatory is under Public Domain / US
Government Works.
2. "Caption" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY
3. "Untitled Image" by Heiko Stein via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license.
4. This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
5. This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
6. This work is a derivative of ""image" : by "geralt" via Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
7. “Image” by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license
8. "Glass orb in Study II" by Michael Dziedzic via Unsplash is licensed under Unsplash license.
9. This work is a derivative of "Image" by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license. T This
derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
10. This work is a derivative of "Image" by ElasticComputeFarm and "Image" by Michal Jarmoluk via Pixabay.
under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and
administered by FHI 360.
11. "Subheading" by FHI 360 is licensed under CC BY.

11
Lesson 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer?

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In this lesson, we will ask the question, is the Earth getting warmer? We will also discuss how scientists use
evidence to answer this question.

So, is the Earth getting warmer? It is a simple question to ask, but not a simple question to answer. In fact, the
question is so big, one person could never have enough information to answer it by themselves.

If you want to know if it is getting warmer all over the world, you need information from all over the world. For
example, one recent report on this question, by the American Meteorological Society or AMS, used the
information of more than 450 scientists from 62 different countries.

When scientists ask a question, they look for evidence. Evidence means the facts or signs that help prove
something. In other words, to show that it is true, at least as true as we can know now based on the science that
we have now.

IS THE EARTH GETTING WARMER?

Some examples of the evidence that scientists study to answer this question are temperatures. How hot or cold it
is in the air, the oceans, and on the land? They also look at how many clouds are in the sky, how high or low the
water in the ocean is, and how much of the earth is covered with snow.

We mentioned the AMS, the AMS is a group of scientists called meteorologists.

meteorologist (n.) / Credit: “Image” by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license

Meteorologists study the weather and the earth's atmosphere; atmosphere means the gases or air around a
planet.

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What does the AMS say? Is the Earth getting warmer? Yes, it is. These scientists say the Earth is getting warmer.
Well, isn't it true that the Earth has always had times where it became hotter, and then different periods of time
when it became colder? Is this warming, that we are experiencing now, part of a natural cycle? Well, the Earth has
switched, between periods of time where it was, either hotter, or colder.

This chart shows temperature changes around the world since the late 1800s. The line shows the normal
temperature for the time of the year, anything below zero is cooler for that time of year. Everything above zero is
warmer for that time of year.

Global Land-Ocean Temperature Index

© 2021 by FHI 360. "Global Lange-Ocean Temperature Index" for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by
the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. This work is an
adaptation of "Global Lange-Ocean Temperature Index" by NASA under public domain, and can be found here. To view a copy of
NASA Media Usage Guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html.

As we can see, since the 1970s, temperatures around the world have continued to go higher and higher. In fact,
there is evidence that shows the earth is warming ten times faster than it has in the past. If things continue as they
are now, scientists believe that the earth will continue warming 20 times faster than it has in the past.

Looking at all the evidence, we know the answer to the question, is the Earth getting warmer? 97% of all of the
scientists who study climate change believe they have evidence to prove the Earth is getting warmer. Examples of
this evidence include measuring temperatures, clouds, snow, and ocean levels.

They also believe there is evidence to prove that people are causing this warming, mostly by pollution from things
like cars, factories, and electricity.

SUMMARY

• We answered the question, is the Earth getting warmer? Yes, it is.

• We also discussed how scientists used evidence to answer this question.

WHAT NEXT?

In Module One, we will look at an experiment that helps explain why the Earth is getting warmer. We will also look
at some of the English language skills that you will need to read and understand information written about
scientific experiments.

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Lesson 2: Language Focus: Previewing Texts

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Welcome to Lesson 2: Language Focus, Previewing Texts. In this lesson, we will discuss how to preview
informational texts about scientific research.

The main job of most scientists is to do research. Research is the careful study done to find and report new
information about something. Some of that research is done through their own experiments. But a lot of the
research is done by reading about other people's ideas or experiments and there is a lot to read. In fact, there are
so many written texts about scientific research, we do not have time to read all of them completely.

So how do we know which ones might be the most helpful for us without having to read everything word for
word? We preview the text. That means we quickly look through our source before we give it a full reading. It
helps us quickly learn what a text is about and improve our understanding. Previewing is a really great way to
prepare to learn something new.

Let's try previewing a reading that we will do later in this course. We will preview the text in four steps.

1. Reading the title.

2. Looking at the pictures and their captions.
3. Reading the subheadings
4. Reading the first paragraph.

Let's get started.

STEP 1: LOOK AT THE TITLE

The first thing we look at is the title. In this example article, the title is "Salting away renewable energy for future
use".

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We need to ask ourselves a very important question. What do I already know about this topic?

For example, we may see renewable energy and think, "this is about a new type of energy that we won't run out of
like the wind or the sun." Or perhaps, we can't make a guess and that's okay. In any case, by looking and thinking
about the title, we are learning about the article and preparing to understand it better.

STEP 2: LOOK FOR PICTURES AND THEIR CAPTIONS

Next, we look for pictures and their captions. A caption is the words or sentences right below a picture that gives
more information about the picture. In scientific texts, you'll also find text captions under other figures such as
tables, charts, and graphs. Together with the title, pictures and their captions can help us make a guess about the
overall idea of the text. This process, using small pieces of information from previewing to make a guess about
something in the whole text is called predicting.

STEP 3. READ THE SUBHEADINGS

In addition to pictures, we should pay attention to any subheadings in the text. Subheadings are small titles that
introduce different sections of the text.

In our text, we see the subheading, "how does it work?" We can predict that the text will explain how the system
makes electricity.

STEP 4: READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH

Now, comes our last step in previewing texts. Informational texts often gives the most important information, first.
So, let's look at the first one or two paragraphs.

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We see two phrases, “how to store electricity from the sun” and “uses molten salt as a medium for long-term
energy storage.” Even if some of these words are new for us, we should be ready to combine what we know about
the title, the pictures, the captions, and the sub-headings to predict the main idea of the text. The main idea is the
overall, general message of the text. In our example, we could guess that there is a new system for storing energy
that uses sunlight and salt.

SUMMARY

• We previewed a text by looking at the title, pictures and captions, subheadings, and first paragraph.
• We thought about what we already know about the topic and predicted the main idea of the text.
• After previewing, we can decide if we want to read the text more carefully.
• If we choose to read the text, previewing has prepared us to understand the text much more successfully.

WHAT NEXT?

Next, you will take a short quiz to test your previewing skills.

Source: The images on this page are screenshots of "Salting Away Renewable Energy for Future Use" by Lea Terhune /
Share America via share.america.gov under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. These images are licensed CC BY
4.0 by FHI 360 for OPEN, with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

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Quiz 1: Previewing Texts
DIRECTIONS:

Answer the following questions based on the sample article below. You can take this quiz as many times as you
want and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70% to pass this quiz.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

WMO: GLOBAL WARMING TRIGGERING EXTREME WEATHER

EVENTS

By Lisa Schlein

July 21, 2016

GENEVA - The World Meteorological Organization reports 2020 is shaping up to be one of the three warmest years
on record and a year in which extreme weather events have wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions
of people around the world.

A glacier in Svalbard, Norway. This is one of the seven regions where ice loss is accelerating, causing the depletion of
freshwater resources. / Image Credit: "Svalbard Glacier" by NASA/John Sonntag is licensed under Public Domain / U.S.
Government Works via nasa.gov

GLOBAL TEMPERATURES RISING

The average global temperature in 2020 is set to be about 1.2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level. WMO
Director of Climate Maxx Dilley said that despite efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere,
temperatures are expected to continue rising.

"So, what we can expect next year, we cannot say whether it will be the warmest year or not, but 2011 to 2020
was the warmest decade on record. … We now have a prediction of at least a one-in-five possibility of the
temperature at least temporarily reaching 1.5 degrees between now and 2024,” he said.

17
That means climate change may be happening even faster than experts predicted. The 2016 Paris Agreement
sought to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius until
2050.

HIGH ARCTIC TEMPERATURES PARTICULARLY SERIOUS

WMO describes 2020 as another extraordinary year for the climate. It says extreme temperatures have occurred
on land, sea and especially in the Arctic. It notes temperatures in the Siberian Arctic reached more than 5 degrees
Celsius above average.

WMO Scientific Coordinator Omar Baddour says that is particularly serious.

“The Arctic part of the world is really suffering major changes. ... We are breaking records after records. ... The
change in the Arctic is not only for the region but also for the whole global climate system … so anything changing
in the Arctic also affects the weather in terms of heat waves.” Baddour said.

