ESA title
Agency

The greenhouse effect and its consequences - Investigating global warming | Teach with space G03

5702 views 60 likes
ESA / Education / Teachers' Corner

In brief

This set of activities includes hands-on experiments and the interpretation of satellite images for better understanding the overall effects of global warming. In activity 1 students will make a model to demonstrate the greenhouse effect by showing that a higher level of carbon dioxide (CO2) means a higher temperature. The experiment will be complemented by the interpretation of satellite images showing the Earth’s CO2 levels at different time periods. Students will then learn about some of the consequences of an increased greenhouse effect – ice melting and changing albedo values. Students will explore these topics in activities 2 and 3.

In-depth

Languages: EnglishDanishDutchEstonianFrenchGerman teacher guide and student guideItalianRomanianSlovenianSpanish

Subjects: Geography, Physics, Science |

Age range: 12 – 15 years old

Keywords: Greenhouse effect, Carbon dioxide, Global warming, Sea level, Albedo, Climate, Geography, Physics, Science

Learning objectives:

• What the greenhouse effect is and how human activity changes the energy balance in Earth’s atmosphere.
• The potential effects of increased levels of carbon dioxide on the Earth’s climate.
• Possible consequences of the increased greenhouse effect.
• The different consequences of flooding and rising sea water level due to melting sea-ice and melting ice sheets and glaciers.
• What albedo is and how the reflectivity of different surfaces affect temperature.
• How Earth observation can be used to monitor Earth’s climate

This classroom resource is part of a set of resources developed by ESA’s Education Office in collaboration with ESEROs to support the Climate Detectives project.

Related Links

Related Links