Download climate change workshop lesson plan

CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOP LESSON PLAN
This lesson is for grade 8 physical science students. It supports their study of elements, chemical
bonding, organic compounds, and chemical reactions. At the time of this lesson, students may have
learned “big picture” information about atomic structure, chemical bonds, chemical reactions, and
elements, including carbon and the carbon cycle (including photosynthesis, “consumption,” cellular
respiration, and decomposition, to which they were introduced in grade 7). In grade 6 and/or 7
students were also introduced to sustainability, including that of using fossil fuels (oil and coal) as an
energy source, and climate change. In my class, students develop an increasingly complex model of
these overarching themes as they connect current concepts to these ideas.
During their studies, students generally ask the following questions:
1. How are fossil fuels formed? If we run out of fossil fuel, why can’t we just make some more?
2. What happens when things are burned that results in carbon dioxide gas being released?
3. What makes carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas?
This lesson will apply and enhance the basic knowledge students have acquired and attempt to
address their questions. It provides an opportunity to apply previous knowledge in context
while reviewing concepts, challenging comprehension, and revisiting global climate change,
which is studied in more detail in my class subsequent to this lesson.
atomic theory,
structure,
processes
carbon,
carbon cycle
this lesson
climate change
NOTES:
1. It is possible that many students will lose track of elemental carbon and other carbon compounds
about which they have learned and begin to equate CO2 with carbon. The distinction between these
substances should be highlighted throughout this lesson.
2. In discussions both about the formation of fossil fuel and the consequences of global climate
change (further studied in subsequent lessons), it could be interesting to consider the causes of the
conditions necessary for the creation of fossil fuels and whether earth could once again be subject
to those conditions. It may be interesting to generate an ongoing discussion of this idea, considered
in following excerpt, “The Irony of Oil,” from the documentary “Crude – The Incredible Journey
of Oil” http://www.abc.net.au/science/crude/
It took a super-greenhouse earth to create our richest oil deposits. Ironically, by using oil up we
may recreate the toxic conditions necessary to form new supplies.
In the mid-Jurassic, huge swathes of microscopic phytoplankton fell to the bottom of stagnant
seas, taking trapped sunlight and carbon dioxide with them. Under the right temperature,
pressure, and geological conditions, the phytoplankton was cooked until their contents were
converted into long chain hydrocarbons. The result was crude oil-liquid, fossilized sunlight.
The basics of the story of oil have been known for decades. But while geologists once thought the
huge oil deposits on which modern life and economies are based were formed because of
favorable local conditions - a particularly fertile coastline, or a naturally stagnant patch of
seafloor - the evidence now paints a very different picture.
To form large reserves of oil, it seems that you need two interlinked global catastrophes - a
super-greenhouse effect for warmth, and stagnant, oxygen-depleted oceans for preservation. And
that was very much the picture of the earth 50 million years ago, when all our richest oil regions
were beginning to form.
Indeed, locking away the excessive atmospheric CO2 on the sea floor was the only thing that
brought balance back to our ancient climates and oceans, and made the planet habitable again.
The period of super-greenhouse ended, and ice on the poles of the cooling planet was again able
to drive the ocean conveyor belt, returning oxygen to the deep seas.
In the last 150 years we have released much of the ancient carbon from oil back into the
atmosphere as CO2, driving the now familiar greenhouse effect. But things could get far worse.
Ironically, it seems that as we burn our way to the end of oil, the CO2 we're returning to the
atmosphere could recreate the super-greenhouse conditions that would heat and poison the
oceans, once again laying the conditions for depositing oil.
3. In teaching this lesson, it may also be interesting to generate an ongoing sidebar keeping track of
related conditions on other planets in our solar system. This would support the accomplishment of
Earth in the Solar System Standard 4e: Students know the appearance, general composition, relative
position and size, and motion of objects in the solar system, including planets, planetary satellites,
comets, and asteroids. Some material in support of this activity has been included in the embedded
links.
TITLE:
Close Focus: Fossil Fuels & Global Climate Change
SCIENCE CONCEPTS:
1. Carbon is sequestered in fossil fuel.
2. The combustion of fossil fuel returns carbon to the atmosphere.
3. Carbon is in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a “greenhouse gas” that absorbs and radiates heat
from earth.
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND:
See information included with the embedded links.
RELATIONSHIP TO CALIFORNIA STANDARDS:
CALIFORNIA STATE CONTENT STANDARDS, SCIENCE GRADE 8
3. Structure of Matter
b. Students know that compounds are formed by combining two or more different elements and that
compounds have properties that are different from their constituent elements.
c. Students know atoms and molecules form solids by building up repeating patterns.
d. Students know the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) depend on molecular motion.
5. Chemical reactions are processes in which atoms are rearranged into different combinations of
molecules.
a. Students know reactant atoms and molecules interact to form products with different chemical
properties.
b. Students know the idea of atoms explains the conservation of matter: In chemical reactions the
number of atoms & total mass stays the same.
c. Students know chemical reactions usually liberate heat or absorb heat
6. Principles of chemistry underlie the functioning of biological systems.
a. Students know that carbon, because of its ability to combine in many ways with itself and other
elements, has a central role in the chemistry of living organisms.
b. Students know that living organisms are made of molecules consisting largely of carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
9. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS: MIDDLE SCHOOL
LS2.B Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
ESS2.A Earth’s Materials and Systems
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and
nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that
drives this process.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out
experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in
a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model,
graph, or table).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments,
simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts
in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S):
1. Students will be able to apply a basic understanding of how carbon ends up in coal and oil,
how combustion releases carbon as carbon dioxide gas, and how carbon dioxide gas is able
to absorb and radiate heat to an explanation of the carbon cycle and climate change.
2. Students will successfully complete an experiment demonstrating that water and carbon
dioxide are combustion products.
EVALUATION IDEAS:
1. Formative:
a. Students will apply their understanding of how coal and oil are formed in the creation of a
Personal Poster and Venn diagram.
b. In groups, students will create a carbon cycle poster, including the creation and
combustion of fossil fuel and manipulation of the cycle with regard to human impact.
c. In groups, students will mime a physical model of carbon dioxide gas in the presence
of the energy coming from the sun and the earth, including the vibration of the molecules
and the process of absorbing and radiating or “ignoring” energy. This will take the form
of a “dance” or other physical interaction.
2. Summative: Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in
correct answers to short answer application questions on quizzes, an exam, and on the final.
DIFFERENTIATION PLANS:
The variety of materials provided in support of each topic and the creative aspects of the
formative evaluations provide accommodation for variations in academic ability, reading level,
and learning style. The teacher should be able to vary the material used to challenge and provide
opportunities for the successful effort of any student in the class, including very high and very
low students.
MATERIALS, NOTES, SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS, AND SAFETY CONCERNS ARE
INCLUDED IN THE MATERIAL LINKED BELOW, AS APPLICABLE.
LESSON IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS:
I. BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE: CARBON & THE CARBON CYCLE
Activities to be used, as necessary, to teach the basics, reteach, review, or enhance student
knowledge and experience with regard to the element carbon and the carbon cycle:
A. What Contains Carbon?
Guided discussion, group work with manipulatives, written record of analysis
In this activity, students will discover that:
1. Carbon is an extremely common element on the earth.
2. Carbon can be found in many forms, in both living and non-living things.
Time: 1 class period (minimum of 45 minutes)
http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/resources/lessons/what-contains-carbon/
B. Carbon Cycle Role-Play
Guided discussion, group role-play (involves movement over a large area)
In this activity, students will model that:
1. There is a finite amount of carbon on earth.
2. Carbon moves around in the environment, from one place to another.
Time: 1 class period (minimum of 45 minutes)
http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/resources/lessons/carbon-cycle-roleplay-3-12/
C. Carbon Cycle Poster (formative assessment and/or further teaching /reinforcement)
Group creation of carbon cycle poster with manipulation in regard to human impact
In this activity, students will apply their understanding that:
1. Carbon is in all of the earth’s major spheres: biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere.
2. Carbon moves/cycles from one sphere to another.
3. Humans influence the carbon cycle and contribute to global climate change.
Time: 1 class period (minimum of 45 minutes)
http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/resources/lessons/carbon-cycle-poster-3-12/
Additional Resources:
The Life and Times of Carbon
http://www.californiaeei.org/Curriculum/
Lesson Plan: Examines Earth’s various carbon reservoirs
Global Carbon Cycle Online Tutorial (excellent)
http://www3.geosc.psu.edu/~dmb53/DaveSTELLA/Carbon/carbon_intro.htm
Carbon cycle animation (interactive diagram, excellent information)
http://elearn.wvu.edu/faculty/demo/Module_2/carbon_cycle_animation.html
Carbon cycle core information page
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html
Carbon cycle explained:
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html
Carbon dioxide core information with links:
http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html
II. CLOSE FOCUS: FOSSIL FUEL
A. HOW FOSSIL FUELS ARE FORMED
1. Students view and read - in class and at home – a selection of video and print materials taken
from the resources that follow. Students interact with the material through discussion, note-taking,
response to questions, or other appropriate activity.
2. Application & Evaluation: Students create:
a. A Personal Poster (8X11 illustrated concept map) of each process
b. A Venn diagram comparing the formation of coal and oil
How Coal Is Formed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hhHhaX43No&list=PLzAkonlEpBwbHiQzfMuhj_dN5CUR
A4Yba
(Video: This is the 4th lesson in the series "Lithosphere" and reviews the characteristics and
properties of energy derived from fossil fuels, specifically coal and crude oil. It describes coal
formation [then explains the physical concepts involved in crude oil extraction and distillation,
and reviews how the process of cracking increases the supply].)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBeXRRTGjNE&list=PLzAkonlEpBwbHiQzfMuhj_dN5CU
RA4Yba
(Video: In a presentation with regard to designing a system of mining to suit the split seams in
the Northumberland coal field, an analysis of the small detail reveals how it was formed.)
http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmhow.html (core concepts; animation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tx9fOb7-K1o
(Video: Free Range Chemistry 03 Carbon; 54 second presentation of the idea that Carbon was
one of the first “chemicals made by man” - completely by accident.)
http://geology.com/rocks/coal.shtml (Print: What is coal, how is it formed, how is it used)
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/where-does-coal-come-from
(Print: How coal is formed, types of coal, additional links)
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html (Print: Where fossil fuels come from, coal,
oil, and natural gas)
How Crude Oil Is Formed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPgfnwi2m9M (Video: abbreviated You-Tube presentation of
segment of “Crude – the Incredible Journey of Oil,” a comprehensive documentary)
http://www.abc.net.au/science/crude/ (Video: the original “Crude – the Incredible Journey of
Oil” documentary, by section + extras)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiBmXC8w0jg (Video: core concepts; animation)
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html (Print: Where fossil fuels come from, coal,
oil, and natural gas)
B. COMBUSTION OF FOSSIL FUEL
1. Students view and read - in class and at home – a selection of video and print material taken
from the resources that follow. Students interact with the material through discussion, note-taking,
response to questions, or other appropriate activity.
a. The reading can also be accomplished using this lesson plan: Combustion of Fossil
Fuels http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/chemistry-of-petroleum-2/
Chemistry of Petroleum 2: What Happens to Hydrocarbons When They Burn? Although
designed for students in grades 11-12, the first sections of this lesson are appropriate for
Middle School students. In this lesson, students investigate what happens to fossil fuels,
such as hydrocarbons, when they burn (combustion). To better understand the
combustion of fossil fuels, students access two online resources, answer questions based
on their reading, and discuss their answers in class.
Example: Students read the Combustion of Fossil Fuels student e-sheet and then
answer questions on the Combustion of Fossil Fuels student sheet. Teachers can
find answers to the questions on the Combustion of Fossil Fuels teacher sheet.
b. This can be followed by similar work using:
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/512energycombust.html (energy of combustion)
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/512energycombust.html (bond energy of fossil fuel)
2. Combustion Experiment: demonstrates that carbon dioxide and water are produced during
combustion. A candle is burned inside a gas jar. The students then test for the presence of carbon
dioxide and water. Time: one class period (minimum: 30 minutes)
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000400/combustion?cmpid=CMP00000470
a. Making Limewater
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/making-limewater-solution-science-teaching-tip/a/1101/
Put 1 teaspoon of calcium hydroxide in a clean glass jar, up to 1 gallon in size. (Limewater is a
saturated solution. There will be some extra chemical that doesn't dissolve. A teaspoon will result
in a fully saturated solution whether you use a gallon jar or a smaller one.) Fill the jar with
distilled or tap water. Shake the jar vigorously for 1-2 minutes, then let stand for 24 hours. Being
careful not to stir up the sediment, pour the clearer solution off the top of the jar through a clean
coffee filter or filter paper. Repeat the filtering step if necessary to obtain a clear limewater
solution. Store in a clean jar or bottle. When carbon dioxide is bubbled into limewater, calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) is produced. It precipitates out as a white suspended solid, making the
solution appear cloudy.
b. Cobalt Chloride Paper
Cobalt chloride forms a complex compound with H2O. Blue CoCl2 paper detects water or water
vapor. Reacting with H2O, it will form CoCl2•6H2O (pink).
C. HOW DOES A CARBON DIOXIDE MOLECULE ABSORB HEAT?
1. Students view and read - in class and at home – a selection of video and print material taken
from the resources that follow. Students interact with the material through discussion, notetaking, response to questions, or other appropriate activity.
2. Application & Evaluation: In groups, students mime a physical model of carbon dioxide gas in
the presence of the energy coming from the sun and the earth, including the vibration of the
molecules, the process of absorbing or “ignoring” energy, and the radiation of energy absorbed.
This would take the form of a “dance” or other physical interaction.
Physics of the Greenhouse Effect
http://chriscolose.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/physics-of-the-greenhouse-effect-pt-2/
Includes fairly complex explanation of how greenhouse gases work at the molecular level with
regard to vibrations that correspond to absorption at different wavelengths; also, feedback,
examples of how the greenhouse effect has played out elsewhere in the solar system.
http://www.espere.net/Unitedkingdom/water/uk_absorption.htm
Includes a less technical overview of how radiation coming from the sun and re-emitted by the
earth hits molecules in the air and is absorbed. (If the energy of this radiation matches the energy
necessary to create particular oscillations of the molecules (to "excite" them), the radiation
energy is taken up (absorbed) and stored in the air itself.)
http://news.thomasnet.com/green_clean/2012/03/06/carbon-dioxide-how-can-one-little-moleculebe-such-a-big-troublemaker/
Includes what it is about carbon dioxide that makes it a greenhouse gas + the greenhouse effect.
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/carbon/3a.html
EarthLabs Lab 3, Carbon in the Atmosphere: My Life as a Greenhouse Gas, Section 3A: CO2 –
It’s a Gas; includes animations and explanation for why some gases in the atmosphere contribute
to the greenhouse effect and others do not; includes interactive self-check comprehension
questions.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
These materials could be used to connect information in this lesson to global climate change.
Climate Science Info Zone
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ClimateChanging/ClimateScienceInfoZone/ExploringEarthscl
imate/1point5/1point5point2.aspx
Explanations of all the pieces of Climate Change; topics are presented in a series of graphic
organizers that can be manipulated to reveal ever more detailed explanations of the concepts.
EarthLabs: Climate and the Carbon Cycle (interactive features not functional as still under
development 06/2013)
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/carbon/index.html
Starts with the carbon cycle, including how carbon moves, where carbon is stored, how living
things regulate the carbon cycle; leads to an analysis of the effect of carbon dioxide on the Earth's
climate and an exploration of possible solutions to a warming climate. Includes case studies,
NASA visualizations, current research, and interactive features in 8 online labs.
KQED: Clue Into Climate
http://www.kqed.org/education/educators/clue-into-climate/greenhouse-gases.jsp
Lesson Plan: In lessons 1a-1e students learn how the greenhouse effect works and how increased
levels of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere are altering climate patterns worldwide. By
the end of the strand, students will understand the evidence and models that suggest that climate
change is occurring and that human activities are the predominant cause of this change.
The Greenhouse Effect
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_3_1.htm
Provides an overview of the earth's atmospheric "greenhouse effect" by briefly exploring the
atmospheres of nearby planets and discussing our atmosphere's greenhouse gases. Includes two
student activities.