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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Natural and human causes of climate change

I can understand the natural and human causes of climate change.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
AQA

Natural and human causes of climate change

I can understand the natural and human causes of climate change.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are natural and human causes of climate change.
  2. Natural causes of climate change include orbital changes, asteroid collisions, volcanic activity and solar output.
  3. Human causes of climate change include the use of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation.
  4. Human causes of climate change produce greenhouse gases, enhancing the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.

Keywords

  • Milankovitch cycles - natural changes in Earth's orbit and tilt over thousands of years that influence solar energy and Earth’s climate

  • Greenhouse gas - a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to Earth's warming, e.g. CO₂ and methane

  • Enhanced greenhouse effect - the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities, leading to global warming

Common misconception

Climate change is only caused by human activity.

Human activity has been significant in recent climate change, but natural factors have caused changes to the climate over millions of years.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: Natural and human causes of climate change, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It is important to ensure a good understanding of both the natural greenhouse effect and the enhanced greenhouse effect, the use of videos and diagrams to support this is key.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the correct definition to each key term.
Correct Answer:Quaternary period,Period of geological time from 2.6 million years ago to the present
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Period of geological time from 2.6 million years ago to the present

Correct Answer:Glacial period,Period when temperatures decrease significantly and ice advances
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Period when temperatures decrease significantly and ice advances

Correct Answer:Interglacial period,Warmer period of time between ice ages and glaciers retreat
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Warmer period of time between ice ages and glaciers retreat

Q2.
Which of these statements correctly describe the Quaternary period?
Correct answer: It is part of the Cenozoic era
Temperatures have shown a gradual increase
Correct answer: It has seen cyclical changes between cold and warmer periods
Q3.
Since 1880 there has been a more increase in global temperatures, accelerated by human activities.
1 - R
2 - A
3 - P
4 - I
5 - D
Q4.
Which of these are examples of historical evidence of climate change (going back more than 200 years)?
Global temperature records
Correct answer: Tree rings
Correct answer: Fossil records
Sea level rise
Q5.
Which of these are examples of recent evidence of climate change (within the last 100 years)?
Correct answer: Melting glaciers
Diaries and paintings
Fossil record
Correct answer: Sea level rise
Q6.
Scientists take from the deep ice sheet in Antarctica and these have provided climate data for the last 400 000 years.
Correct Answer: Ice cores, ice, core

4 Questions

Q1.
Match the Milankovitch cycles to its correct description.
Correct Answer:Eccentricity,Shape of Earth’s orbit
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Shape of Earth’s orbit

Correct Answer:Axial tilt,Tilt of Earth’s axis
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Tilt of Earth’s axis

Correct Answer:Precession,Wobble of Earth’s axis
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Wobble of Earth’s axis

Q2.
The number of sunspots rises and falls over an year cycle.
Correct Answer: 11, eleven
Q3.
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and are all greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.
1 - m
2 - e
3 - t
4 - h
5 - a
6 - n
7 - e
Q4.
Human activity has caused the greenhouse effect.
Correct Answer: enhanced