The Greenhouse Effect

SPN LESSON #22

TEACHER INFORMATION

LEARNING OUTCOME
After participating in a greenhouse simulation and plotting carbon dioxide levels representing
over 250 years, students are able to cite evidence of the increase of that gas and suggest ways
that levels might be decreased.

LESSON OVERVIEW
Students address ways carbon dioxide levels might be decreased. One option investigated is use
of alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic systems. The photovoltaic panel monitor
provides data regarding the amount of carbon dioxide that would have been put into the
atmosphere if fossil fuels had been used to generate the same amount of electricity.

GRADE-LEVEL APPROPRIATENESS: This Level II environmental considerations lesson is

intended for students in grades 5-8.

MATERIALS
In addition to copies of the student handout for the lesson, each team of two students will need:
2 thermometers
1 10-mL graduated cylinder
2 sealable sandwich bags
1 glass jar large enough to enclose the bag of ice and thermometer
a light source (the Sun or an electric lamp having a 75- to 100-watt bulb)

SAFETY
If an electric lamp is used as a source of light in the ice cube activity, caution students that the
bulb and possibly the shade will be hot.
Students should keep water away from the lamp and the electrical outlet.

TEACHING THE LESSON

Ask students why it is dangerous to leave a family pet in a closed car during the summer. They
will likely respond that the car will get too hot inside and that the pet will suffer and possibly die.
Ask them to explain why the car gets hot sometimes when it is not very hot outside. This would

nyserda.ny.gov/School-Power-Naturally
be a good way to lead them into a discussion of how the glass of a greenhouse plus the gases
inside trap heat and prevent it from radiating out. Students will now be ready to relate this
discussion to the issue of global warming. These examples will help students understand why
global warming is often referred to as “the greenhouse effect.”

If you do not have a refrigerator in your classroom, a cooler of ice cubes will be adequate for
keeping enough ice on hand for students to use each day. Try to give teams of students ice cubes
of approximately the same size. Also be sure that students are clear about what they are doing
before giving them the ice. That way there will be less melting prior to starting the investigation.
As usual, you will want to try the activity yourself prior to doing it with students. Different light
sources and setups give slightly different results. To avoid instances of very little or too much
melting, check the protocol with your equipment and make adjustments as needed.

Inexpensive thermometers mounted in metal work well and are safer to use than long, glass
thermometers. Another option is the plastic strip thermometers typically used in aquaria or to
take a person’s temperature. If you can find some having the appropriate scale, they are
inexpensive and do not break.

ACCEPTABLE RESPONSES FOR DEVELOP YOUR UNDERSTANDING SECTION

Part A - Analysis

1. On the basis of your measurements, what do you conclude?

The temperature reading and amount of melting inside the jar were greater because of the
heat energy trapped by the glass.
Part B - Analysis

1. As you look at the data table and your graph, it is easy to see the trend that indicates carbon
dioxide levels are increasing.

(a) During which 50-year period is the increase the greatest?

The last 50 years: 1953 to present.

(b) If no changes are made in our output of carbon dioxide, what will the level most likely be
in 2050?

The level will be approximately 700 ppm.

2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels can be reduced in a number of different ways.

(a) One is to use alternative energy sources to generate electricity. Check the photovoltaic
monitor and determine how much carbon dioxide was saved over the past week as a
result of using electricity from the panel on your school roof.

Answers will vary.

The Greenhouse Effect Environmental Considerations; Level II 22.2

 (b) Another suggestion is to stop deforestation and cultivate more trees and other green
plants. Explain how allowing more plants to live and grow can reduce atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels.
Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis.
Additional green plants would mean more carbon dioxide being removed and
temporarily taken out of circulation. Plants such as trees that store carbon on a long-
term basis work best.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS

SOURCE FOR THIS ADAPTED ACTIVITY
• The source for data on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is the Indiana Department of
Education, Energy, Environment, and Economics.
• Science I: Essential Interactions, Centre Pointe Learning, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio, is
the source that provided the idea for the ice cube activity.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Photosynthesis and respiration/combustion are the two main processes that cycle carbon
through an ecosystem. Carbon bonds carry and store the energy needed by living things.
Energy is lost in the form of heat at every transfer in a food chain. Accordingly, light
energy must be captured and stored, on a continuing basis, through the process of
photosynthesis. This replenishment of energy helps to maintain the living systems in green
plants.

During photosynthesis, light energy absorbed by chlorophyll is used to split water

molecules. The oxygen is released out of the cells to the atmosphere. Then carbon and
oxygen, from the carbon dioxide that has entered the plant, react with hydrogen from the
split water molecules. From these small carbon-hydrogen-oxygen units, larger organic
molecules such as glucose are synthesized.

Respiration and combustion are processes that release energy from carbon bonds. Large
organic molecules such as starches and cellulose can be broken down by combustion. This
process releases the carbon by combining it with oxygen, forming carbon dioxide.
Burning wood and fossil fuels are good examples of how we use the process when the
benefit we want is available energy. Typically we want the heat energy released from the
carbon bonds.

The carbon dioxide in our atmosphere serves a second purpose. In addition to being a raw
material necessary for the production of organic compounds, carbon dioxide reflects
escaping radiant heat energy back to Earth. However, as levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increase, more heat is retained and temperatures rise. According to
researchers, the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere have
contributed to changing weather patterns, ice ages, and fluctuations in sea level. If the
increase in carbon dioxide levels now taking place continues, dire consequences for Earth
are predicted.