A truck drives through heavy smoke during a wildfire in Oregon, USA. / Image Credit: "Untitled Image” by Marcus Kaufman is
licensed under Unsplash license via Unsplash

This year, WMO reports wildfires have consumed vast areas in Australia, Siberia, the U.S. West Coast and South
America. It says particularly fierce hurricanes in the Atlantic have devastated several countries in Central America.

It reports flooding in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia have led to huge population displacement, destroyed
harvests, and left millions of people short of food.

Source: © 2021 by FHI 360. "WMO Global Warming Triggering Extreme Weather Events" for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by
FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of "WMO Global Warming Triggering Extreme Weather Events" by Lisa Schlein / VOA News
via voanews.com under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. To view a copy of the license, visit
https://www.usa.gov/government-works. Adapted content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License,
except where noted. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Lesson 3: Warming Experiment (Part 1)

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

HOW DO SCIENTISTS GATHER INFORMATION?

In this lesson, we will investigate the different steps involved in an experiment and begin to set up our own
warming experiment. Let's get started by learning about experiments.

An experiment is a scientific test where you perform a series of actions and carefully observe what happens in
order to learn about something. For example, if you want to test to see if water freezes faster than soda, you can
conduct an experiment where you put an equal measurement of water and soda in a freezer and observe which
liquid turns to solid faster.

HOW DO SCIENTISTS MAKE GUESSES ABOUT THE WORLD

B A S E D O N T H E I R F I N D I N G S?

to replicate (v.) / Image Credit: "Image" by Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed CC BY
4.0

The information or data we collect from this experiment would be called our findings. We call the information we
learn from an experiment a finding because, in science, you look for information and then you find it.

One very important point: an experiment must be able to be replicated. That means someone else must be able to
do the same thing you did and in the same way that you did it. If the experiment is replicated and the other
scientists observed the same thing that you observed, then you have found good, strong evidence.

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This is how science works. A scientist or group of scientists does an experiment that produces a finding. In other
words, they find the information they were looking for. Then, another scientist or group of scientists replicate the
first experiment. That means they do the same thing in the same way and then observe it to see if the same results
happen. If it does, they have a finding that supports the first experiment. If the result is different, well, that's a
finding too. It is evidence that they need to look at the question more in order to find the answer.

Let's try an experiment to see how it works. And when we do the experiment, you should pay close attention to
what we are doing in each step and how we are doing it. That way, if you want to replicate it at home, you will be
able to.

This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

atmosphere (n.) / "ISS063-E-065220 " by Expedition 63 Crew via NASA Earth Observatory is under Public Domain / US Government Works.

In this experiment, we're going to try to explain why the Earth is getting warmer. In our experiment, we will
observe two jars.

Each jar will represent a different model of the earth's atmosphere. An atmosphere, as we remember from an
earlier video, is defined as the layer of gases surrounding a planet. In our course, we are talking about the
atmosphere around the planet Earth.

Jar A will represent the Earth's atmosphere in its most basic form. That means we don't do anything to change
what it is. Jar B will also represent the Earth's atmosphere, but it will be covered at the top with clear plastic wrap

20
and a rubber band. This change in the jar is called an independent variable. An independent variable is a thing
changed by scientists to measure differences in an experiment.

So, what's different here?

When the jar is open, the air can flow in and out of the jar. If the jar is covered, nothing can go in or out. So, we
want to observe what happens to the temperature of the jar when the air cannot go in and out of the jar. And
remember, Jar A will represent the Earth's atmosphere in its most basic form. It will be our control in the
experiment. A control in a scientific experiment is the thing that scientists do not change so they can compare
results.

SUMMARY

• In this video, we learned how scientists gather information and how scientists make guesses about the
world based on their findings.
• We began to set up our own warming experiment.

WHAT NEXT?

In the next video, we will conduct a warming experiment and track our findings.

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Warming Experiment Chart

Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C) Observations /

Time (minutes)
in Jar A (Control) in Jar B (Variable) Notes

22
Lesson 4: Warming Experiment (Part 2)

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

control (n.)

dependent variable (n.)

This work is a derivative of untitled images by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

In the last lesson, we learned about experiments and how scientists gather findings. In this lesson, we will observe
an experiment together and track our own data and findings. In order to track your data, you'll need your Warming
Experiment Chart, or a chart that's similar.

In the last video, we set up two different jars that each represented the earth's atmosphere. Jar A was open with a
thermometer inside, and Jar B was sealed with clear plastic wrap and a rubber band with a thermometer inside.

As a reminder, Jar A represents the earth's atmosphere in its most basic form. That means we don't do anything to
change what it is. It is our control in the experiment. Remember, a control in a scientific experiment is the thing
that scientists do not change, so they can compare results.

Jar B also represents the earth's atmosphere in this experiment. But it is covered at the top with clear plastic wrap
and a rubber band. This change in the jar is called the independent variable. As you know, an independent
variable is a thing changed by a scientist to measure differences in an experiment.

23
Now that we have both jars set up, we are ready to begin the experiment. Our dependent variable or the thing we
want to observe, or measure is the temperature of the jars. To track the temperature of the jars there is a
thermometer in each jar.

PROCEDURE:
1. Take the baseline or beginning temperature of both jars.
Both jars are 23 degrees Celsius which is room temperature. On your warming experiment chart, begin to track
your data. Fill in 0 minutes for the time and 23 degrees Celsius for the temperature of both jars. Also, mark any
observations or notes you have. It should look something like this.
2. Place both jars in direct sunlight and wait to see what happens.
We will record the temperatures of the jars every five minutes for 30 minutes.
3. At five minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Jar A and Jar B temperatures are both still 23 degrees Celsius. Track this on your Warming Experiment Chart and
take any observations or notes you have.
4. At ten minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Jar A's temperature is still at 23 degrees Celsius and Jar B's temperature is now at 24 degrees Celsius. Track this on
your Warming Experiment Chart.
5. At 15 minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Halfway point! 15 minutes is up! Jar A's temperature is still 23 degrees Celsius. However, Jar B's temperature is
now 25 degrees Celsius. Why do you think Jar B's temperature is increasing faster than jar A? Write a few
observations or notes in your Warming Experiment Chart.
6. At 20 minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Jar A is finally starting to get warmer and it's 24 degrees Celsius. Jar B, stay the same at 25 degree Celsius. Track
this on your Warming Experiment Chart.
7. At 25 minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Jar A's temperatures stayed the same at 24 degrees Celsius and Jar B's temperatures increased a little more to
reach 26 degrees Celsius. Track this on your Warming Experiment Chart.
8. At 30 minutes, record the temperature and take any notes or observations.
Okay, 30 minutes is up. This is the last data we will collect for the experiment. Jar A's final temperature is 24
degrees Celsius. And Jar B's final temperature is 27 degrees Celsius.

REVIEW YOUR DATA

As you look at your data, remember that Jar A represented the Earth's atmosphere in its most basic form. And Jar
B represented the Earth's atmosphere but was covered at the top with clear plastic wrap and a rubber band.

ANALYZE YOUR RESULTS

Let's think about our results.

• How did the independent variable of the clear plastic wrap on the top of Jar B change its temperature?
• Was it warmer or colder than Jar A?
• What do you think this represents?

Think about all of these questions and write them in the discussion board following this lesson.

24
Optional Discussion: Warming Factors

This work is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by the University of Pennsylvania, used under CC BY-SA. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

NOTE: THIS DISCUSSION IS OPTIONAL AND WILL NOT BE

GRADED.

Step 1: Think about your observations and the data you collected from the Warming Experiment.

• What factors do you think contributed to warmer temperatures in Jar B?

• Why do you think this happened?
• How is this related to global warming?

Step 2: Write a short post (maximum 200 words) summarizing your thoughts.
Step 3: Reply to one or two other posts that you find interesting or that you agree or disagree with.

Self-Assessment Rubric
Criteria Meets Expectations Does Not Meet
Expectations
Respond to the three questions I answered all three I did not answer all
questions. three questions.
• What factors do you think contributed to
warmer temperatures in Jar B?
• Why do you think this happened?
• How is this related to global warming?

Be concise My response is under My response is less

200 words. than 75 words or
Keep your response to between 75 and 200 words. more than 200
words.

Reply to two posts I commented on at I did not reply to

least one other person's anyone else and/or
Comment on two other posts. post, connecting to my reply did not
what they said. connect to what
they said.

25
 Lesson 5: Global Warming vs. Climate Change

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

climate (n.) / "Untitled Image" by Heiko Stein via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license.

