Climate Change
What gas is increasing in Earth’s atmosphere and strengthening the greenhouse effect?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
What two weather factors most strongly affects where lightning occurs?
Temperature and humidity
Why do scientists use models?
To represent things that are too large, small, or distant to study directly.
What makes water molecules different from many other liquids?
Water is polar
How does carbon dioxide increase Earth’s temperature?
It traps heat energy
What causes lightning charges to build inside clouds?
Collisions between water droplets and ice crystals
Explain why doubling mission distance can increase difficulty by more than double.
Longer travel requires more fuel, supplies, and engineering support.
What does it mean that water molecules are polar?
They have regions of partial positive and partial negative charge.
Name TWO consequences of increased greenhouse gases.
Higher global temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels
What two conditions are needed for lightning to occur? (not related to weather)
Large charge difference + ionized/conductive pathway
Why might scientists prioritize recycling over bringing extra materials into space?
Cost & Rockets have mass limits.
How does polarity connect molecular-scale behavior to large-scale environmental processes?
Molecular interactions influence erosion, weathering, and movement of materials.
Which human activities increase CO₂? (Give at least 2)
Burning fossil fuels, driving gasoline vehicles, deforestation
If cloud collisions move electrons but do not create charge, where does the separation come from?
Existing charges redistribute.
Compare “bringing supplies” vs “finding materials in space.” Which is more sustainable for long missions?
Finding/reusing resources because it reduces payload demands (cost)
If temperature increases, how might water’s molecular interactions change?
Molecules move faster, creating heat energy
Scientists observe melting polar ice and rising sea levels. Explain the cause-and-effect chain beginning with increased CO₂.
Increased CO₂ → stronger greenhouse effect → warmer temperatures → ice melts + ocean expansion → sea levels rise.
Does lightning cause rain or do they always occur together? Explain.
Neither, correlation does not prove causation. They often occur together but one doesn’t necessarily cause the other.
Give THREE ways scientists can obtain materials needed for long space missions.
Recycle materials, find resources on-site, create materials through reactions
If water molecules were nonpolar instead of polar, predict ONE property of water that would likely change.
Possible answers: weaker attraction, lower erosion ability, weaker interactions with materials, different cohesion.