Balloon or Bust: Lessons About Climate Change and CO - two - School

Overview:

This hands-on session is designed to expose educators to a brief lesson plan for teaching about global warming, greenhouse gas and alternative energy. Participants will learn about the origins and impacts of greenhouse gas and about some of the available technologies to reduce emissions. The lesson will feature a demo which will help students visualize the scale of climate change using dry ice. Key scientific concepts include: ideal gas law, unit conversions, order of magnitude and chemical phase.

Objectives:

Educate students about the science theory behind climate change. Creatively apply and educate students about the scientific concepts of phase and phase change,

ideal gas law and heat capacity. Educate pupils about the politics and controversy in today’s society

Target Demographic:

The lesson may be tuned to students from 8th grade through 12th grade.

Timing:

The lesson may take between 2-3 hours depending on the presentation length, the breadth of subjects covered and the demo length.

Contents:

1.0 Balloon or Bust: Lessons About Climate Change1.1 Introduction to Climate Change1.2 Key Scientific Concepts1.3 Let’s Do Some Math (including worksheet)

2.0 Demonstration Instructions: CO – two – School2.1 Main Demonstration2.2 Supplemental Activity

3.0 Post Lesson Discussion4.0 Sample PowerPoint Slides

The accompanying presentation and worksheet is available at: http://iknowgreen.uconn.edu/?p=155&preview=truehttp://gk12.engr.uconn.edu/

Note: As with any lesson, this one will need to be tailored to the class. Adjust the content and pace accordingly.

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1.1 Introduction to Climate Change:

a) Introductiona. Ask students to describe what the following words mean:

i. Climate Changeii. Greenhouse Gas

iii. Carbon Emissionsb. Also ask the students:

i. Where have you learned about climate change the most?ii. Where does Greenhouse Gas come from?

b) Motivationa. Explain:

i. The world around us affects us everydayii. We need to be cognizant of how our actions affect our environment and the

futureb. Ask students: What are some ways that we can affect our environment? Answers can be

either positive or negativec) The Background of Climate Change

a. How does climate change happen?i. The sun provides us with a lot of energy (example: solar panels)

ii. This energy can either be absorbed or reflectediii. Energy from the sun that’s absorbed can be converted into heat, which will then

travel back through this atmosphereiv. The composition of our atmosphere will affect how much of that heat is

retainedv. The atmosphere is mostly made of nitrogen (N2, ~79%) and oxygen (O2, ~20.9%),

but has some other gasses like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and helium (He)

vi. When the amount of some of the other gasses (namely carbon dioxide and methane) increases, they will absorb more heat causing the temperature of the atmosphere to increase

b. YouTube Video: What do the Mythbusters have to say about that? c. So how does carbon dioxide get into the atmosphere

i. The primary reaction that forms carbon dioxide is oxidation, or burningii. The chemical formula is:

C+O2→CO2

d. Where does greenhouse gas come from?i. Some greenhouse gas comes from natural sources (e.g. humans breathe out

carbon dioxide)ii. Some comes from burning wood or biomass

iii. The vast majority comes from burning fossil fuelsiv. This is a problem because it takes carbon that was once in the ground and emits

it in the aire. What are some of the effects of climate change?

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i. Global temperatures will riseii. Weather patterns will change

iii. Ice caps will meltf. YouTube Video: What are some myths about Climate Change

d) Forming your own opinionsa. The following section will explain some of the scientific concepts that contribute.

Principles include:i. Phase and Phase Change

ii. Ideal Gas Lawiii. Heat Capacity

b. The following calculation sheet will allow them to learn some simple mathematic relations that can relate the concepts to real world scenarios

c. Following that, students will test calculations and theory using scientific experiments

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1.2: Key Scientific Concepts

a) Key Terms:a. Temperature: A measure of how fast molecules around you are moving. The

higher the temperature, the more energy they have, and the faster those molecules are moving. Measured using a thermometer. Units include degrees Farenheit, degrees Celsius and Kelvins.

