Lesson 1  The Spheres of Earth

SC.HS.13.3 Gather, analyze, and communicate evidence to defend the position that Earth's systems are interconnected and impact one another

SC.HS.13.3.A  Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.

Students will use My NASA Data to research the 5 spheres of Earth:  Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Geosphere, Biosphere, and Cryosphere.  Students should know that the Earth is composed on spheres and the spheres interact.  A change in one sphere affects another sphere.  This means that Earth is a system as it is composed of parts that interact with each other. 

Activity:  Have students make a poster of them interacting with each of Earth's spheres.  Posters are 8.5" x 11" paper. 

Activity:  Using My NASA Data, have student groups select a sphere and research how that sphere interacts with other spheres.  The link to "Phenomena" found under each sphere provides good examples.

My NASA Data has many examples of phenomena.  This could lead to discussions/questions are these phenomena affected by Earth's changing climate.

Lesson 2  Is it a System?

Students use cups, water, and food coloring to develop an understanding of:  systems, inputs, outputs, equilibrium, and dynamic equilibrium.

Lesson 3  Poker Chip Model:  Global Carbon Pools and Fluxes

Use the activity from Great Lakes Bioenergy:  Poker Chip Model:  Global Carbon Pools and Fluxes.  Students will build a scale model of the reservoirs of carbon and relate them to Earth's spheres. 

I give my students different types of beads and chips and ask them to assign the objects a value and then make a scale model of the carbon.  Students learn where carbon is stored and in what proportion.  Students can do a gallery walk and compare their model to other groups.  Students learn the fluxes or processes that move carbon from one reservoir to another.

I follow up the poker chip lab with the demonstrations found in the following presentation.  Students can quantitatively see evidence of carbon moving between reservoirs.

Lesson 4  Evidence of Carbon on the Move- Qualitative

Evidence of Carbon on the Move- Qualitative

Have students journal and make models of what the carbon is (solid or gaseous), and how it is moving.  The models can be modified later as we learn more throughout the demonstrations.

I do the demonstrations to elicit class discussion and questions.  Students typically struggle with how to remove the carbon from the beaker of water after I have added my carbon dioxide.  I eat the spinach to give them time to think- this helps students think about photosynthesis. 

I end by talking about how matter cannot be created or destroyed- carbon included.  Carbon is reused recycled.  The carbon you ate for breakfast (toast and fruit- both plants) is "used" and has been in some other reservoir before you ate it.  It could have been gasoline, from a dinosaur, from the next door neighbor, etc.

Lesson 5  Carbon on the Move!  Quantitative

SC.HS.13.3.E Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon and other nutrients among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, today and in the geological past.

I print the photos and set the different sphere around the classroom so students circulate and move from sphere to sphere.  Students record where they have moved and how long they spent in each reservoir.

Students will notice than carbon that the movement of carbon operates on two different time scales.  Carbon in the geosphere operates in the millions of years while in the other spheres operates in decades, hundreds of years or thousands of years.  This means that is takes millions of years to sequester carbon in the geosphere (limestone and fossils fuels) but a short period of time to move carbon from these reservoirs to others. 

If you want offset carbon used by a long road trip in your car by planting a tree, would you be successful?  Explain.

Photos to print for Carbon Moves!

Students should know that the Earth is system of interacting spheres.  Carbon cycles through Earth's spheres through natural and man-made processes.  Processes that move carbon operate on two different time scales- some 10's of years, other millions of years. 

Summary page  I use the summary page help students make connections between processes and help develop the next set of questions.  Example, decomposition, combustion, and respiration all have the same reactants and products (hydro carbon + oxygen --> carbon dioxide and water)  Why?

Possible questions:

If the amount of carbon on Earth hasn't changed, why are concerned about rising carbon dioxide?

Why has the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide increased?

How to we sequester (remove) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Can we restore the amount carbon in each sphere back to previous levels?

Next steps:

This will lead us into the next about Earth's changing climate due to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide- cause and affect.

What are the effects of rising carbon dioxide?

What evidence do we have of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide?

Have carbon dioxide levels changed in the past?