The Greenhouse Effect Environmental Considerations; Level II 22.3

REFERENCES FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION

http://exploratorium.edu/climate/global-effects/index.html

http://exploratorium.edu/climate/biosphere/data2.html

Ask Dr. Global Change. “Dr. Global Change” is a reference service that assists
researchers, students, educators, resource managers, decision makers, and the general
public in finding information and data relevant to global environmental change. Answers
are prepared by GCRIO staff along with staff from U.S. government agencies.

Miller, Kenneth and Joseph Levine. Biology. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2003.

Smith, Leo. Ecology and Field Biology. 4th edition. HarperCollins Publisher, New York,
1990.

Wright, Richard T. and Bernard J. Nebel. Environmental Science: Toward a

Sustainable Future. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2002.

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES
1. Discuss with students the impact of increasing temperatures on Earth. Have
students research some specific topics such as “the effect of global warming on the
… [polar regions, aquatic life, agriculture, rain forests, animal migration, weather
patterns].”
2. Relate Earth to Venus in relationship to Venus’s runaway global warming.
3. Have students design an investigation using the same basic setup as this
investigation—sealable sandwich bags, ice cubes, inverted jar, and thermometers.
Ask them to create a design that would determine if an increased amount of carbon
dioxide in the jar would increase the temperature and therefore the amount of
melting. A good design might have two jars, both with bags of ice. The difference
between the two setups would be that one also contained carbon dioxide. This
could be done in a number of ways. Students could use an antacid tablet, or vinegar
and baking soda, to generate the carbon dioxide. They could also exhale into the
jar. Students would determine and measure the “responding” variable.

Produced by the Research Foundation of the State University of New York with funding
from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
www.nyserda.ny.gov

(STUDENT HANDOUT SECTION FOLLOWS)

The Greenhouse Effect Environmental Considerations; Level II 22.4

Name
Date

The Greenhouse Effect

Introduction

The atmosphere in the past has interacted with Earth’s bodies of water and solid surface in ways
that have kept the temperature within a range suitable for life. Think of Earth’s atmosphere as a
very large blanket. Without this blanket of gases, it is likely that Earth’s average temperature
would fall from 15 OC to –18 OC. This is not warm enough for life as we know it to exist.

Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and a few other atmospheric gases trap heat energy in
much the same way that the glass used in greenhouses does. The properties of glass allow radiant
energy in the form of light from the Sun to enter the greenhouse, but do not let out the radiant
energy given off by warm objects.

When radiant (light) energy from the Sun enters Earth’s atmosphere, the oceans, lakes, rivers,
soil, plants, and other objects absorb much of it and are warmed by it. They then emit radiant
energy in a different form. The emitted energy, which cannot pass through the atmosphere, helps
to maintain Earth’s temperature range.

The greenhouse gases are currently receiving a lot of attention. Many scientists are concerned
because the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is increasing. Factories, cars,
homes, and power plants churn out carbon dioxide as we burn fossil fuels and wood. More
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means that Earth’s average temperature will increase. These
increased levels will likely result in major alterations to the world’s climate.

Materials per Group

2 thermometers

1 10-mL graduated cylinder

2 sealable sandwich bags

1 glass jar large enough to enclose the bag of ice and thermometer
1 light source (the Sun or an electric lamp having a 75- to 100-watt bulb)

22.1
Develop your understanding

Part A

1) Record the temperature shown on the two thermometers.

O O
Thermometer #1 C Thermometer #2 C

2) Place an identical ice cube in each of the two plastic bags.

3) Place one of the bags and thermometer #1 inside the glass jar. Note: The jar should be upside
down so that the bag is resting on the tabletop—not against the glass of the jar.

4) Position both the bag in the jar and the bag with thermometer #2 in a sunny place or under a
strong light. The thermometers should be the same distance from the bag of ice and the light
source in both setups.

5) Wait for 15 minutes. While waiting, go on to Part B.

6) Record the temperature in both setups.

O
Thermometer #1 (with bag inside jar): C
O
Thermometer #2 (with bag outside jar): C

7) Use the graduated cylinder to determine the amount of melting that occurred in each bag.

Volume of meltwater in the bag inside jar: mL

Volume of meltwater in the bag outside jar: mL

Analysis

1. On the basis of your measurements, what do you conclude?

The Greenhouse Effect 22.2

Part B

Develop your understanding

More than 100 years ago, Earth’s atmosphere contained approximately 280 parts per million
(ppm) of carbon dioxide. By 1990 the level of carbon dioxide was 350 ppm. The data table
below, Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide, shows how levels have changed from
1750 to 1993.

Table: Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide

Year CO2 Concentration

(parts per million – ppm)
1750 282
1800 283
1850 290
1900 297
1950 312
1980 335
1990 350
1993 355

Using the information in the data table, and following the directions below, construct a line
graph on the grid provided:
• Label the horizontal axis “Year.”

• Label the vertical axis “Carbon Dioxide Concentration in ppm.”

• Mark an appropriate scale on each axis.
• Plot the data on the grid. Surround each point with a small circle and connect the points.
Example:

• Provide an appropriate title for the graph that follows.

The Greenhouse Effect 22.3

Graph Title:

Analysis

The Greenhouse Effect 22.4

1. As you look at the data table and your graph, it is easy to see the trend that indicates carbon
dioxide levels are increasing.

(a) During which 50-year period is the increase the greatest?

(b) If no changes are made in our output of carbon dioxide, what will the level most likely be
in 2050?

2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels can be reduced in a number of different ways.

(a) One is to use alternative energy sources to generate electricity. Check the photovoltaic
monitor and determine how much carbon dioxide was saved over the past week as a
result of using the electricity from the panel on your school roof.

(b) Another suggestion is to stop deforestation and cultivate more trees and other green
plants. Explain how allowing more plants to live and grow can reduce atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels.

The Greenhouse Effect 22.5