How do you describe the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is a process that warms the planets temperature to warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. It makes the planet a comfortable place to live. It works like a greenhouse or glasshouse that is used to grow fruit and vegetables. A greenhouse stays warm inside, even during the winter. In the daytime, sunlight shines into the greenhouse and warms the plants and air inside. At nighttime, it's colder outside, but the greenhouse stays pretty warm inside. That's because the glass walls of the greenhouse trap the Sun's heat.The greenhouse effect in the atmosphere works in a similar way, gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide trap the heat on the atmosphere causing it to warm. During the day, the Sun shines through the atmosphere. Earth's surface warms up in the sunlight. At night, Earth's surface cools, releasing heat back into the air. But some of the heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Humans are impacting on the greenhouse effect by burning fossil fuels like coal and oil that release carbon dioxide and cause the planet to warm even more.

KP
Answered by Katherine P. Chemistry tutor

2943 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Explain why graphite conducts electricity. The answer should include structure and bonding of graphite.


How does electrolysis work?


What are the differences between the effects of a catalyst vs reactant concentration on the position of equilibrium/ why?


Explain the physical properties of graphite in terms of its structure and bonding


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning