Initial Publication Date: July 22, 2016

Step 2: Plan Approach to Inquiry


In this step of the unit students develop their approach to answering the question developed in the first phase of the module. First students watch a video to observe how CO2 levels change in different regions of Earth over the course of a year and then use an online modeling tool that helps them visualize the interrelationships between global carbon pools and fluxes.

Step 2.1 - A Year in the Life of CO2


Featured Resource - A Year in the Life of CO2

Type: video

Time Required = 20 minutes

Summary: Students use visual cues from NASA maps to explore the yearly cycle of CO2 fluctuations in the North and South Hemispheres.

Teaching Strategy and Directions

  1. Students see how CO2 levels change over the course of one year on an online animated model. They discover the cyclic changes caused by seasons and other changes caused by industrial activity and fires.
  2. Show the video with the sound turned off. Explain the color key below the video.
  3. Stop the video at the 1:00 mark. Ask students to interpret the data. What is causing the increasing amounts of CO2 in the northern hemisphere?
  4. Continue the video and stop at the 1:45. Ask students how the pattern of carbon dioxide has changed. Point out the date of the frame. What is causing the increase in CO2 in the Southern Hemisphere?
  5. Proceed to the end of the clip. Ask students to interpret the data for summer vs. winter in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Jump to activity »

Step 2.2 - Poker Chip Model: Carbon Pools and Fluxes


Featured Resource - Poker Chip Game

Type: Interactive modeling visualization

Time Required = 50 minutes

Summary: Students play the Poker Chip game to explore carbon pools and fluxes with an interactive modeling resource.

Teaching Strategies and Directions

This activity helps students visualize and model a diagram of global carbon pools and fluxes. Students create a scaled 3-D visual of global carbon pools and net fluxes between pools with anthropogenic influences. The relative sizes of the pools are modeled with stacks of poker chips or rolled columns of printer paper of different size. The fluxes can be represented by bingo chips or pennies. See directions and print out student directions on the site.


Jump to activity »