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Climate change quiz: greenhouse effect and IPCC findings

Students hear about climate change everywhere, often mixed with half-truths. This quiz checks the essentials: how the greenhouse effect works, which gases contribute to it, what has changed since the industrial era and why a cold winter does not disprove global warming. Its 13 questions are mostly true-or-false statements and choice questions, each followed by an explanation. The scientific figures come from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, published between 2021 and 2023.

Time including discussion:
15–20 min
For:
Teachers of science, geography or civics, and students aged 15 to 18

English template · 13 questions

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Question 1 of 13

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, essential to life as we know it.

What you can leave with

Students who can explain the greenhouse effect in their own words and tell established findings from common misconceptions, plus questions for a follow-up discussion.

All questions in this template

Read the prompts now. Open a question to see its choices; the editor lets you adapt the wording and order.

  1. 1. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, essential to life as we know it.
    • True
    • False
  2. 2. Which gases in this list are greenhouse gases? (three answers)
    • Water vapour (H₂O)
    • Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
    • Methane (CH₄)
    • Nitrogen (N₂)
    • Oxygen (O₂)
  3. 3. According to the IPCC, which gas emitted by human activities contributes most to the warming observed since pre-industrial times?
    • Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
    • Methane (CH₄)
    • Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
  4. 4. The rise in atmospheric CO₂ since 1850 comes mainly from volcanic eruptions.
    • True
    • False
  5. 5. Before the industrial era, the air held about 280 ppm of CO₂. According to the IPCC, what was the concentration in 2019?
    • About 180 ppm
    • About 280 ppm
    • About 410 ppm
    • About 1,000 ppm
  6. 6. According to the IPCC (2021), it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
    • True
    • False
  7. 7. According to the IPCC, by how much did global surface temperature rise between 1850–1900 and 2011–2020?
    • About 0.1 °C
    • About 1.1 °C
    • About 3 °C
    • About 5 °C
  8. 8. Molecule for molecule, methane traps more heat than CO₂, but it stays in the atmosphere for a shorter time.
    • True
    • False
  9. 9. According to the IPCC, what are the two main causes of sea-level rise? (two answers)
    • Seawater expanding as it warms
    • Melting glaciers and ice sheets
    • Melting sea ice, which floats on the sea
    • Ever stronger tides
    • More rain falling on the ocean
  10. 10. A very cold winter in one region proves that global warming has stopped.
    • True
    • False
  11. 11. Earth’s climate has changed naturally in the past, so the current warming must be natural too.
    • True
    • False
  12. 12. The hole in the ozone layer is the main cause of global warming.
    • True
    • False
  13. 13. What is the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate, adopted in 2015?
    • Keep warming well below 2 °C, aiming for 1.5 °C
    • Limit warming to 3 °C
    • Return to 1850 temperatures by 2030
    • Close the hole in the ozone layer

How to run this activity

  1. 1

    Prepare your sources

    Read the explanations in the editor and keep the IPCC Summary for Policymakers at hand for follow-up questions. If you change a figure, check it against the IPCC report itself.

  2. 2

    Launch it live

    Project the session and share the PIN or QR code. Each question has a timer; warn students that some statements are common misconceptions and that careful reading matters more than speed.

  3. 3

    Discuss the misconceptions

    When many students choose a wrong answer, pause before the explanation and ask them to defend their choice. Then read the explanation and ask what evidence would change their mind.

  4. 4

    Go further

    Your session report shows which ideas are still fragile. Ask small groups to find the related passage in the IPCC summary, or to prepare a short explanation for younger students.

Make this activity yours

Keep what fits, rewrite what does not and set the pace for your group.

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