Weather vs. Climate
This describes the conditions outside today, such as rain, wind, or sunshine.
What is weather?
These gases in the atmosphere help keep Earth warm by trapping heat.
What are greenhouse gases?
This type of fuel includes coal, oil, and natural gas.
What are fossil fuels?
This is a pattern observed in data over time.
What is a trend?
This is a large mass of ice that moves slowly over land.
What is a glacier?
This describes the usual weather patterns of a place over many years.
What is climate?
This term means to take something in, such as energy.
What is absorb?
Cars and trucks release this greenhouse gas when they burn gasoline or diesel.
What is carbon dioxide (CO₂)?
If Earth's average temperature rises over many years, the temperature trend is described as this.
What is an increasing or warming trend?
This word means to become smaller.
What is shrink?
A scientist studies temperature changes over several decades. Is this weather or climate?
What is climate?
This process occurs when greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit infrared energy, helping retain heat in Earth's climate system.
What is the greenhouse effect?
Factories and power plants can release greenhouse gases when they burn these energy sources.
What are fossil fuels?
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A line on a temperature graph stays nearly the same over time. Which vocabulary word describes this pattern?
What is steady?
When land ice melts and adds water to the oceans, this can happen to ocean levels.
What is a rise in sea level?
This term means a long-term shift in temperatures or weather patterns.
What is climate change?
Greenhouse gases help prevent too much of this from escaping into space.
What is heat energy?
Cutting down large areas of forests can increase atmospheric CO₂ and reduce the number of trees available to do this.
What is absorb carbon dioxide?
Scientists use these visual displays to compare temperatures across different years.
What are graphs?
When scientists say glaciers are shrinking due to warming, these two words mean this.
What is because of?
It rains heavily in Oklahoma today. Explain why one rainy day does not prove that the climate has changed.
Weather describes short-term conditions; climate change involves long-term patterns.
Explain why increasing the amount of greenhouse gases can raise Earth's average temperature.
More greenhouse gases retain more energy in the climate system, causing warming.
Name two human activities that increase the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere.
burning fossil fuels for transportation or electricity, industrial activities, and deforestation.
Why is a temperature graph covering many years more useful for identifying climate change than today's temperature alone?
It shows long-term patterns rather than a single day's conditions.
Name one major effect of rising global temperatures on Earth's ice or oceans.
shrinking glaciers, melting land ice, rising sea levels, or warming oceans.