Thinking About Climate Change printable pdf download

Thinking About Climate Change

Analyzing Global Temperature and CO

Concentrations

Let’s look at global average temperature (blue line)

1. What is the general trend in this graph of average global temperature? _____________

______________________________________________________________________

2. Annual temperature is variable from year to year.

The lowest temperature was _______ and occurred in the year _______.

The highest temperature was _______ and occurred in the year _______.

3. What was the average global temperature in 1880? _______

4. What was the average global temperature in 2004? _______

5. How much has the global average temperature changed since the 1880? _______

6. What is the average rise in temperature per year between 1970 and 2000? _______

Let’s look at Carbon Dioxide (CO

)

1. What is the general trend of CO

concentration in this graph? _______

2. In which part of the graph is the slope steepest? _______________________

3. When was the slope the most gradual? _______________________

Drawing conclusions

1. In general, what can you say about the relationship of CO

and temperature from looking

at this graph?

______________________________________________________________________

2. If we project this average out to 2025, how much will the average global temperature be?

______

Image Source: Conservation Report (February 28, 2009) Global average temperature and CO

concentrations. Accessed October 30, 2009

Developed by Dr. Pam Blanchard and Dianne Lindstedt for the

Louisiana Sea Grant College Program

Thinking About Climate Change