I have to state three causes and effects of the cold war.

Causes:
-The Soviet union was trying to get surrounding countries to become communist
-The acquisition of atomic weapons by America caused fear in the Soviets.
-Both countries feared an attack from each other.

Effects:
-America was trying to stop them from doing this and prevent non Communist countries from becoming communist.
-Both the United States of America and the Soviet Union built up huge arsenals of atomic weapons and ballistic missiles.
-The military blocs NATO and The Warsaw Pact were formed

Do they add up/make sense?

I agree.

I would reword the first cause: Soviets wanted buffers between itself and Germany and Nato.

Another effect is Soviets closed off their society from the better off west, and many things we had for consumers (like appliances, electricity, telephones, cheap quality food, autos) they did not have.

Yes, the causes and effects you have listed for the Cold War make sense and are accurate. Let's break them down:

Causes:
1. The Soviet Union's push for communism: The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, aimed to spread communism and exert influence over surrounding countries. This led to tensions with Western capitalist countries, primarily the United States. The ideological differences between communism and capitalism played a significant role in fueling the conflict.

2. Fear of atomic weapons: The United States' development and deployment of atomic weapons, particularly demonstrated during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, caused fear and concern in the Soviet Union. The Soviet leadership felt the need to match American military capabilities, leading to an arms race between the two superpowers.

3. Mutual fear and mistrust: Both the United States and the Soviet Union suspected each other of planning an attack. This mutual suspicion and fear of a potential conflict added to the tensions between the two nations, reinforcing the division and competition that defined the Cold War era.

Effects:
1. Containment policies: The United States, through its foreign policy of containment, aimed to prevent the spread of communism. This led to various interventions and conflicts, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as the US sought to combat communist influence and protect non-communist nations.

2. Arms race and proliferation of nuclear weapons: Both the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an arms race, stockpiling vast arsenals of nuclear weapons and developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering such weapons over long distances. This arms race escalated tensions and heightened the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.

3. Military alliances: The Cold War resulted in the formation of military blocs. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by Western countries, primarily led by the United States, as a defensive alliance against Soviet aggression. In response, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact, consisting of its satellite states in Eastern Europe. These military alliances further contributed to the division and polarization of the world during the Cold War period.

Overall, your list of causes and effects provides a comprehensive overview of the main factors that led to and resulted from the Cold War.