Inquiry Inquiries:

Differentiation & Scientific Practices

Catherine Cho, Gregory Dorsey, Mary Duff, Conor Ganon, Amelia Nystrom, Davis Tran, & Nathan Weiss

Graduate student advisor: Lindsay Wheeler
Faculty advisor: Jennifer Maeng

University of Virginia, Curry School of Education

Resources from the 2014 VAST Presentation

To use this document, click on the link in the list below to be taken to the first page of the desired resource. Links within a resource will take you to student handouts or data pages.

  1. Predicting Changes to Oceanic and Atmospheric Systems in Response to Changing Carbon Dioxide Concentrations
  2. Energy Transformations
  3. Where Do I Belong? Classifying Your Species Using Evidence
  4. Resources for Inquiry, Scientific Practices, and Differentiated Instruction

Predicting Changes to Oceanic and Atmospheric Systems in Response to Changing Carbon Dioxide Concentrations

Activity Overview:

Essential Question: How will global climate change affect atmospheric and oceanic systems?

Students will be introduced to the trend of increasing global CO2 concentrations. Then they will investigate the effects of increased CO2 in various areas (pH of water, greenhouse effect, and ice melt). Afterward groups of students will have the option to choose between analyzing data from the atmosphere or the oceans in order to make an argument stating how they predict these systems could change in the future. Students will be evaluated based on their arguments.

Differentiated Scientific Practices in the Activity:

Analyzing and interpreting data

Engaging in argument from evidence

Differentiation Strategy:

Differentiation by interest: Students will choose between analyzing/interpreting atmospheric or oceanic responses to increasing CO2 concentration during the extend section of the activity.

Differentiation by learning preference: Students will choose how to present the argument they come up with based on the evidence they choose (example: types of graphics used to make argument) during the evaluate section of the activity.

Standards/Benchmarks:

SOLs-

ES.10 The student will investigate and understand that oceans are complex, interactive physical, chemical, and biological systems and are subject to

long- and short-term variations. Key concepts include

a) physical and chemical changes related to tides, waves, currents, sea level and ice cap variations, upwelling, and salinity variations;

b) importance of environmental and geologic implications;

c) systems interactions;

ES.11 The student will investigate and understand the origin and evolution of the

atmosphere and the interrelationship of geologic processes, biologic processes, and

human activities on its composition and dynamics. Key concepts include

d) potential changes to the atmosphere and climate due to human, biologic, and

geologic activity.

ES.12 The student will investigate and understand that energy transfer between the sun and Earth and its atmosphere drives weather and climate on

Earth. Key concepts include

a) observation and collection of weather data;

b) prediction of weather patterns;

d) weather phenomena and the factors that affect climate including radiation,

conduction, and convection.

NGSS-

HS-ESS3-5. Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.

NGSS Practice 4- Analyzing and interpreting data

NGSS Practice 7- Engaging in an argument from evidence

Materials

worksheets

clear cups

straws

pH indicator (bromothymol blue)

3 clear buckets with a shelf/prop for ice (labeled 1a, 2a, and 3a)

3 buckets with no shelf (labeled 1b, 2b, and 3b)

water

climate/ocean data charts

model data

photographic data

Procedure

Introduction (Engage): (10 min)

Introduce the concept that carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is increasing by showing video clip from the movie The Day After Tomorrow (

Begin discussion Questions:

Has anyone ever seen this movie? EA: Yes, it’s The Day After Tomorrow!

Yeah, this clip is from near the middle of the film. What happens in this movie? EA: Climate change causes the planet to get really cold and experience weird whether. Basically, a large area of Earth freezes over. Kind of like an ice age.

That’s a good summary of the movie. Why does the climate change, though? EA: I think it’s because of people. Isn’t it global warming or something?

Right! They mention how areas of the Earth warm up and change the oceans and the atmosphere. Do you know one of the major reasons for why the Earth might experience these changes? EA: Not sure/Certain gases/Carbon dioxide?

A large part of it has to do with the gases that humans are putting into the atmosphere. One of the most important gases related to such changes is carbon dioxide. EA: Why?

Because humans are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from industry, automobiles and other sources. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been increasing since the late 1800s (show graph of carbon dioxide concentration data from 1800s until present). We are going to explore how carbon dioxide can affect the planet.

Activity (Explore, Explain, Extend): (95 min)

Explore: (65 min) In groups of 4 students explore various changes that take place in the atmosphere and oceans due to CO2 concentration changes at during three different activities where they will need to make observations and answer questions. (See activity sheets below.)

During Activity 1 (45 min) students explore the changes that carbon dioxide makes to the global temperature by observing the greenhouse effect through a PhET simulation.

During Activity 2 (10 min) students explore the effect that carbon dioxide concentration in water changes the pH by blowing bubbles into water with a pH indicator and watching it become more acidic.

During Activity 3 (10 min) students explore the changes that melting glaciers have on sea level by watching a demo set up in the classroom of melting ice from land and how it runs off into the ocean and how that is different from ice caps in the water melting.

Explain: (15 min) As a whole class, discuss the observations made at each of the different station activities and how the interactions that carbon dioxide and temperature change have with these systems manifest themselves on a larger scale. Questions:

What effect does carbon dioxide have on heat in the atmosphere? EA: It traps it in

How does an increase in carbon dioxide effect global temperatures? EA: it increases them

If global temperatures are increasing what will happen to the ice on the earth? EA: it will melt

Where does the water of the ice melt go? EA: to the ocean

If the melting ice originated from land glaciers, how does this effect sea level? EA: it rises

What happens when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water? EA: lowers pH

If carbon dioxide from your breath can dissolve in water, how might the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere interact with large bodies of water on earth? EA: it can dissolve in them and lower the pH

Extend: (15 min) Students explore these system interactions on a larger

scale through the analysis and interpretation of data. Students choose a system to look at either acidification of the oceans, sea level rise due to glacial melt, or changes in atmospheric and global temperature. Students are given graphs showing data that represents the change in their system over time (see attached). They analyze and interpret the graphs and make an argument based on evidence about the future of their system.

Debrief (Evaluate): (30 min- will vary depending on class size) Students choose a means to present their argument and are assessed on their performance using the rubric (provided).

Rewatch video clip from Engage and have s. critique information in video based on what they learned.

Modifications

  • Instead of implementing station-based work during the explore phase, the teacher can perform whole-class demonstrations and guide students through the concepts.
  • Varying levels of scaffolding can be used during station/demonstration portions of the lesson (e.g. Guiding students through the simulations or activities, whole class, small groups, individual)
  • The extend and evaluate phases have the potential to be carried out as individual or small-group work.

Assessment Strategies

A rubric (see below) will be used to evaluate student groups’ arguments.

Source:

Developed by Nathan Weiss and Amelia Nystrom, 2014, University of Virginia, Curry School of Education

Student Handouts for Station Activities

Activity 1: Greenhouse Gases Simulation (http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/greenhouse)

→Background Information: Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a variety of gases these include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor.

→ Click on the Photon Absorption tab at the top of the screen.

→ On the right hand side of the screen select the CO2 molecule so that it appears in the middle of the screen.

→ Under the lamp on the left hand side of the screen select the infrared photon to be emitted

→ Move the slide on the lamp towards the red side so that it emits the infrared photons

1. What happens when the infrared photons are aimed at the carbon dioxide molecule?

→ Next under the lamp on the left hand side of the screen select the visible photons

2.What happens when the visible photons are aimed at the carbon dioxide molecule?

→ Next click on the Glass Layers tab at the top of the screen. Make sure the thermometer box on the right hand side of the screen is checked.

3.Where are the visible photons coming from?

4.When do the infrared photons appear?

5. Where do the infrared photons go after they appear?

→ Next add a glass pane to the atmosphere and notice what happens to some of the infrared photons

6.What happens to the infrared photons when you add a glass pane to the atmosphere?

7. What happens to the temperature when you add a glass pane to the atmosphere? Write the

temperature below once it stabilizes.

→ Next add the other two glass panes to the atmosphere

8. What happens to the amount of infrared photons near the ground as the number of glass

panes is increased?

9.What happens to the amount of infrared photons going out into space as the number of

glass panes is increased?

10.How has temperature changed with an increase in the amount of glass panes? Write the

temperature below.

11.What is the relationship between the temperature and the amount of infrared photons

staying in the atmosphere?

12.Based on this relationship what do you think infrared photons are?

→ Prediction

13.Based on your observations of what carbon dioxide does to infrared photons and what

glass panes do to infrared photons, how do you think the amount of infrared photons in the atmosphere would change if you increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and how would this affect the temperature?

→ Next click on the greenhouse gases tab at the top of the screen

14.Fill out the table below by clicking on the different scenarios on the right hand side of the

page and gathering information from the “Ice age”, “1750”, and “today”.

CO2 in the atmosphere / Global Temp (͒F) / Relative amount of infrared photons in the atmosphere (low, med, high)
Ice Age
1750
Today

15.How did your prediction of changes in temperature with increased carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere compare to the results in your data table?

16.How does temperature change with increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide? Why

do you think this happens?

Activity 2: Carbon Dioxide and water pH

→ Background information: When you breathe in, your body takes in oxygen, this oxygen is converted into carbon dioxide through a process called cellular respiration, and when you breathe out the carbon dioxide is released from your lungs.

