Global Change & Future Fuels from Forests Combined 10-Day Unit on Human Consequences

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1 Tammy Daenzer Birch Run Area Schools 7 th Grade Science Global Change & Future Fuels from Forests Combined 10-Day Unit on Human Consequences Unit Overview: I have incorporated ideas from the two Teacher Institutes into a 9-Week Fluid Earth Systems and Human Activities Unit. This unit is a component of Earth Science taught in 7 th grade. In this unit students will first identify the sun as the major source of energy for phenomena on the surface of the Earth. Then the students will investigate the atmosphere, study how human activities impact the biosphere, closely examine the hydrosphere, and complete a study on weather and climate. Throughout this unit students will focus on an in-depth examination of how human activities cause global change. At the end of this unit students will be more conscious of how human activities affect the world and have ideas about how they can adjust their own activities to minimize their negative impact to Earth. Sources Consulted: Dr. Andrew Burton, Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change PowerPoint Presented at MTU Dr. Andrew Burton, An Introduction to Global Change Issues PowerPoint Presented at MTU Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn (editors), Teaching About Climate Change: Cool Schools Tackle Global Warming, Toronto: Green Teacher, 2001 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University, 2005 Learning Objectives: Identify the sun as the major energy source for phenomena on the surface of the Earth. Describe the atmosphere as a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. Explain that the atmosphere has different physical and chemical composition at different elevations. Describe how human activities have changed the land, oceans, and atmosphere of the Earth resulting in the reduction of the number and variety of wild plants and animals sometimes causing extinction of species. Explain that water circulates through the four spheres of the Earth in what is known as the water cycle. Describe how global patterns of atmospheric and oceanic movement influence weather and climate. State Benchmarks Addressed: The State Content addressed in this unit come from the Seventh Grade Companion Document Unit 4: Fluid Earth Systems and Human Activities. The Grade Level Content Expectations specifically addressed include: E.FE Describe the atmosphere as a mixture of gases. E.FE Compare and contrast the atmosphere at different elevations. E.ES Describe the relationship between the warming of the atmosphere of the Earth by the sun and convection within the atmosphere and oceans. E.ES Describe how the warming of the Earth by the sun produces winds and ocean currents. E.ES Explain how human activities change the surface of the Earth and affect the survival of organisms. E.ES Describe the origins of pollution and how pollution impacts habitats, climatic change, threatens or endangers species. E.ES Demonstrate the relationship between the warming by the sun of the Earth and the water cycle as it applies to the atmosphere. 1

2 E.ES E.ES E.ST E.ST E.ST E.ST Explain the water cycle. Analyze the flow of water between the components of a watershed. Compare and contrast the difference and relationship between climate and weather. Describe how different weather occurs due to the constant motion of the atmosphere from the energy of the sun reaching the surface of the Earth. Explain how the temperature of the oceans affects the different climates on Earth because water in the oceans hold a large amount of heat. Describe weather conditions associated with frontal boundaries (cold, warm, stationary, and occluded) and the movement of major air masses and the jet stream across North America using a weather map. This unit will integrate the following Science Processes grade level content expectations: S.IA Analyze information from data tables and graphs. S.IA Evaluate data, claims, and personal knowledge through collective science discourse. S.IA Use multiple sources of information to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of claims, arguments, or data. Classroom or Field Activities: Earth s Atmosphere Skills Practice Lab Week 1, Day 4 Layers of the Atmosphere Skills Practice Lab Week 1, Day 5 Global Warming Game Week 2, Day 2 Temperature Anomalies Skills Practice Lab Week 2, Day 4 Air Pollution Pre-Assessment Week 3, Day 2 Air Pollution Notes Week 3, Day 3 Air Pollution Sources Visual Categorization Week 3, Day 3 Asthma Story Week 3, Day 3 Michigan Toxic Emissions Inventory Skills Practice Lab Week 3, Day 4 Perform One Breath at a Time Play and Air Pollutant Card Sort Week 3, Day 5 Air Pollutant Card Sort Week 3, Day 5 Air Pollution Post-Assessment Week 4, Day 2 Problems in the Biosphere Notes Week 4, Day 3 Unit Assessment: The unit contains multiple formative assessments in the form of Bell Ringers and Reflection Questions incorporated into Labs and Activities. The unit also has summative assessments in the form of a quiz at the end of each block of information and a Unit Exam. Suitability for Dissemination: The 9-Week Fluid Earth Systems and Human Activities Unit is available on CD-Rom. Included with this document are the materials necessary to implement the 13 Classroom or Field Activities referenced above. 2