b. Pressure: The force of all of the molecules on the walls of a container. The higher the force, the greater the pressure. Measured using a gauge. Units include atmospheres, Pascals and mmHg.

c. Volume: The size of the container. Measured in length3. Units include cm3, in3 and Liters.

d. Heat Capacity: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of an object or substance one degree (Celsius)

e. Ideal Gas: A gas that follows the ideal gas law. This assumes that the gas molecules are spheres that bounce off each other without interacting.

f. Phase (solid, liquid or gas): A state of matter. Any material will be in either the solid, liquid or gas phase under normal conditions. (examples, at room temperature/pressure: oxygen-gas, water-liquid, gold-solid).

g. Phase Change: The transition between a solid, liquid and gas. This can be depicted on an phase diagram (see below)

b) Ideal Gas Law:a. The ideal gas law governs how gases (also known as vapors interact)b. Before applying the ideal gas law, need to know two concepts:

i. Kelvins are the absolute temperature scale1. T (kelvins)= T (Celsius) + 273.15

ii. Moles are an amount of substance. It may be a different amount of a substance based on what atoms it is composed of. You can convert between the weight of a substance and the number of moles of an element using the molar mass (in grams/mole)

c. It all boils down to one simple equation, also known as the ideal gas law. You may have heard of it: PV=nRT

i. P = Pressure [=] atmospheresii. V = Volume [=] Liters

iii. n = amount of substance [=] molesiv. T = Temperature [=] Kelvinsv. R = Ideal Gas Constant = .008214 (L*atm/(mol*K))

d. The ideal gas law relates the pressure, temperature, volume and amount of a gas there is.

e. Example: If the container is closed and rigid (won’t change volume or amount of gas): if temperature increases, the pressure increases; If the temperature decreases, the pressure decreases

c) Heat Capacity

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a. Heat capacity is a measure of the temperature change of a substance upon heating

b. Energy can be measured and generated in different ways (heat, friction, electricity)

i. The units of energy are Joulesc. Heat capacity is measured in Joules/Kelvind. The amount of heat that a substance can absorb is proportional to the types

and number of chemical bonds. Typically, the more bonds, the higher the heat capacity

e. So CO2, which has two chemical bonds would have a higher heat capacity than N2 which only has one. Some common

GasConstant Volume Heat CapacitycV=(J/K)

Ar 12.5He 12.5CO 20.7H2 20.4HCl 21.4N2 20.6NO 20.9O2 21.1Cl2 24.8CO2 28.2CS2 40.9H2S 25.4N2O 28.5SO2 31.3

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/heatcap.html

d) Phase and Phase Changea. A substance will occupy a phase based on its temperature and pressureb. A gas will take the shape and volume of the container, a liquid has a fixed

volume that will take the shape of the container, and a solid has a fixed volume and shape.

c. Below is a phase diagram, which will tell you what phase a material will be in at a known temperature and pressure

d. Changing that temperature and pressure may induce a ‘phase change’

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http://chemistry.tutorvista.com/physical-chemistry/phase-diagram.html

e) Questions for Understanding:a. What are temperature, pressure and volume of a gas? How can they be related?b. What is the ideal gas law?c. What is heat capacity? What are some factors that determine how high the heat

capacity is?d. What is the difference between a solid, liquid and gas?

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1.3 Let’s Do Some Math

Problem: How many grams of CO2 are released in a typical bus ride to school?

Assumptions:

– How far does the bus need to drive to school? (This key assumes 5 miles)

– A school bus burns diesel, and gets about 10 mpg (per Yahoo Answers)

– All the fuel is burned and turns into CO2 (some is partially burned to form CO)

Given:

– School bus fuel economy: ~10 mi/gal

– Weight % Carbon in diesel fuel: 84.86 %

– Diesel fuel Density: ~0.832 kg/l= 3.14 kg/gal

– Weight % Carbon in CO2 =27.7 %

Calculations:

5mi10migal

=.5 galdiesel burned

.5 gal∗(3.14 kggal )=1.57 kg gasburned1.57 kg∗(84.86%

100)=1.33 kgCemitted

1.33 kg27.27%

∗100=4.88 kgCO2 per 5mi

Or .976 kg CO2 emitted per mile

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CO-two-School Worksheet

Problem: How many grams of CO2 are released in a typical bus ride to school?