→ Using a straw, you are going to blow carbon dioxide from your lungs, into a beaker of water containing a pH indicator called bromothymol blue. The pH indicator turns yellow in acidic solutions and blue in neutral and basic solutions.

→ Before you begin make an observation about the color of the water with the pH indicator

1.What color is the water and bromothymol blue to begin with? What does this indicate

about the pH of the solution?

→ Next blow carbon dioxide into the solution using the straw until you notice a distinct change in the solution.

  1. What happened to the color of the solution? What does this indicate about the pH of the

solution?

  1. Based on your observations, when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, what happens to the

pH of the water?

  1. How would you expect the pH of bodies of water on earth to change if carbon dioxide

was dissolved in them?

Activity 3: Glacier melt and sea level change

→ Background Information: As matter gains heat it changes phases from a solid to a liquid and eventually to a gas. Many land masses on the globe are covered with glaciers, which are large areas of compacted ice, water in its solid phase.

→ The six containers you are looking at all began with the same amount of ice on the shelf or floating in the water, and the same amount of water in the bucket, which is indicated by a black line. The first two containers (one with a shelf and one without) was just set out, the second two containers (one with a shelf and one without) was set out 30 min ago, and the third two containers (one with a shelf and one without) an hour ago.

1.What do you notice about the relative amount of ice on the shelf of buckets 1a, 2a, and 3a?

(which one has the most, which one has the least?)

  1. What do you notice about the relative water levels in buckets 1a, 2a, and 3a?

3.What do you notice about the relative water levels in buckets 1b, 2b, and 2c?

4.What has happened to the ice over time and why? Where has the ice gone?

5.If the ice on the shelf of the bucket represents land glaciers, and the water in the bucket

represents sea level, how would you expect sea levels to change with an increase in global temperatures?

Data Analysis Activity

Now that we have explored the changes that carbon dioxide makes to different earth systems, your mission is to use data collected from these systems to predict potential changes that might take place in the future. You will have a choice of looking at temperature data, ocean pH data, or sea level rise/glacial ice melt data that shows how these numbers have changed over time up until now. You will be analyzing and interpreting the data and using your knowledge to make an argument about the future of the system you are looking at.

1.Which system are you going to look at?

  1. What background information from this unit do you have related to how carbon dioxide in

the atmosphere impacts the system you are going to look at?

  1. Looking at the data from your selected system, what trends do you notice regarding

how it has changed over time?

  1. What do these trends indicate is occurring within this system on a larger global scale

from the past up until now?

  1. Make an argument to predict how your system might change in the future. Use

your background knowledge about the science of the system, as well as the data you’ve been looking at to support your thinking about what will happen in the years to come.

Prediction- What is going to happen to your system in the future?
Supporting data- How does the data you’ve analyzed help you make this prediction?
Scientific Knowledge- What scientific knowledge helps you understand these data trends and what is happening to cause them?
Strengths and Weaknesses- How clear is the data? What are other possible explanations for what is going on?

Making and Presenting an Argument

Using the data you’ve interpreted, you will be presenting an evidence-based argument about your topic. How you present your argument is up to you, you can do so in the form of a global map, a narrative writing, a video, a mathematical model or any other means that is approved of first. Think about the argument you are making and what means of presenting it makes most sense to you. Your argument should include the scientific knowledge you have on the issue, the data analysis that led to your conclusions, what about this data supports your argument, and what the strengths and weaknesses of your argument are. You will be evaluate on your argument using the rubric below:

3 / 2 / 1 / 0
Background information- Argument includes scientific concepts related to the system being analyzed. Scientific concepts are used to explain the argument. / Meets all expectations / Meets some expectations but requires further synthesis of background information / Meets few expectations, and requires further inclusion or synthesis of background information / Element not present
Data analysis/ interpretation- Patterns and trends in data are accurately recognized and noted in the argument. Analysis is extended in a logical way to support the prediction. / Meets all expectations / Meets some expectations but requires further analysis and interpretation of data / Meets few expectations, and requires further inclusion or analysis of data trends / Element not present
Prediction- Argument includes a description of the patterns that will emerge in the future for the system being analyzed. / Meets all expectations / Meets some expectations but requires further explanation or description of prediction. / Meets few expectations, and requires further development of the prediction. / Element not present
Presentation- Argument is delivered in a clear, concise, and organized manner. Strengths and weaknesses of the argument are included. / Meets all expectations / Meets some expectations but strengths and weaknesses not fully addressed. / Meets few expectations, and requires further organization and clarity. Strengths and weaknesses are not fully addressed or may not be present. / Element not present

Global CO2 and Temperature Data