However, if it weren’t for the greenhouse effect, we’d all be ice statues! Check it out!!

Much of the Sun’s energy is absorbed by the Earth’s surface. When the ground heats up, it sends energy back into the atmosphere. The atmosphere absorbs the energy as well and some of it escapes up into space while some falls back down to Earth. This is called the greenhouse effect. This system of rising and falling energy is what keeps Earth warm enough for human life to exist.

Which of the following gives the best reason for calling this system “the greenhouse effect?”

1. Greenhouses have an atmosphere that is similar to Earth.

2. Both greenhouses and Earth have many plants.

3. There are tiny particles of glass in Earth’s atmosphere that trap the warm air.

4. There is no relation to the greenhouse effect and actual greenhouses.

5. The glass in greenhouses behave similarly to that of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is pretty kewl! I wish I lived in a greenhouse. Then I could lay out and get a sweet tan in January.

So, number one is totally bogus. Greenhouses are tiny little houses made out of glass. They don’t have an atmosphere!

Number two is totally true because Earth DOES have a lot of plants. And so do greenhouses. I mean, that’s what greenhouses exist for, right? But since the passage doesn’t say anything about plants, then that’s probably not the best answer. And it doesn’t say anything about there being glass in the atmosphere either. It just says that the atmosphere lets some of the sun’s energy escape, and bounces the rest back. Maybe it acts like glass, but there isn’t any actual glass in the air! Otherwise we’d all have some serious breathing problems!

Number four is bogus too. Come on, it’s called the GREENHOUSE effect. I mean, it COULD be just a coincidence that the two have the same name, but it’s unlikely. And check it out, number four doesn’t even ANSWER the question! “What is the reason they call it the greenhouse effect?” “There’s no relation between greenhouses and the greenhouse effect.” That doesn’t make sense! So, there’s no way that’s right.

Five is the best answer. Even if I’d never seen or been to a greenhouse before, everyone knows what it’s like to get in a car on a really hot day. The air inside is like 100 degrees hotter, dude! All because of the windows, right? That sounds a lot like how the atmosphere bounces back warm energy, so the glass in a greenhouse has got to do the same thing!

Stay warm while you’re studying, everyone. Maybe you should try to find a greenhouse to study in! Sweet!!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Well, the other day, I saw THIS article: “Dinosaur experts bust up prehistoric party theory” Dudes! It’s just like them comin’ and bustin’ up my party.

Seems like some scientists went to check out the dinosaur footprints, and they said they weren’t footprints AT ALL! Like, they’re potholes, these new scientists say. So, you’ve got one group of scientists saying “Dino footprints!” and another group saying, “Naw, just potholes.” How’s anyone s’posed to know anything?

Seriously, I wanna talk about this, cuz it’s got me thinking. That article calls the dinosaur gathering ground idea a ‘theory,’ and I think it’s a good idea to get to know that word. The word ‘theory’ in science don’t just mean someone’s idea of what’s true… it’s gotta be an idea with evidence behind it. Some scientists thought there was evidence for dinosaurs gathering there, but that was only one group of scientists’ analysis of the rocks there. Now, another group of scientists says somethin’ different. That means, they got to go back and do more work, and maybe the first idea was totally wrong.

There’s lots of studies that scientists do all the time, and any one study could be totally wrong. Maybe the study design is bad. Maybe somethin’ wacky happened. Maybe the scientists are misinterpreting all the info they’ve got. Who knows! That’s why Science (with a big, capital S) isn’t about one study or one person’s idea. It’s about a lot of studies, over time, by different scientists, and what all of them show. The more information is gathered together and talked about and thought about and written about, the more sure scientists are about what they know. That’s how the big Theories (with a big, capital T) with lots of evidence get made, theories like evolution, the Big Bang, and gravity.

Okay. That’s what I got to say! An’ it’s important for your GED, too. I mean, you gotta know how scientists figure stuff out, right? And what they do when they have conflicting ideas. So, onward into more science! The truth is out there… and science is the way to find it!!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Well, some scientists found a place with lots and lots and LOTS of dinosaur footprints in the ground, and they’re calling it a “dinosaur dance floor“! Kewl. That rocks. They say that dinosaurs came there from all around, and they even thing they found marks of dino-tails dragging on the ground

So, here’s your GED question… scientists found an area with hundreds and hundreds of dinosaur footprints! What is the most likely reason dinosaurs all came to that area?

1) They came to dance!

2) There was a water source there.

3) The dinosaurs were just passing by the area.

4) The dinosaurs came there for sunlight.

5) The dinosaurs came there to make footprints.

D’ya get it? Come on! Dancing dinosaurs! That’s not really why the dinosaurs came there, dudes… but it looks like a dance floor, right? With all the footprints. So why would they really go there? What do animals want? Why do animals all get together in one place? It’s prolly� not for sun, cuz there’s sun in lots of places… and it’s prolly not just to make footprints. And just passing by… that’s not a reason. The most likely answer is a watering hole! Cuz animals come to water, it’s something they all need, and it’s not always easy to find. I’d go with that, answer 2.

Have fun with your GED!

And don’t forget to do a dinosaur dance when you pass!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Well, maybe it’s not exactly like that. But look at this article:

Dinosaur Mummy Found with Fossilized Skin and Soft Tissues

Doesn’t that make you think of giant T-rexes wrapped in bandages rampaging around New York? Kewl.

This dinosaur thing isn’t really an Egyptian-type mummy, it just got mummified like on accident. It’s kinda kewl that a 16-year-old discovered it (wish I’d done that!), but what’s science-kewl about it? I mean, why do scientists care? Isn’t it just another dinosaur they found? What’s the big deal that it’s got skin and tissue?

See if you can figure it out… and I’ll do the same thing, and I’ll let you know what I figured out in my next post.