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Climate changeIB MYP Biology: Flashcards

What these 12 flashcards ask

  • What is the greenhouse effect?
  • Name two greenhouse gases.
  • What would the Earth's average temperature be without greenhouse gases?
  • What does a greenhouse gas do to infrared radiation?
  • How do fossil fuels increase CO₂?
  • How does deforestation increase atmospheric CO₂?
  • Name three human sources of methane.
  • Give two causes of sea-level rise.
  • Name two effects of climate change other than sea-level rise.
  • What is mitigation?
  • Give two ways to reduce CO₂ emissions.
  • Give one drawback of replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power.

Exam questions on Climate change

  1. Scientists estimate that the Earth's average surface temperature is about 15 °C. Without any greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it would be about -18 °C, and most life on Earth could not survive.
    Explain how the greenhouse effect keeps the Earth's surface warm.2 marks
  2. A country in South America has increased its beef farming and cleared large areas of rainforest for new pasture. It also generates most of its electricity from power stations that burn coal and gas, and its vehicles burn petrol and diesel.
    Explain why burning coal and petrol increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.2 marks
  3. Atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements show a concentration of about 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1800 and about 420 ppm in 2023. Over a similar period, the average global surface temperature has risen by about 1.1 °C.
    Describe the change in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration between 1800 and 2023 and calculate the percentage increase.3 marks
See the full worksheet

Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).