Meet the Greenhouse Gases!

Provided by: NASA Climate Kids |Published on: August 5, 2021

Activity - Classroom

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Synopsis

These colorful and fun greenhouse gas cards help students learn about water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.
Each card explains how the gas forms, how it traps heat, and how it contributes to climate change.

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Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: NASA Climate Kids

Region: Global

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Discussion Prompts

Ask students: Why does the article compare greenhouse gases to a blanket or a glass greenhouse? What does that comparison help us understand?
Have students compare the four gas cards: Which gases come from natural sources, which come from human activities, and which come from both?

Differentiation

Since there are four gas cards, try grouping students in fours, giving each student one gas to become the "expert" on. Students can then take turns describing their gas's sources and role without naming it, while the group guesses which one it is.
For an extension, have students design an original trading card for a gas not covered here (e.g., ozone) using the same front/back format: composition and sources on one side, its effect on warming on the other.
For younger students, focus the discussion on the "blanket" and "greenhouse" analogies used in the text to build intuition before introducing the gas names.

SDG Connection

This resource can be used to make connections to Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action.

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Meet the Greenhouse Gases!

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources