Background: When humans dig up and use fossil fuels, we have an impact on the carbon cycle ( Figure below ). This carbon is not recycled until it is used by humans. The burning of fossil fuels releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than is used by photosynthesis. So, there is more carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere than is coming out of it. Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas , since it lets in light energy but does not let heat escape, much like the panes of a greenhouse. The increase of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere is contributing to a global rise in Earth’s temperature, known as global warming or global climate change.

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Which planet has less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Answer: Caprica

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Which planet has more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Answer: Earth

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Earth need more or less photosynthesis than Caprica
Answer: more

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Caprica need more or less photosynthesis than Earth?
Answer: less

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Which planet has a higher temperature?
Answer: Earth

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Which planet has a lower temperature?
Answer: Caprica

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Earth or Caprica allow less heat to escape the atmosphere?
Answer: Earth

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Earth or Caprica allow more heat to escape the atmosphere?
Answer: Caprica

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Caprica have more or less greenhouse gases than Earth?
Answer: less

Situation: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels.

Question: Does Earth have more or less greenhouse gases than Caprica?
Answer: more