Airplanes and Climate Change
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Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: April 27, 2021
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This lesson about greenhouse gases, the albedo effect, and the impact of aviation on climate includes a simple experiment, worksheet, graphing exercise, discussion questions, and a podcast.
Subjects: Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The podcast includes a great outline of how contrails heat the atmosphere.
- The experiment is easy to do and illustrates the concept well.
- It talks about fluorinated gases, which are major greenhouse gases but are not commonly discussed.
Additional Prerequisites
- There are student pages and teacher pages to download and print.
- You will need thermometers, lamps, containers, and two types of soil or sand for the experiment.
Differentiation
- At 8 minutes, 45 seconds of the podcast, Steven Barrett notes that aviation has "positive effects on society." You can use his opinion to start a discussion with your social studies or economics students.
- Math students could use their multiplication skills, graphing expertise, and data analysis know-how to answer questions about the greenhouse gas data presented in the worksheet.
- To explore more about the aviation industry, your students can read the following fact sheets from the Stay Grounded Network: efficiency improvements, electric flight, hydrogen flight, biofuels, and synthetic electro-fuels.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Founded in 2014, the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is MIT’s institute-wide effort to mobilize the substantial scientific, engineering, policy, and design capacity of the MIT community to contribute to addressing climate change and other environmental challenges of global import. ESI pursues multidisciplinary research, education, events, and partnerships to help move society toward an environmentally and socially sustainable future. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts on MIT’s main campus, ESI is powered by a lean staff working closely with students and faculty across the full spectrum of disciplines. Led by architecture professor John E. Fernandez, a leading scholar in the emerging field of urban metabolism, ESI is advised by students, faculty, alumni, and thought leaders from many sectors of society.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