Assumptions:

– How far does the bus need to drive to school?

– Your bus burns diesel, and gets about 10 mpg (per Yahoo Answers)

– All the fuel is burned and turns into CO2 (some is partially burned to form CO)

Given:

– School bus fuel economy: ~10 mi/gal

– Weight % Carbon in diesel fuel: 84.86 %

– Diesel fuel Density: ~0.832 kg/l= 3.14 kg/gal

– Weight % Carbon in CO2 =27.7 %

Calculations:

A) Assuming a school bus gets 10 miles per gallon, how many gallons of diesel gasoline would driving 5 miles consume?

B) What mass (in kilograms) of gasoline is that? The density of diesel gasoline is 3.14 kg/gal.

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C) What mass (in kilograms) of carbon is that? Diesel fuel is typically 84.86 weight percent carbon.

D) What is the weight of CO2 that would be emitted assuming all the fuel was completely burned (to form CO2)? CO2 is 27.3 weight percent carbon.

E) How much CO2 is that per mile driven?

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2.0 Demonstration Instructions: CO two school

Before starting, make sure that you and your students have reviewed the math worksheet. The numbers calculated there will be used in the demonstration.

Materials: Balloons (any size, the larger the better. A good place to find free large balloons are car

dealerships). Number Required: 55 (at least one per student) Dry Ice (may be purchased at local super market) Amount Required: at least 4 pounds Thermometer (with long neck) Number Required: at least 2 Water Scale (min. 1 kg) Insulated gloves Tongs

Procedure:

Distribute balloons amongst students. Ask them to stretch them out by blowing them up, but deflating rather than tying it off

Warn students that balloons may pop when pressure builds, so there may be a loud noise Weigh the correct amount of dry ice calculated in previous section. Weigh enough for each

student to have 3-4 pieces. Adjust the number of miles to fit desired amount. DO NOT TOUCH DRY ICE WITH BARE HANDS. It is cold and will cause frostbite, wear insulated gloves and use tongs

Fill each balloon with approximately 2 tablespoons of water. Accuracy is not important, water is used to increase heat transfer to the dry ice

Once correct amount is weighed out, use tongs to place a few pieces of dry ice in each balloon. Tie off quickly (students may need to help doing this)

Allow balloons to expand to full volume. All the dry ice may not sublimate so beware of cold spots

Once all the balloons have inflated, place them in a pile and remind students:o This is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by one bus on one trip to school o A school bus drives to and from school each day

There are approximately 400,000 school busses that operate daily in the U.S. How many balloons is that per day? Per week? Per school year? School buses are efficient compared to cars (more people moved per gallon of

gas consumed) There are around 130 million daily commuters in the U.S. (ridetowork.org) This is multiplied by approximately 250 working days per year That’s a lot of CO2!

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Supplemental Activity: Have a student blow up a balloon with their lungs to about the same volume as the CO2 balloons

(choose one about ¾ full) Hold both balloons an equal distance from a heat source (Radiator, incandescent light),

CAREFUL, HEATED BALLOONS MAY POP Stick a different thermometer into each balloon and measure the temperature along a time

interval (e.g. every 30 seconds) Have students plot the heating rate as a function of time using a computer program like

Microsoft Excel Which balloon heated faster? Which balloon reached a higher final temperature?

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3.0 Post Lesson Discussion:

Now we’ve seen the scope of the problem Ask students, what can be done about it?

o Natural gas offers a short term solution (CH4 is more energy dense than oil, but has it’s own environmental problems)

o Biomass offers a good opportunity– plants intake CO2 over their lifetime, and when they are burned that CO2 is put back into the atmosphere creating a carbon neutral cycle

o Carbon sequestration techniques (such as burying the CO2) offer some expensive answers

Someone in the students’ generation will need to come up with the answer, maybe someone sitting in this classroom

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3.0 Sample PowerPoint Slides

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