Question

Carbon dioxide is called green-house gas because it is

• A. used in green-house to increase plant growth
• B. transparent to heat but traps sunlight
• C. transparent to sunlight but traps heat
• D. transparent to both sunlight and heat

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

transparent to sunlight but traps heat

Answer 2

The excess amount of $CO_{2}$ forms a thick blanket in the atmosphere which is transparent to sunlight but absorbs infrared radiation trapping heat near the earths surface. In this way, due to $CO_{2}$ blanket, the earths atmosphere works very much like agreen-house which causes warming up of the interior. So, carbon dioxide is called green house gas.