WA3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WA3 - Assignment Example Halmann and Steinberg (1) explain that Earth has blanket like atmospheres that prevent heat from the solar radiation directed from the sun to the earth. The authors point out that the atmosphere maintains the temperature of the earth at 15 degrees Celsius. However, without atmosphere, the temperatures would have been lower, approximately -19 degrees Celsius. This fact can be explained clearly from the lower surface temperatures of the moon. The moon has no atmosphere making it inhabitable, unlike the earth. The earth surface is warm due to blanket like atmosphere; the atmosphere is created by gases in the atmosphere of the earth. The gases are referred to as greenhouse gases because their capability to trap heat. Some of the gases behind the earth’s atmosphere are carbon dioxide and water vapor. Other greenhouse gases include nitrous oxide and methane (Greenhouse Effect). Some of the greenhouse gases mentioned above are carbon dioxide and water vapor. Carbon dioxide CO2 as name suggest has a carbon atom and two-oxygen atoms. Two atoms of oxygen are bonded to CO2. As a molecule, all the three atoms are bonded making it easy to absorb energy from the sun inform of infrared radiation. The infrared radiation is absorbed by the molecule and so the molecule vibrates. Vibrating molecule loses the previously absorbed radiation easily which in turn another molecule absorbs it. This goes in the cycle and in the end the infrared radiation is not lost, therefore, the surface of the earth is kept warm. Nitrous oxide, methane and water vapor does the same as carbon dioxide. Their molecules absorb and lose heat because they are loosely bounded to compound atoms (Greenhouse Effect). Greenhouse gases previously in 19th century were seen as natural functioning gases with positive effects. However, in mid 20th-century people became more concern with greenhouse gases due change of climate and increasing temperatures. Some greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide,