Carboschools library - Material for experiments

CarboSchools
Experiments for Teaching Climate Change

Indoor Experiments - Outdoor Experiments - Background Information - Tips on Instruments

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Indoor Experiments:

Material to study temperature regulation on Earth surface

How is global temperature regulated? An experimental representation

Simple experiments to help pupils understand how different parameters regulate temperature at the Earth’s surface.

Ages tested: 14-17
Time: 2 hours
Language: English, French
Material: low-tech.
Author: Marc Jamous, CarboSchools
Download: Description, pdf 213 KB, French version
Keywords: indoor, experiment, greenhouse effect, temperature, albedo

Experiment about ocean acidification

Interaction at the Air-Water Interface, part 1

A very simple experiment to demonstrate gas exchange and equilibration at the boundary layer between air and water. Pupils will also observe acidification of water due to CO₂ introduced directly in the water.

Ages tested: 10-12, grades 5-7.
Time: 10 minutes of preparation, 10 minutes of manipulation and one week of observation
Language: English
Material: easy and low cost
Author: Sally Soria-Dengg, CarboSchools
Download: Description, pdf 716KB.
Keywords: ocean-atmosphere exchange, CO₂, ocean acidification, equilibration, chemistry, physics

Experiment about ocean acidification

Interaction at the Air-Water Interface, part 2

A second set of experiment to demonstrate gas exchange and equilibration at the boundary layer between air and water. Pupils observe a high atmospheric CO₂ concentration will produce water acidification.

Ages tested: 10-12, grades 5-7.
Time: 15 minutes of preparation, 15 to 45 minutes of manipulation and observation.
Language: English
Material: easy and low cost
Author: Sally Soria-Dengg, CarboSchools
Download: Description (pdf 392KB).
Keywords: ocean-atmosphere exchange, CO₂, ocean acidification, equilibration, chemistry, physics

Uptake of Carbon Dioxide from the Water by Plants

The following experiments will demonstrate the role of plants in mitigating the acidification caused when CO₂ is dissolved in water.

Ages tested: 10-12, grades 5-7.
Time: 15 minutes of preparation, 1 to 24 hours for observation.
Language: English
Material: easy and low cost
Author: Sally Soria-Dengg, CarboSchools
Download: Description (pdf 4.5MB).
Keywords: ocean-atmosphere exchange, CO₂, ocean acidification, pH indicator, chemistry, physics

Carbon Dioxide Fertilization of Marine Microalgae (Dunalliela sp.) Cultures:

Marine microalgae in different atmospheric CO2 concentration

An experiment designed to illustrate the impact of carbon dioxide on microalgal growth in the aquatic environment.

Ages tested: 10-12 and 16-18.
Time: some hours for preparation, 10 days for cultures
Language: English
Material: specialized
Author: Sally Soria-Dengg, CarboSchools
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: Description (Word or pdf).
Keywords: ocean, algae, fertilization, indoor, experiment

Introduction to the principles of climate modelling

Example of CO2 evolution for the next century realised with an Excel file Working with real data in spreadsheets to create a climate model, students discover the global carbon budget and make their own predictions for the next century.

Age tested: 14-18.
Time: 2 to 4 hours
Language: English
Material: Computers with Excel or openOffice
Author: Marc Jamous, CarboSchools
Download: Description (pdf), working file (Excel or openOffice), example files (first step, second step, third step), document (scenariosCarbone.gif).
Keywords: Carbon cycle, worksheets, data analysis, carbon sinks, human emissions

Global carbon budget between 1958 and 2007

Representation of natural carbon absorption obtained from an Excel file Working with real global carbon budget data, students produce graphs to find the best representation of the data to make predictions about human CO₂ emissions for the next century. This activity is also a nice application of percentages.

Age tested: 14-18.
Time: 2 to 4 hours
Language: English
Material: Computers with Excel or openOffice
Author: Marc Jamous, CarboSchools
Download: Description (pdf), working file (Excel or OpenOffice file), example file (Excel or OpenOffice file).
Keywords: Carbon cycle, worksheets, data analysis, carbon sinks, human emissions, graphic analysis

Estimation of natural carbon sinks

Example of carbon sinks representation from an Excel file Working with real global carbon budget data, students estimate how much of the CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere as a result of human activities is absorbed naturally each year.

(This activity follows "An Introduction to Climate Modelling" and "Global Carbon Budget between 1958 and 2007").

Age tested: 14-18.
Time: 2 hours after making “Introducing the principles of climate modelling with a simple file”
Language: English
Material: Computers with Excel or openOffice
Author: Marc Jamous, CarboSchools
Download: Description (ExelFileInstructionFollowing.pdf), working file (Excel or OpenOffice file), example file (Excel or OpenOffice file).
Keywords: Carbon cycle, worksheets, data analysis, carbon sinks, human emissions

How does temperature affect the solubility of CO₂ en the water?

The following experiments will explore effects of water temperature on solubility of CO₂ in the water.