In the previous videos, you looked at how to create a warming experiment. In that experiment, you found that Jar
B, the covered jar, heated up faster than Jar A, the uncovered jar. Jar B, as you probably guessed, is a model of how
the Earth gets warmer when heat is trapped in the atmosphere, the idea known as global warming. In this lesson,
we're going to look at the differences between the phrases global warming, and climate change, and then talk
about the relationship between them.

Let's start by talking about the phrase, "climate change". People often confuse climate with weather. Weather
means the state of the atmosphere at one specific time, meaning today, yesterday, or tomorrow. It can vary or
change from one day to the next, or even between the morning, and the afternoon. So, we might say, "the
weather was sunny yesterday", or "the weather is going to be windy later on today".

On the other hand, climate means the weather conditions in an area or region, over a long period- years, decades,
or centuries, or millennia, meaning thousands of years. So, when we say, "the climate in the Middle East is hot and
dry", we do not just mean today or tomorrow, we mean all the time, and for a long time in the past. So, climate
change is a long-term change, to the weather in an area, or a region.

When we usually talk about climate change, we mean the changes that have happened because of increased
amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This increase in carbon dioxide is a direct result of the increase in
the use of fossil fuels, such as coal or oil.

26
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING AND
CLIMATE CHANGE?

Sometimes, especially in the media, these two terms are used interchangeably, meaning that you can use either
one because they both mean the same thing. But that is not true. They are connected, but they mean different
things. Global warming means the long-term increase in the temperature of the Earth.

You saw earlier that more of the heat of the sun is being trapped by a layer of greenhouse gases. Because that heat
cannot escape, the Earth is becoming warmer. Climate change refers to the long-term changes in climates in
different regions of the world. These changes could be warming. But they might also be cooling or other changes
such as more energetic or extreme weather like snowstorms or hurricanes. Climate change can also refer to rising
sea levels which are dangerous for people living on the coast.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING

AND CLIMATE CHANGE?

There is clearly a relationship between these two terms. As we said earlier, global warming is causing climate
change, so there is a cause-and-effect relationship. Global warming was the first term that people used to describe
what was going on. But this term is too narrow to describe the complete effects. So, climate change is used more
often now because it better represents what is actually going on.

SUMMARY

• We defined climate change.

• We looked at the differences between global warming and climate change.

WHAT NEXT?

Next, you're going to read a text that has a lot more information about climate change.

27
Intermediate Reading Practice: Climate Change: How
Do We Know?
This reading quiz is targeted to intermediate learners. If you would like to read a
more difficult article, you can skip this quiz and take the Advanced Reading
Practice quiz that follows.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All questions in this quiz refer to the reading below.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW DO WE KNOW?

"Atmospheric CO2 Graph" is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by NASA under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. This
derivative is licensed CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State.

Earth's climate has changed throughout history. In the last 650,000 years, there have been seven cycles of glacial
advance and retreat. The last ice age ended about 12,000 years ago. This marked the beginning of the modern
climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are caused by very small variations in
Earth’s orbit. These variations change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.

The current warming trend is significant. Most of it is extremely likely (greater than 95% probability) to be the
result of human activity since the mid-20th century. The warming trend is progressing at an unprecedented rate.

Recent technological advances have allowed scientists to see the big picture. Scientists have been able to use new
equipment, such as Earth-orbiting satellites.

28
With new technology, scientists have collected many different types of information about our planet. They have
studied Earth's climate on a global scale. They have collected data from many different locations around the globe.
They have collected data over many years. The data shows that the climate is changing.

We know that carbon dioxide and other gases are able to trap heat. In fact, we have known this since the mid-
1800s. These gases affect the transfer of energy through the atmosphere. This fact is the basis of many
instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases cause the Earth to
warm.

Scientists have studied ice samples from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers. These ice samples
show that Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels.

Tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks also hold evidence. This evidence reveals
that current warming is occurring at a very fast rate.

After the last Ice Age, there was a warming period. The earth recovered from a cold climate and grew warmer.
Scientists have calculated the average rate of warming after an Ice Age. Global warming today is happening
roughly ten times faster than the average rate of Ice-Age-recovery warming. Carbon dioxide from human activity is
increasing more than 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age.

THE EVIDENCE FOR RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE IS CLEAR:

Global Temperature Rise

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit (1.14 degrees Celsius) since the
late 19th century. Increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions are driving this change. Most of the
warming occurred in the past 40 years. The last six years have been the warmest years on record. 2016 was the
warmest year and eight months out of that year were the warmest months on record.

Warming Oceans

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The ocean has absorbed much of the increased heat. The top 100 meters of the ocean have warmed more than 0.6
degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969. Earth stores 90% of its extra energy in the ocean.

29
Shrinking Ice Sheets

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have decreased in mass. Between 1993 and 2019, Greenland lost an
average of 279 billion tons of ice per year. Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.

Glacial Retreat

Photo by Daniel Adler on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world. The glaciers are getting smaller and smaller. This has
been observed in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.

Decreased Snow Cover

Photo by Aleks Dahlberg on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Snow is melting earlier in the year in the Northern Hemisphere. We can see this in satellite images. Spring snow
cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades.

Sea Level Rise

Photo by Egor Gordeev on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Global sea levels rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The oceans are becoming higher. In the
last 20 years, the rate has been nearly double that of the last century. That rate is increasing slightly every year.

30
Declining Arctic Sea Ice

Photo by William Bossen on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The amount and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. There is less Arctic
sea ice than before, and it is thinner.

Extreme Events

Image by David Mark from Pixabay under Pixabay license.

The number of record high-temperature events in the United States has been increasing. The number of record
low-temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also seen increasing numbers of intense
rainfall events.

Ocean Acidification

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The ocean is becoming more acidic. The acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30% since the
beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. More carbon dioxide has been absorbed into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and
30% of total carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades.

Source

NASA. (2020, October 6). Climate Change: How do we know? Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

31
Advanced Reading Practice: Climate Change: How Do
We Know?
This reading quiz is targeted to advanced learners f you would like to read an easier article, you can skip this quiz
and take the Intermediate Reading practice quiz.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All questions in this quiz refer to the reading below.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW DO WE KNOW?

"Atmospheric CO2 Graph" is a derivative of "Untitled Image" by NASA under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. This
derivative is licensed CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State.

Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years, there have been seven cycles of
glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning
of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small
variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.

Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely (greater than 95%
probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is
unprecedented over decades to millennia.1

32
Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting
many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected
over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate.

The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century.2 Their
ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the scientific basis of many instruments
flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause Earth to warm in
response.

Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that Earth’s climate responds to
changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs,
and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring
roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming. Carbon dioxide from human activity is
increasing more than 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age. 3

THE EVIDENCE FOR RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE IS

COMPELLING:
Global Temperature Rise

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit (1.14 degrees Celsius) since the
late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the
atmosphere.4 Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the six warmest years on record taking
place since 2014. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight months out of that year — from
January through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective
months. 5.

Warming Oceans

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing
warming of more than 0.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969. 6 Earth stores 90% of the extra
energy in the ocean.

33
Shrinking Ice Sheets

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate
Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while
Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.7

Glacial Retreat

Photo by Daniel Adler on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies,
Alaska, and Africa.8
Decreased Snow Cover

Photo by Aleks Dahlberg on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased
over the past five decades and the snow is melting earlier. 9
Sea Level Rise

Photo by Egor Gordeev on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however,
is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year. 10

34
Declining Arctic Sea Ice

Photo by William Bossen on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. 11
Extreme Events

Image by David Mark from Pixabay under Pixabay license.

The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of
record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers
of intense rainfall events.12
Ocean Acidification

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash under Unsplash license.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about
30%.13,14 This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more
being absorbed into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and 30% of total anthropogenic carbon
dioxide emissions in recent decades (7.2 to 10.8 billion metric tons per year). 15,16

REFERENCES

1. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Summary for Policymakers B.D. Santer et.al., “ A search for human
influences on the thermal structure of the atmosphere ,” Nature vol 382, 4 July 1996, 39-46
Gabriele C. Hegerl, “ Detecting Greenhouse-Gas-Induced Climate Change with an Optimal Fingerprint
Method ,” Journal of Climate, v. 9, October 1996, 2281-2306
V. Ramaswamy et.al., “ Anthropogenic and Natural Influences in the Evolution of Lower Stratospheric

