The greenhouse effect

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cause → effect chain, four boxes left to right with arrows between them. Box 1: "People burn coal, oil and gas for energy." Box 2: "More carbon dioxide builds up in the air." Box 3: ? (blank). Box 4: "Earth's average temperature rises."

2. 1.

   In Bo's chain about fuel, Box 3 is blank. Which words fill Box 3?

   • The ozone hole is what warms the ground
   • The gases hold back more of the ground's heat
   • The ground stops giving off heat
   • The gases block more of the incoming sunlight

3. Use this

   Cause → effect chain, four boxes left to right with arrows between them. Box 1: "Forests are cleared and burned." Box 2: "More carbon dioxide in the air." Box 3: "More heat held back near the ground." Box 4: "Earth's average temperature rises."

4. 2.

   A town plants new trees, which take in carbon dioxide as they grow. Which box of Esme's chain does that push back on?

   • No box, since these gases don't change how warm Earth gets
   • Box 1, since trees stop the burning
   • Box 2, since trees take carbon dioxide out of the air
   • Box 4, since shade cools the planet

5. Use this

   Data table (NASA), columns Measured since 1880 and What it did. Row 1: Sun's energy reaching Earth, small 11-year ups and downs with no overall rise. Row 2: Earth's average surface temperature, rose about 1 °C. Row 3: Carbon dioxide in the air, kept rising.

6. 3.

   Jun compares the three rows in the NASA table. Which explanation of the warming fits the rows?

   • Less sunlight got through the air
   • The ozone hole warmed the surface
   • Rising carbon dioxide held more heat
   • A brighter Sun heated Earth
7. 4.

   A video says the Sun caused the warming since 1880. Kira checks it against the NASA table. Which response is best?

   • Agree: warmer air means more sunlight was trapped
   • Disagree: Earth has not warmed
   • Agree: the Sun's 11-year ups explain it
   • Disagree: the Sun's energy shows no overall rise
9. 5.

   Using the NASA table, Venus is almost twice as far from the Sun as Mercury, yet much hotter. Which explanation fits, Milo?

   • Venus gets far more sunlight than Mercury
   • Venus's air blocks the sunlight, which heats it
   • Venus is closer to the Sun than Mercury
   • Venus's thick carbon dioxide air holds in heat
10. 6.

    Mars's air is mostly carbon dioxide too, yet Mars averages −65 °C. Using the NASA table, why isn't it warm like Venus, Noah?

    Use the picture in question 5.

    • Its air is very thin, and it is farther from the Sun
    • Carbon dioxide can't hold any heat on a planet like Mars
    • Mars has thicker air than Venus
    • Its carbon dioxide blocks the sunlight
11. 7.

    Venus has 92 bars of air pressure, mostly carbon dioxide. Earth has 1 bar. What does that pair of facts help Pia explain?

    Use the picture in question 5.

    • Why Venus is the hottest planet
    • Why Venus is colder than Mercury
    • Why Venus has no greenhouse effect
    • Why Venus is the closest planet to the Sun
12. 8.

    Ren's friend says the greenhouse effect is just bad, and Earth would be better off without it. Which response is best?

    • Agree: it was created when people started burning fuels
    • Disagree: without it, Earth would be over 30 °C colder
    • Agree: it blocks sunlight we need
    • Disagree: it happens on Venus, not Earth
13. 9.

    A poster says the warming comes from the ozone hole letting in extra sunlight. What should Tala write beside it?

    • Not right: extra UV can't explain the surface warming
    • Right: the ozone hole explains the warming
    • Right: the Sun is brighter now
    • Not right: Earth has not warmed
14. 10.

    Zee's cousin says extra carbon dioxide can't matter, since the greenhouse effect is natural. Which response fits?

    • Agree: extra gas just blocks sunlight
    • Agree: natural effects stay fixed
    • Disagree: carbon dioxide is not a greenhouse gas
    • Disagree: more of the gas holds back more heat