Ages tested: 11-14, grades 5-8.
Time: 10 minutes of preparation, 15-20 minutes for manipulation.
Language: English
Material: easy and low cost
Author: Sally Soria-Dengg, CarboSchools
Download: Description (pdf 108 kB).
Keywords: ocean-atmosphere exchange, CO₂, solubility, water temperature, CO₂ regulation, chemistry, physics

Carbon dioxide measurements in the classroom

Examples of demonstration experiments which can be performed in the class room, where a carbon dioxide analyser is used (for students 16-18 years old).
Age tested: 16-18.
Time: Depends on activity
Language: English
Material: Laboratory materials
Author: Platengymnasiet Motala and Swedish University og Agricultural Sciences
Download: pdf document 735KB Swedish version (pdf document)
Keywords: Carbon cycle, Photosynthesis, respiration, plant, soil, CO₂ sensor

The Greenhouse Effect:

Experiment on the Greenhouse Effect
Ages tested: ?
Time: 20 min. (with ? min. preparation)?
Language: English
Material: low-tech.
Author: Roser Nebot, IES Manuel Blancafort
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: (in preparazion)
Keywords: indoor, experiment, greenhouse effect, temperature

Hands-on Experiments for Secondary School Students:

A selection of projects and experiments to motivate teachers and scientists to find their own experiments or to improve some of the presented ones. Most were collected from the experiment archive of the physics division of the Neufeld Gymnasium in Bern and were contributed to CarboSchools in the first phase of the project.

Ages tested: ?
Time: varies
Language: English
Material: school physics lab equipment.
Author: Marc Eyer, University of Bern.
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: Booklet (pdf).
Keywords: (to be decided), indoor, experiment

How the climate is going to change in the next century:

An activity with colored balls and climate scenarios, designed to give an impression of the reliability of the statistics of predictions.
Ages tested: 12-14
Time: 15 min. (with 20 min. preparation)
Language: English (mostly)
Material: low-tech.
Author: Anna Font, CarboSchools
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: Description (Word or pdf), Panel with temperature predictions (pdf).
Keywords: (to be decided), indoor, experiment

Collection of Experiments on CO2 and Greenhouse Effect:

document prepared for Pistoia-meeting; needs to be split into separate parts
Ages tested: ?
Time:
Language: English, German
Material: low-tech (?)
Author: Bernd Blume
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: (not yet)
Keywords: indoor, experiment, greenhouse effect, CO2

Warming up the Atmosphere:

Suite of experiments on effects of clouds, water vapour and carbon dioxide.
Ages tested: ?
Time:
Language: English, German
Material: low-tech (?)
Author: Sally Dengg, CarboSchools
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: (not yet)
Keywords: indoor, experiment, greenhouse effect, CO2, water vapour, clouds

Outdoor Experiments:

Meteo at home

Pupils measure and compare local weather trends in urban and countryside areas. They handle easy meteorological instruments, take their own readings and perform data analysis.

Ages tested: 14+
Language: English, Italian
Material: Low cost < 30 euros
Author: Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Download: Description in English (pdf 2.2 MB), English worksheet (openOffice or Excel file), Italian version
Keywords: outdoor, experiment, thermometer, pluviometer, data acquisition, weather forecast data

Photosynthesis measurements of plants in the school garden:

Pupils enforce their knowledge about photosynthesis by carrying out measurements on leaves with a gas analyser

Ages tested: 15+
Time: 30 min to 1 hr for measurements (repeated over several weeks to obtain time series)
Language: English (Italian version available on request)
Material: specialized
Author: Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: Description (Word or pdf).
Keywords: outdoor, experiment, photosynthesis, plants

The Carbon Dioxide Game:

www.greenteacher.com/articles.html

A "fun, active outdoor game for helping students visualize how human activities enhance the natural greenhouse effect."
Ages tested: 10+.
Language: English, French,
Material: chalk.
Source: Green Teacher 70, Spring 2003.
Found / Confirmed: May 2009
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Keywords: outdoor, experiment

Background Information:

Le cycle du carbone:

http://cycleducarbone.ipsl.jussieu.fr/content/view/4/6/

Explanations of the carbon cycle
Ages tested: 16-17, but realised for teachers
Time: 15 min
Language: French, English (?)
Author: Marc Jamous, CarboSchools
Feedback & Comments: none yet
Download: (in preparation)
Keywords: carbon cycle, background, animation

Tips on Instruments:

The Vaisala CO2-Meter:

Instrument: Vaisala Carbon Dioxide Probe GMP 343

THE SchoolCO2web tool! - How to work with the meter, and things to avoid.
Language: English.
Produced: 2020 ?
Author: No Body
Feedback & Comments: none
Keywords: Vaisala, instruments, tips

TSI IAQ-Calc:

Instrument: TSI Indoor Air Qiality Meter

How to work with the meter, and things to avoid.
Language: English.
Produced: 2020 ?
Author: No Body
Feedback & Comments: none
Keywords: IAQ-Calc, CO2 meter, handheld, instruments, tips