Listen&Learn: The Ozone Layer

Learn about the environmental disaster that the world prevented.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• atmosphere: the layers of gases that surround the Earth
• ultraviolet: a type of invisible radiation
• photon: a particle of light
• cancer: a type of disease caused by abnormal cells forming in the body
• artificial: unnatural, man-made
• emission: the release of gas into the air

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The ozone layer is a layer of in the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The molecules that make up ozone gas are made of three bonded oxygen atoms. Ozone forms when photons up molecules of oxygen gas. The ozone layer humans and animals from the harmful of UV radiation, including cancers. However, in the 1980s, scientists discovered a dangerously thin area in the ozone layer above Antarctica. This is commonly known as the “ozone hole”. Artificial emissions of chlorine gases had destroyed many of the ozone molecules in the atmosphere. In 1987, a agreement known as the Montreal Protocol banned the use of certain chemicals in order to protect the ozone layer. Since then, the ozone hole has been shrinking.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The ozone layer absorbs
   a. visible light
   b. ultraviolet radiation
   c. debris from space
   
2. Ozone is made up of
   a. bonded oxygen atoms
   b. bonded oxygen and chlorine atoms
   c. bonded oxygen and carbon atoms
   
3. The “hole” in the ozone layer is above
   a. Australia
   b. North America
   c. Antarctica

Discussion/essay questions

1. The quick action taken in 1987 prevented a global disaster. Do you think the world will be able to prevent climate change the same way?

Transcript

The ozone layer is a layer of gas in the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The molecules that make up ozone gas are made of three bonded oxygen atoms. Ozone forms when photons break up molecules of oxygen gas. The ozone layer protects humans and animals from the harmful effects of UV radiation, including cancers. However, in the 1980s, scientists discovered a dangerously thin area in the ozone layer above Antarctica. This is commonly known as the “ozone hole”. Artificial emissions of chlorine gases had destroyed many of the ozone molecules in the atmosphere. In 1987, a global agreement known as the Montreal Protocol banned the use of certain chemicals in order to protect the ozone layer. Since then, the ozone hole has been shrinking.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3c