The Earth's atmosphere has changed over time. During the Ice Ages, huge ice glaciers

Question

covered much of North America under hundreds of feet of ice and snow. There have also
been periods of global warming when polar ice has melted, flooding many lowland areas.
One cause of these changes is the amount of materials like dust, soot, ash and gases in the
atmosphere. How much of these materials are in the atmosphere affects the amount of
energy that the Earth can absorb from the sun, making the climate warmer or cooler.
Today about 70% of the sun's energy entering the atmosphere is absorbed by the Earth; the
rest is reflected back into space. At night excess heat radiates from the Earth and the planet
cools. But gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor or air pollution block this radiation process
and prevent the Earth from cooling. This is called the greenhouse effect. There is strong
scientific evidence that increased pollution over the past hundred years has added to the
amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing our climates to change - hotter
summers, new precipitation and wind patterns, stronger cyclones. If the global warming
process continues, our planet will experience serious problems.
Which of these examples most closely models the greenhouse effect?

Turning on several fans at once can keep you cool in a heat wave.
Reinforced windows keep heat inside your house in the winter.
Opening the door lets the air conditioning out in the summer.
Lighting a fire keeps the drafty ski lodge warm when it’s snowing

Answer 1

The example that most closely models the greenhouse effect is:

Reinforced windows keep heat inside your house in the winter.

This analogy illustrates how certain materials (like greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) prevent heat from escaping, similar to how reinforced windows can trap heat inside a house during colder months. The greenhouse effect works by allowing sunlight to enter the atmosphere, where it is absorbed by the Earth, but then preventing some of that heat from radiating back into space, leading to an increase in temperature, much like how reinforced windows retain warmth within a room.