Heat Trapped in Air

In the picture

1. 1A gas-molecule cluster: it takes in heat rising from below.
2. 2A rising red wavy arrow: heat travelling upward from the ground.
3. 3A red wavy arrow angled downward: heat sent back toward the ground.
4. 4A yellow straight arrow: sunlight passing through the air.

Examples

• A car left in the sun gets hotter inside than the air outside.
• A greenhouse stays warm on a sunny day because its glass holds in heat.

Quiz: Heat Trapped in Air (Age 12)

1. 1

   What happens to heat rising from the ground when it meets certain gases in the air?

   • It turns into water vapour.
   • It passes straight through those gases unchanged.
   • It is absorbed by those gases.
2. 2

   What happens to heat after these gases absorb it?

   • It is all lost to space immediately.
   • Some of it is sent back down toward the ground.
   • It stays stored in the gases and never descends.
3. 3

   How does this process affect the lower air?

   • It makes the lower air colder by blocking sunlight.
   • It leaves the lower air at the same temperature as space.
   • It makes the lower air warmer than if all the heat escaped.

The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This lesson has left the free week, so its quiz is part of the subscription.