Incoming sunlightEnergy from the Sun on its way to Earth's surface.
Sunlight reflected by cloudsSunlight that clouds bounce back to space. It never warms the ground.
Sunlight reflected by the surfaceSunlight that the ground bounces back. Snow and ice reflect the most.
Sunlight absorbed by the surfaceSunlight the land and ocean take in. It warms them.
Surface of the EarthThe land and ocean. Sunlight warms them, and they give off heat.
Heat going out 5
Heat given off by the surfaceThe warmed surface gives off heat as infrared radiation.
Greenhouse gasesGases that absorb heat. Carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor are three.
Heat sent back to the surfaceHeat the greenhouse gases radiate back down. This keeps the surface warm.
Heat escaping to spaceHeat that gets past the gases and leaves Earth.
AtmosphereThe layer of air around Earth. Greenhouse gases are part of it.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in a NASA page and a UCAR page. (1) NASA Science, What is the greenhouse effect?, https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/ (heat held near the surface by greenhouse gases; the gases named). (2) NASA Science, Earth's Radiation Budget, https://science.nasa.gov/ems/13_radiationbudget/ (incoming radiation from the Sun; reflected off clouds; reflected off snow, ice or other surfaces or absorbed by the surface; longwave infrared radiation emitted; some radiates toward the surface, some out to space). (3) UCAR Center for Science Education, The Greenhouse Effect, https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/greenhouse-effect (solar energy absorbed at the surface is radiated as heat; greenhouse gases absorb it and radiate it back to the surface or out to space; some heat goes to space directly). (4) UCAR Center for Science Education, The Sun and Earth's Energy Budget, https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/energy-budget (incoming solar energy reflected by clouds and ice; the warm ground and oceans release infrared radiation). (5) US Environmental Protection Agency, Overview of Greenhouse Gases, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases; water vapor). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
The greenhouse effect diagram with no labels, to print and fill in by hand. Eleven parts wait for a name: six for the sunlight coming in, five for the heat going out.
Read the full guide
Six names on the sunlight side
Besides the Sun and the surface of the Earth, four names have the word sunlight in them. Incoming sunlight is the wide arrow. The thinner arrow that bounces off the cloud is sunlight reflected by clouds; the one that rises from the ground is sunlight reflected by the surface. The patch of ground where small arrows sink in is sunlight absorbed by the surface.
Five names on the heat side
Three wavy arrows meet at the greenhouse gases, the cluster of molecules: heat given off by the surface comes up to it, heat escaping to space leaves from it, and heat sent back to the surface points down. The band of air they cross is the atmosphere.
Short answers to accept: reflected by clouds, reflected by the surface, absorbed by the surface, heat sent back.
Questions and answers
Why do greenhouse gases absorb heat?
Their molecules are made of three or more atoms, held together loosely enough to vibrate when they absorb heat. They then release it toward the surface, another molecule or space. Nitrogen and oxygen, most of the air, cannot absorb heat this way.
Is all the heat from the surface trapped?
No. Some heat reaches space directly, and some is taken up by greenhouse gases and then radiated to space. Only the part radiated back toward the surface warms it: the one wavy arrow that points down.
Is water vapor a greenhouse gas?
Yes. NASA lists it with carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons. Water vapor reacts to temperature changes, so NASA calls it a feedback: it amplifies warming that something else began.
What is left off the greenhouse effect picture?
Sunlight absorbed by the atmosphere: a fourth sunlight arrow crowded the drawing. No watts, percentages or temperatures are printed either: the picture shows where the energy goes, not how much.