FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US AT connect@space.rice.edu Funded by NASA as part of the Earth Science Information Partners   Activity 8: The Change in Carbon Dioxide Levels Level: Grade 7-8, but easily adaptable for older (Algebra 1 or Science) students Learning Objective: Students will take a graph of Carbon Dioxide concentration as a function of time. They will learn about linear trends in the data, as well as the annual variation of Carbon Dioxide. They will predict the level of Carbon Dioxide in 2005 from the data. Specific Science Content Standards Changes in earth and sky Structure and evolution of an earth system's history Risks and benefits Geography: Applying geography to interpret the past Specific Mathematics Content Standards Variables and data Plotting and graphing Fitting to straight lines Extrapolation Earth Update: Atmosphere Introducing the activity: Tell students that ice cores can help us learn not only the temperature of the Earth in times past, but also the amount of Carbon Dioxide trapped in the air bubbles in the ice. This activity uses as source data a plot of each versus time, and show the students a plot of one variable (the Temperature) versus the other variable (date in years). Students then use a ruler (preferably a clear one, in order to "split the difference" of the annual variation) to fit the data to a line. The fitted line y = mx + b and its coefficients m and b are calculated. From this, students can show how changes in Carbon Dioxide have occurred over time and predict the value of the Carbon Dioxide in 2005. Activity 8: The Change in Carbon Dioxide levels You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this activity. To download, click on the link below. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Last Update: April 28, 2005