Greenhouse Effect



Objective: To describe how the “greenhouse effect” affects temperature on the earth and to use evidence to support whether the “greenhouse effect” is good or bad for the earth.

Introduction: Climate change is perhaps the “hottest” topic in today’s headlines. The cause of the change (often increasing temperature) is usually blamed on the “greenhouse effect” or “greenhouse gases.” The following simulation will allow you to first examine how the “greenhouse effect” works in a greenhouse. You will then experiment with a simulation of the earth’s atmosphere where the concentration of greenhouse gases can be varied. Finally, you will use the results of the two simulations to describe how the “greenhouse effect” affects temperature on the earth and discuss whether the “greenhouse effect” is good or bad for the earth.

Pre-lab: Before diving into the whole issue of climate change; try to picture sitting in an enclosed car on a cold but sunny day … pretty comfortable, isn’t it. Now imagine sitting in that same car on a hot, sunny day. Don’t hold that image too long. You’ll fry just thinking about it.

1. Why do you think the inside of a car feels so much warmer than its surroundings on sunny days? _______________________________________________________________________________________

Lab Part I: A Greenhouse Simulation

1. Google PhET. Select simulations, earth science, and “the greenhouse effect simulation” or go to

2. Select the “Glass Layers” tab.

3. Uncheck the “View all photons” box.

4. What do the yellow stars represent? _________________________/visible light

5. What do the red stars represent? _________________________/heat

6. Adjust the number of glass panes and note what occurs in the simulation in the table below

7. For Path/Behavior of Photons, you are describing what the photons are doing. Make sure to include how they respond to the glass panes. More than one behavior maybe observed.

Data Table:

|Number of Glass |Temperature (°F) |Path/Behavior of Sunlight Photons (Yellow) |Path/Behavior of Heat Photons (Red) |

|Panes | | | |

|0 | |All photons came from outer space and traveled down to the |All photons were released by the Earth and traveled up into|

| | |Earth and were absorbed by the Earth |outer space. |

|1 | | | |

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|2 | | | |

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|3 | | | |

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Analysis Part I: A Greenhouse Simulation

1. What do the sunlight photons do when they hit glass panes from the top? _________________________________________

2. What do the infrared photons do when they hit glass panes from the bottom? _____________________________________

3. What happens to the temperature as additional glass panes are added? ___________________________________________

4. Based on the observations of the photons, why does the temperature go up so much?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. In order to better insulate your house, would it be better to use single-, double-, or triple-paned windows? Explain.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Before proceeding to the earth, predict how what you have discovered regarding greenhouses might apply to the earth and its atmosphere. __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Lab Part II: The Earth Simulation

1. Select the “Greenhouse Effect” tab.

2. Uncheck the “View all photons” box.

3. Which greenhouse gases are considered by the simulation? ____________________________________________

4. Make note of the conditions for Today in the table below, then adjust the greenhouse gas concentration to complete the remainder of the table.

Data Table:

|Greenhouse Gas |Average Global |Path of Sunlight Photons |Path/Behavior of Heat Photons |Is this more similar to |

|Simulation |Temperature (°F) | | |“without glass panes” or “with |

| | | | |glass panes”? |

|Today | | | | |

|None | | | | |

|Lots | | | | |

Analysis Part II: The Earth Simulation

1. Considering the behavior of the heat photons, why does the temperature drop so much without greenhouse gases? ________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Considering the behavior of the heat photons, why does the temperature increase so much with lots of greenhouse gases? ______________________________________________________________________________

3. Go back to the simulation, what affect does adding clouds have on each type pf photon? ______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How are clouds affecting the temperature? __________________________________________________________

Analysis Part III: Demonstrating what you’ve learned. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE LAB!

Option 1: One this sheet, write a paragraph that answers the following questions

1. How does the “greenhouse effect” affect temperature on the earth? Give examples from the simulation.

2. How is the “greenhouse effect” similar to blankets on a bed? Think about what happens with either too many or too few blankets.

3. Is the “greenhouse effect” good for the Earth, bad for the Earth, or both good and bad? Explain!

Option 2: On the back of this sheet of paper, make an 8 square comic that answers the above questions 1 and 3 in its narrative. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Make sure to include illustrations, narrative, and color for full credit.

Title: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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