Memory Anchor:

• Super Challenge:

  Stretch:

  Challenge:

Key Questions:

1. How does the atmosphere help the Earth maintain stable surface temperatures?
   • Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere maintain temperatures on Earth high enough to support life. Water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases.
2. What are the long and short term impacts of the greenhouse effect?
   • Short term effects: Average surface temperature of earth increases. Long term effect: Rising sea levels, more extreme weather patterns.
3. What types of human activities increase the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?
   • Any human activity that produces carbon dioxide and methane.
4. What do most scientists believe will happen to the Earth?s atmosphere?
   • Many scientists believe that human activities will cause the temperature of the Earth?s atmosphere to increase at the surface and that this will result in global climate change.
5. What difficulties can such complex systems as global climate change cause?
   • They lead to simplified models, speculation and opinions presented in the media that may be based on only parts of the evidence and which may be biased.
6. What is the importance of peer reviewing results and of communicating results to a wide range of audiences.
   • Peer reviewing is important within the science community as it prevents bias and allows links to be made within and outside certain specialisms as well as to educate wider audiances.