Choose the correct answer from each of the four options given below:
Which one of the following is a Greenhouse gas?
Topic: Greenhouse gases
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Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(b) Methane.
METHANE (CH₄) is a greenhouse gas — and a far more powerful one than carbon dioxide, molecule for molecule.
The greenhouse gases: CARBON DIOXIDE, METHANE, NITROUS OXIDE, CFCs and WATER VAPOUR. They allow the sun’s short-wave radiation through but TRAP the long-wave heat radiated back from the earth.
Why the others fail: OXYGEN and NITROGEN make up 99% of the atmosphere and trap no heat at all — which is precisely why the earth is habitable. SULPHUR DIOXIDE is a pollutant, but it causes ACID RAIN, not the greenhouse effect. Do not confuse the two problems.
Methane’s sources are worth knowing: paddy fields, cattle, termites, landfills and marshes — which is why it is sometimes called marsh gas.
Methane.