35
 Cooling ,” Science 311 (24 February 2006), 1138-1141
B.D. Santer et.al., “ Contributions of Anthropogenic and Natural Forcing to Recent Tropopause Height
Changes ,” Science vol. 301 (25 July 2003), 479-483.
2. In 1824, Joseph Fourier calculated that an Earth-sized planet, at our distance from the Sun, ought to be
much colder. He suggested something in the atmosphere must be acting like an insulating blanket. In
1856, Eunice Foote discovered that blanket, showing that carbon dioxide and water vapor in Earth's
atmosphere trap escaping infrared (heat) radiation.
In the 1860s, physicist John Tyndall recognized Earth's natural greenhouse effect and suggested that slight
changes in the atmospheric composition could bring about climatic variations. In 1896, a seminal paper by
Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius first predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could
substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect.
In 1938, Guy Callendar connected carbon dioxide increases in Earth’s atmosphere to global warming. In
1941, Milutin Milankovic linked ice ages to Earth’s orbital characteristics. Gilbert Plass formulated the
Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climate Change in 1956.
3. Vostok ice core data; NOAA Mauna Loa CO 2 record
Gaffney, O.; Steffen, W. (2017). " The Anthropocene equation ," The Anthropocene Review (Volume 4,
Issue 1, April 2017), 53-61.
4. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/indicators.php
https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp
5. https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20170118/
6. Levitus, S.; Antonov, J.; Boyer, T.; Baranova, O.; Garcia, H.; Locarnini, R.; Mishonov, A.; Reagan, J.; Seidov,
D.; Yarosh, E.; Zweng, M. (2017). NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies,
thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from
1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586).
Version 4.4. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi: 10.7289/V53F4MVP
https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/3M_HEAT_CONTENT/index3.html
von Schuckmann, K., Cheng, L., Palmer, D., Hansen, J., Tassone, C., Aich, V., Adusumilli, S., Beltrami, H.,
Boyer, T., Cuesta-Valero, F., Desbruyeres, D., Domingues, C., Garcia-Garcia, A., Gentine, P., Gilson, J.,
Gorfer, M., Haimberger, L., Ishii, M., Johnson, G., Killick, R., King, B., Kirchengast. G., Kolodziejczyk, N.,
Lyman, J., Marzeion, B., Mayer, M., Monier, M., Monselesan, D., Purkey, S., Roemmich, D., Schweiger, A.,
Seneviratne, S., Shepherd, A., Slater, D., Steiner, A., Straneo, F., Timmermans, ML., Wijffels, S. (2020).
Heat stored in the Earth system: where does the energy go? Earth System Science Data (Volume 12, Issue
3, 07 September 2020), 2013-2041.
7. Velicogna, I., Mohajerani, Y., A, G., Landerer, F., Mouginot, J., Noel, B., Rignot, E., Sutterly, T., van den
Broeke, M., van Wessem, M., Wiese, D. (2020). Continuity of ice sheet mass loss in Greenland and
Antarctica from the GRACE and GRACE Follow‐On missions . Geophysical Research Letters (Volume 47,
Issue 8, 28 April 2020, e2020GL087291.
8. National Snow and Ice Data Center
World Glacier Monitoring Service
9. National Snow and Ice Data Center
Robinson, D. A., D. K. Hall, and T. L. Mote. 2014. MEaSUREs Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover
Extent Daily 25km EASE-Grid 2.0, Version 1 . [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National
Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi:
https://doi.org/10.5067/MEASURES/CRYOSPHERE/nsidc-0530.001 . [Accessed 9/21/18].
http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/snow_extent.html
Rutgers University Global Snow Lab, Data History Accessed September 21, 2018.
10. R. S. Nerem, B. D. Beckley, J. T. Fasullo, B. D. Hamlington, D. Masters and G. T. Mitchum. " Climate-
change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era. " PNAS , 2018 DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1717312115
11. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/sea_ice.html
Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS, Zhang and Rothrock, 2003)

36
 http://psc.apl.washington.edu/research/projects/arctic-sea-ice-volume-anomaly/
http://psc.apl.uw.edu/research/projects/projections-of-an-ice-diminished-arctic-ocean/
12. USGCRP, 2017: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I [Wuebbles,
D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change
Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 470 pp, doi: 10.7930/J0J964J6
13. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F
14. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidification
15. C. L. Sabine et.al., “ The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO 2 ,” Science vol. 305 (16 July 2004), 367-371

Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Technical Summary, Chapter TS.5, Changing
Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities, Section 5.2.2.3.
https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/technical-summary/

Source

NASA. (2020, October 6). Climate Change: How do we know? Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

37
Lesson 6: Comparative Adjectives

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In the previous lesson, you looked at climate change. In this video, we are going to look at comparatives, such as
warmer or colder. Being able to use comparatives accurately is very important when you are talking about climate
change.

