Greenhouse gases

• How did the formation of coal decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s early atmosphere?

  Plants
• How does burning coal affect the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere? Explain your answer.

  It increases the amount because carbon in coal
• Some power stations burn wood. The wood comes from trees grown in forests. Suggest why burning wood in power stations is said to be ‘carbon-neutral’

  Carbon dioxide produced and is used by plants
• Suggest how the burning of fossil fuels may cause climate change.

  Carbon dioxide
• Describe how carbon dioxide helps to maintain temperatures on Earth.

  carbon dioxide allows short wavelength radiation to pass through the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface

  Carbon dioxide absorbs outgoing long wavelength radiation
• Coal contains carbon and small amounts of sulfur. The steam train would cause environmental problems if coal were used as the fuel. Explain why.

  Global warming caused by carbon dioxide

  Acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide