What makes a greenhouse gas a greenhouse gas?
https://cleanet.org/clean/community/activities/c3.html
https://cleanet.org/clean/community/activities/c3.html
Sara Harris, University of British Columbia
This activity utilizes a PhET greenhouse gas simulation to explore the interaction of different atmospheric gases with different types of radiation.
See how this Activity
supports the Next Generation Science Standards»
Middle School: 1 Disciplinary Core Idea
High School: 1 Cross Cutting Concept, 4 Science and Engineering Practices
The lesson takes about one class period.
Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»
Middle School: 1 Disciplinary Core Idea
High School: 1 Cross Cutting Concept, 4 Science and Engineering Practices
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- This activity supplements a lesson about the greenhouse effect and climate change very well.
About the Science
- The PhET simulation illustrates, at the molecular level, how five atmospheric gases absorb infrared and visible radiation.
- Simulation doesn't provide references for the code used in the simulation. Also there are implied units of 'greenhousey-ness' for the different gases, that have no clear relationship to real data on the infrared absorption capabilities of these gases.
About the Pedagogy
- Students use the simulation to collect data to rank the gases on their absorption of radiation. Students then use the simulation to conduct an experiment which promotes scientific reasoning. A challenge in this regard is deciding what "data" is so that the behavior of the gas molecules can be documented appropriately.
- The questions provided in the activity are intended to lead students to a thorough understanding of the properties of greenhouse gases, and the suggested assessment furthers this understanding.
- The activity intends to provide an open-ended exploration and for a range of answers and approaches. It presents some challenges in use primarily because the simulation is relatively simplistic.
Technical Details/Ease of Use
- All materials are presented clearly.
- This activity is very complete and contains a link to the free simulation, student handout, instructor's guide, ideas for assessment, and links to related activities. The completeness of the supporting resources is the primary strength of this activity.
- The Java-based app is sometimes blocked by Gatekeeper on Apple devices. It is safe to open. PhET Help center provides assistance getting around Gatekeeper here: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/help-center/running-sims/mac.
- Here is what PhET suggests to trouble-shoot the problem: right-click to open the simulation once (with administrative privileges), which allows subsequent launches to be done without administrative privileges.