In this lesson we will:

• define comparatives,
• look at the rules to remember when making comparatives,
• notice some comparatives that do not follow the rules
• look at some examples of comparatives that are important in climate science.

WHAT ARE COMPARATIVES?

Comparatives are types of adjectives, words that are used to describe nouns. They are adjectives that usually
compare two or more things. An elephant is big, but a whale is bigger.

This work is a derivative of "whale" by OpenClipArt-Vectors and "elephant" by Clker-Free-Vector-Images used under Pixabay license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

38
However, they are also used to compare the present to the past. For example, when we say, "the Earth is warmer",
we are not comparing it to another planet. We mean that the earth is warmer than before. In the same way, when
we say, "the weather is more energetic," we mean more energetic than in the past.

THREE BASIC RULES FOR MAKING COMPARATIVES

There are three basic rules for making comparatives. To make a comparative, you start with an adjective like
"warm", "wet" or "dry".

Rule #1. If the adjective has one syllable, add the ending "-er"

If the adjective has one syllable, add the ending "-er". So warm becomes warmer, wet becomes wetter, and dry
becomes drier. Notice the spelling here. Wetter is spelled with two t's. When a word ends in a vowel and then a
consonant, the consonant is written twice in the comparative. "Hotter" and "thinner" are two more examples of
this.

This image by FHI 360 is licensed CCBY

Rule #2: If the adjective has two or more syllables and ends in "y", change the "y"
to "i" and add "-er"

If the adjective has two syllables and ends in "-y", change the "y" to "i" and add "-er". So windy becomes windier
and early becomes earlier.

This image by FHI360 is licensed CC BY,

39
Rule #3: If the adjective has two or more syllables and does not end in "y", do not
add an ending. Instead, use the word "more" before the adjective.

If the adjective has two or more syllables and does not end in "y", do not add an ending. Instead, use the word
"more" before the adjective. So, "energetic" with four syllables (en-er-ge-tic) becomes "more energetic", and
"efficient", with three (ef-fi-cient), becomes "more efficient".

This image by FHI 360 is licensed CC BY.

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

There is one more thing to remember, some adjectives do not follow the rules. We call these irregular adjectives".
The two most common are "good" and "bad". The comparative for "good" is not "gooder", it is "better".

In the same way we do not say "badder", we say "worse".

C O M M O N C O M P A R A T I V E S W H EN T A L K I N G A B O U T C L I M A T E
CHANGE

Okay, now that we know the rules. Let's look at some of the most common comparatives used when talking about
climate change.

• We might talk about the Earth getting "warmer" or "hotter".

• Certain climates might be getting "drier", "wetter", or even "colder".
• The ice caps could be described as getting "thinner", "smaller", or melting "faster".
• The sea levels could be "higher" or rising "faster".
• The weather systems, such as storms or hurricanes, could be described as "windier" or "more energetic",
"more aggressive", or "more dangerous".
• New forms of energy might be called "cleaner" or "more efficient".
• The situation could be described as getting "worse", but hopefully, with the right action, we can make it
"better".

SUMMARY

In this video, we defined comparatives, learned the rules of how to make them, looked at some that do not follow
the rules, and then looked at the most common comparatives in climate science.

WHAT NEXT?

To complete Module 1, check your understanding of comparatives in the next quiz. Then, complete the discussion
that follows the quiz.

40
Quiz: Comparative Adjectives
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

DIRECTIONS :
Fill the gap with the correct answer from the choices below.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

41
Module 1: Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead
WRAP-UP

Congratulations! You have completed Module 1: Is the Earth Getting Warmer?

In this module:
• We looked at the evidence for global warming.
• We conducted our own global warming experiment and developed a definition for the term climate
change.
• We learned how to preview texts before reading.
• We practiced some of the language used to make comparisons when talking about global warming and
climate change.

LOOKING AHEAD
In Module 2, we will look at the chemistry of climate change,

• We will explore how different chemicals and gases affect the environment, with a focus on the
greenhouse effect.
• We will review the present progressive tense.
• We will also look at the language of cause and effect to explain climate change and its causes.

You have completed Module 1! To receive your certificate and digital badge, complete Modules 2 - 5. Keep up the
good work!

42