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9.2.1Greenhouse gases

AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462), Higher tier · Chemistry of the atmosphere › Carbon dioxide and methane as greenhouse gases

Practise Greenhouse gases. 15 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.

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Name one other greenhouse gas.
water vapour

Sample questions

Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.

Question 1Easy4 marks
(a) Which two gases are greenhouse gases?
Tick (✓) two boxes.[2]
  • Argon
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Methane
  • Nitrogen
  • Oxygen
(b) Name one other greenhouse gas.[1]
(c) Why are greenhouse gases important for life on Earth?[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a) Answer: Carbon dioxide; Methane
(b) Answer: water vapour
  • water vapour
(c)
  • they keep the Earth's temperature high enough to support life
Question 2Medium5 marks
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere keep the Earth warm.
(a) What type of radiation is mainly given out by the Earth's surface?
Tick (✓) one box.[1]
  • Long wavelength (infrared) radiation
  • Short wavelength visible light
  • Ultraviolet radiation
  • Gamma radiation
(b) Describe how greenhouse gases keep the Earth warm.
Use ideas about short wavelength and long wavelength radiation in your answer.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a) Answer: Long wavelength (infrared) radiation
(b)
  • short wavelength radiation from the Sun passes through the atmosphere
  • the Earth's surface absorbs this radiation and emits long wavelength (infrared) radiation
  • greenhouse gases absorb (some of) the long wavelength radiation
  • and re-emit it in all directions, including back towards the Earth, so the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere are warmer
Question 3Hard4 marks
Large amounts of methane are frozen within permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in polar regions.
(a) Suggest why scientists are concerned that rising global temperatures could cause a 'positive feedback' involving permafrost.[2]
(b) Explain why this makes predicting future global temperature rise more difficult for scientists.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
  • as temperatures rise, permafrost thaws, releasing the methane trapped within it into the atmosphere
  • since methane is a greenhouse gas, this causes further warming, which thaws more permafrost, releasing yet more methane, and so on
(b)
  • the size and speed of this feedback effect is hard to measure and predict accurately
  • so computer models may underestimate future warming if this feedback is not fully accounted for

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