Question

spiral review

1. in 1969, the annual global mean temperature was 14°c. in 2019, the annual global mean temperature was 14.8°c. two different news websites reported this change.

website a
\in the last 50 years, the annual global mean temperature has increased by almost 6%.\
website b
\there has been an increase in the annual global mean temperature of approximately 5% during the last half century.\
which website more accurately reported the change? explain your thinking.

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate temperature difference

$\Delta T = 14.8^\circ\text{C} - 14^\circ\text{C} = 0.8^\circ\text{C}$

Step2: Compute percentage increase

$\text{Percentage Increase} = \frac{\Delta T}{\text{Original Temperature}} \times 100\% = \frac{0.8}{14} \times 100\%$

Step3: Simplify the calculation

$\frac{0.8}{14} \times 100\% \approx 5.71\%$

Step4: Compare to website claims

Website A claims ~6%, Website B claims ~5%. The calculated value is closer to 6%.

Answer:

Website A reported the change more accurately. The actual percentage increase in annual global mean temperature is approximately 5.71%, which is closer to the ~6% stated by Website A than the ~5% stated by Website B.