3 Earth s Atmosphere Skills Practice Lab In this activity students will model the composition of Earth s atmosphere. Objectives: Describe the atmosphere as a mixture of gases. Model the composition of Earth s atmosphere. Materials: Colored Pencils Plastic bag Colored beads Procedure: 1. Earth s atmosphere is composed of 78% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen. The remaining 1% is made up of Argon, Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide and other trace gases such as Helium, Neon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide. 2. In the space below construct a circle graph to show the composition of Earth s atmosphere. Use colored pencils and include a color key. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University,

4 3. Using the plastic bag and colored beads, model the composition of Earth s atmosphere. Note that each bead represents 1% of Earth s atmosphere. 4. Place 78 blue beads in the plastic bag. This represents 78% of Earth s atmosphere that is Nitrogen. 5. Place 21 red beads in the plastic bag. This represents 21% of Earth s atmosphere that is Oxygen. 6. Place 1 green bead in the plastic bag. This represents the remaining 1% made up of Argon, Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide and other trace gases such as Helium, Neon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide. 7. Compare your model of Earth s atmosphere with the models found on the front table. Can you guess which planet s atmosphere these models represent? 8. In the space below construct the Thinking Map: Brace Map to compare the whole object (Earth s Atmosphere) to its parts (Composition of Earth s Atmosphere). 9. Analyze Results. What percentage of atmospheric gases has a fixed volume? 10. Draw Conclusions. Explain why environmental scientists are so concerned about the small percentage of variable gases found in Earth s atmosphere. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University,

5 Layers of the Atmosphere Skills Practice Lab In this activity students will graph the layers of Earth s atmosphere. Objectives: Compare and contrast the atmosphere at different elevations. Materials: Graph Paper Colored Pencils Procedure: 1. Set up a piece of graph paper with temperature on the x-axis (bottom), air pressure on the x-axis (top) and altitude on the y-axis (side). a. Temperature should begin at 100 o C and end at 50 o C. b. Air pressure should begin at 0 mb and end at 1200 mb. c. Altitude should begin at 0 km and end at 140 km. 2. Plot the temperature and altitude from the table below onto the graph paper. Altitude (km) Temperature ( o C) Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University,

6 3. Using a red and blue pencil connect the plot points to show the temperature gradient in the layers of the atmosphere. Use the red pencil when temperatures are getting warmer and use the blue pencil when temperatures are getting cooler. 4. Plot the air pressure and altitude from the table below onto the graph paper. Altitude (km) Pressure (mb) Using a green pencil connect the plot points to show the air pressure gradient in the layers of the atmosphere. 6. Label the layers of the atmosphere as follows: a. Troposphere 0 to 8-18km (8 km over the poles and 18 km at the equator) b. Stratosphere 8-18 km to 50 km c. Mesosphere 50 km to 80 km d. Thermosphere 80 km and above 7. On the graph paper illustrate or label each of the following: Ambient air - the air all living organisms breathe 0 to 8-18 km Mt. Everest - the highest mountain in the world 8.8 km Cloud Formation low level to high level clouds 2 to 13 km Weather - frontal boundaries and movement of air masses 0.3 km to 15 km Altitude where jets often fly 10 km Ozone Layer (protects from harmful radiation) km Ground level ozone (creates harmful smog) Below 18 km Altitude where 99% of all air is located Below 40 km Altitude where Meteors are found km Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) km 8. Analyze Results. Identify the following layers of the atmosphere: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University,

7 a. The layer where 99% of all air is located b. The layer that contains all life forms c. The layer in which all weather occurs d. The layer where protective ozone is found e. The layer where harmful ozone is found 9. Draw Conclusions. Explain why environmental scientists are so concerned about the small percentage of variable gases found in Earth s atmosphere. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Curriculum for Middle School Science and Social Studies, Central Michigan University,

8 Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn (editors), Teaching About Climate Change: Cool Schools Tackle Global Warming, Toronto: Green Teacher,

