Exercise

C Below is some new information that you are teaching, and some CCQs. In each case
(1-7), choose the best CCQ and explain what is wrong with the other CCQ.
Example:
a. How do volcanoes contribute to climate change?
b. What happens when a volcano erupts?
Answer:
"a" is the best because "b" requires a long answer and is not very relevant
to the topic of climate change.
1. a. What is the chemical formula for carbon dioxide?
b. What happens to most of the radiation from the Sun?
2. a. Why is the greenhouse effect important for life on Earth?
b. How can life on Earth exist?
3. a. What gas is produced when fossil fuels are burnt?
b. What are fossil fuels?
4. a. How do trees benefit the environment?
b. Why are humans cutting down more trees?
5. a. What happens to the Earth’s atmosphere as CO2 increases?
b. If the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere hadn’t risen, how would this have
affected the climate?
6. a. How is the warming of the Earth causing changes to the weather and how is this
affecting the Earth?
b. What effects is climate change having on the Earth?

Natural Climate Change Human-Made Climate Change

The climate has always changed. There are
many natural reasons for this. They include
the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, radiation
from the sun and the activity of volcanoes
pushing gasses into the atmosphere.
One of those gases is carbon dioxide
(CO2). CO2 together with other gasses
(like methane) and water vapour, traps
some of the radiation from the Sun when
it is reflected back away from the Earth
towards space. This is a natural process
called the "greenhouse effect". It keeps the
atmosphere warm enough for life to exist
on Earth.
The element carbon makes up most of
what is in fossil fuels. When fossil fuels
are burnt, they produce CO2, which goes
into the atmosphere. Scientists know that
the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has
always changed. However, more and more
CO2 is released by human activity through
the burning of fossil fuels. Humans are
also cutting down more and more trees
so there are fewer trees to absorb the
increasing CO2 in the atmosphere.

60 The New Teacher

Climate
Change:
Its Causes and Effects
Effects of Climate Change
As CO2 increases it traps more and more
radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere, so
the Earth gets warmer. The warming of
the Earth is causing changes to both the
weather and to the long-term climate.
There are more floods and storms in some
places and less rain in others. It is also
causing sea levels to rise because polar
ice caps are melting. The effects of climate
change are especially serious for low-lying
places near the sea, for example coastal
Bangladesh and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta in
Myanmar
Module 3: Teaching
Climate change will affect what foods
people can grow, what diseases they get
and where they can live. Crops will not
grow where salt water from rising seas
has affected the land. In other places, it
may be too dry to grow crops anymore.
Places where the climate was previously
too cool for diseases like malaria will start
to experience them. People will have to
move away from low-lying areas as sea
levels rise. As people move to other places,
this may lead to overcrowding, pollution,
and even problems between communities.
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