Understanding the relationship between energy and temperature can be challenging, but it is crucial to developing an understanding of the underlying mechanism behind climate change. In this article, the authors review the development of a unit that focuses on the relationship between energy, greenhouse gases, aerosols (a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air), and temperature through a model known as the Earth's Energy Budget, which tracks incoming and outgoing radiation, similar to a monetary budget. They implemented this unit in an Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science class, using the framing question: "Could aerosols worsen or improve what greenhouse gases are doing to our atmosphere?" By the end of the unit, the students knew why greenhouse gases and aerosols affect the climate and used this understanding to ask insightful questions that the authors hope will propel their intellectual curiosity.