9 Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn (editors), Teaching About Climate Change: Cool Schools Tackle Global Warming, Toronto: Green Teacher,

10 Temperature Anomalies Skills Practice Lab In this activity students will analyze data tables and graphs created from current climate monitoring systems taking place around the globe. Objectives: Analyze information from data tables and graphs. Evaluate data, claims, and personal knowledge through science discourse. Use multiple sources of information to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of claims, arguments, or data. Materials: Access to the Internet Procedure: 1. The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NCDC produces numerous climate publications and responds to data requests from all over the world. NCDC operates the World Data Center for Meteorology located at NCDC in Asheville, North Carolina, and the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology located in Boulder, Colorado. 2. The NCDC has been using a sattelite information system to track temperature anomalies. A temperature anomaly is a departure from a reference value or long-term average. The maps we will look at today show temperature anomalies relative to a base period. This period is used because it has the widest distribution for historical data. 3. Go to 4. Select climate monitoring, scroll down to Global Products and select Global Climate at a Glance. Select a year and click go to map. The color key is at the bottom of the map. Red indicates a temperature above the long-term average and blue indicates a temperature below the long-term average. View several years of data before analyzing. 5. Analyze Results. What does the data indicate? 6. Draw Conclusions. Does this data support claims about global warming? Dr. Andrew Burton, Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change PowerPoint Presented at MTU 10

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21 Michigan Toxic Emissions Inventory Skills Practice Lab In this activity students will use real-world data and create a circle graph to display what type of sources causes the most pollution in Michigan. Objectives: Analyze information from data tables and graphs. Evaluate data, claims, and personal knowledge through science discourse. Use multiple sources of information to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of claims, arguments, or data. Materials: Access to the Internet Procedure: 1. The Great Lakes Commission is a public agency established by the Great Lakes Basin Compact in Its members include the eight Great Lakes states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec. The agency was designed to help its member states and provinces speak with a unified voice and collectively fulfill their vision for a healthy Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River region. 2. One project of the Great Lakes Commission targets 213 separate chemical compounds, including all those classified as hazardous air pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They organize data collected by the eight Great Lakes states and province of Ontario to create a point source inventory. 3. Go to 4. Select Air Toxic Emissions Inventory from the Data and Monitoring drop down menu. Scroll down to select the 2001 Inventory of Toxic Air Emissions link from the right. (We are using the 2001 report because the 2002 report is still a work in progress.) Scroll down to select the Michigan State Summary (Appendix C). 5. When the document has downloaded, browse through the report paying special attention to the area source emissions categories. The information in the report explains the data collection method used for each source, but the categories will give you an idea of where air pollution in Michigan is originating. 6. At the end of the report information on Michigan s Statewide Emissions is provided in a spreadsheet. Values are expressed in total pounds per year. 7. Open a new spreadsheet in MS Excel. 8. Give the spreadsheet the title Michigan 2001 Statewide Emissions (lb/yr). 9. Label five columns: Point, Area, Non-Road, and Mobile. 10. Take the totals from the bottom of each column on the report and record it in the spreadsheet under the appropriate source type. Dr. Andrew Burton, Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change PowerPoint Presented at MTU Dr. Andrew Burton, Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change PowerPoint Presented at MTU 21

22 11. Highlight the data in the spreadsheet. Click insert from the main toolbar and then choose a circle graph (also called pie chart). Click finish. A circle graph of the data will appear on your spreadsheet. 12. Right-click on the graph and choose chart options. Under the titles tab, give your graph the title Michigan 2001 Statewide Emissions (lb/yr). 13. Select the legend tab and uncheck the show legend box. 14. Select the data labels tab. Select show label and percent. 15. Click on the frame of the graph and drag to enlarge it. 16. From the file menu select print preview to see your finished piece. Make any necessary adjustments to fit it onto one page. (You may have to move the graph). 17. Print your work. 18. Analyze Results. a. How much of Michigan air pollution comes from a point source? b. How much of Michigan air pollution comes from an area source? c. How much comes from a mobile (both on & off road) source? 19. Draw Conclusions. Pretend you work for the Great Lakes Commission. You just completed an analysis of the Michigan 2001 Statewide Emissions. Remember the goal of the agency is to advocate for a healthy Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River region. In the space below write a recommendation for legislative action using data from your analysis in your report. 22

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