Chemistry of Climate Change

• Teacher shows the figure on slide 2 of the Chemistry of Climate Change - Interactive Jamboard to connect to the Inquire section.
• Teaching Script:
  • Teacher: Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone absorb heat from the sun’s radiation. We demonstrated this with lamps and carbon dioxide in our chemistry of climate change lab. We created carbon dioxide by combining baking soda and vinegar. Was this a chemical or physical change? 
  • Student: (Answer: chemical change)
  • Teacher: When heat is absorbed by gas is this chemical or physical change?
  • Student: (Answer: Heat simply being absorbed without changing the compounds is a physical change. All compounds can hold heat energy. For example, H₂O, or water, can hold heat energy and change from a liquid to a gas. It is still H₂O.)
  • Note: Students should have a really good idea of chemical and physical changes based on previous science lessons in elementary or middle school.
  • Teacher: These greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone are made of several elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Today we are going to focus on the chemistry of climate change by looking at the structure of these elements and how they combine.

Students complete Chemistry of Climate Change - Interactive Jamboard activities. Students work in small groups of five or fewer to complete the four activities below. (Keep the Jamboard open the entire lesson.)

• Teacher creates groups of students and then shares the Jamboard with the students so they can interact with the slides. The teacher should also have the Jamboard open on the teacher screen/whiteboard for the whole class to see. If there is not a device for every student, the Jamboard slides can easily be printed out and each group can write on a hard copy.
• Fun Tip: Teachers can slide the printed copies of the Jamboard slides in a clear plastic sheet protector so students can use dry-erase markers and interact with copies. This will reduce the number of pages that need to be printed. Also, most school desks are able to handle dry-erase markers and easily be erased. Students love drawing atom models on their desks with dry-erase markers. Just make sure to test the desks first to make sure items can be erased. If you have black lab tables then dry-erase crayons by Crayola work really well.
• Activity 1 (15 minutes): Show Activity 1 Description Video to your students.
  • Teaching Script:
    • Teacher: Carbon is one of the top five elements for the building blocks of life. It is also a key element in creating greenhouse gases. When carbon (C) combines with two molecules of oxygen (O₂) in our atmosphere it creates carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas. This is a leading greenhouse gas. Since carbon alone is a very important element for living things we will look to see which events on Earth release carbon into our atmosphere. Remember, once in the atmosphere this carbon combines with oxygen and creates carbon dioxide CO₂. In this activity, you will focus on carbon release and determine if the release is a physical or chemical change. Take 5 minutes as a group to write down your thoughts regarding which of these events is a chemical or physical change.
    • After 5 minutes, teacher asks the students to share their thoughts, and the teacher can guide discussion by using the answer key below.
      • Answer Key: Chemical changes include soil respiration, plant respiration, volcanoes, deforestation when trees are burned, and burning fossil fuels. Physical changes include ocean loss and deforestation when the trees are simply cut down.
      • Extension Question: Which of these releases are naturally occurring and which ones are caused by humans?
• Activity 2 (10 minutes): Show Activity 2 Description Video to your students. Attempting to draw a carbon atom model is a process of helping students make their previous knowledge or make their thinking visible. It is a process of respecting that students have experiences that shape their thinking and as teachers, it is important that we see where all our students are starting. Give the students 3 minutes to create a model of carbon inside one of the circles on the group page in the Jamboard. Then allow students to share their models with their group or whole class. When they share their model they need to explain their reasoning for why they drew their model the way they did.
• Activity 3 (40 minutes): Show Activity 3 Description Video. This video has areas that need to be paused so students can work together on an activity. Correct the carbon atom model together and draw an oxygen atom model. Students should then pick their own atom models to draw. Have students focus on the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen because these elements are what combine to make the main greenhouse gases.
• Activity 4 (30 minutes): Show Activity 4 Description Video. This video has areas that need to be paused so students can work together on an activity. On the Jamboard, students will start by completing a vocabulary word sort. Then, in the video, they will listen to a discussion describing the difference between a chemical formula, equation, compound, and pure element. Finally, students will go through the NASA Climate Kids Greenhouse Gas Cards to analyze the chemical formulas of the main greenhouse gases. Additional information about each gas is on the NASA website, and students can read the back of each card if they finish the activity early.
• Extensions: If any students or groups work ahead, encourage them to make a Kahoot so the class can play a quiz game later in the week. Students can also explore activities on the NASA Climate Kids Greenhouse Gas Cards website.