Overview

Where does CO₂ come from and how does excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affect the ocean and aquatic life? In this lesson students are introduced to the carbon cycle and explore pH and acidification with hands-on experiments. They then connect their experimental data with real-world data to evaluate claims about carbon dioxide and ocean acidification. Finally, students are introduced to how different companies and research groups are using green chemistry to build carbon capture technologies and use that carbon as a material for new eco-friendly products.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize and understand the pH scale.
• Determine through experimentation how carbon dioxide acidifies water.
• Understand that the atmosphere and hydrosphere are connected planetary systems.
• Analyze how the greenhouse gas CO2 contributes to climate change.
• Hypothesize the impacts of carbon capture technologies.

NGSS Alignment

This lesson helps students prepare for these Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations:

• 5-ESS2-1. Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
• MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
• HS-ESS2-2. Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.

Materials

Decide if you will be doing both experiments outlined in the Explore section, or just one of them.

For Experiment #1 each student group will need:

• Saltwater, 50 mL
• Dry ice, 2 pieces. Search the internet for dry ice suppliers near you.
• Universal indicator, 3 drops
• pH test strips, 2
• Wash bottle
• 50 mL graduated cylinder
• 100 mL beaker

For Experiment #2 each student group will need:

• Saltwater, 15 mL
• Soda or carbonated water, 50 mL
• Universal indicator, 2 drops
• Large plastic cup, clear (1)
• Medium plastic cup, clear (1)
• Small dixie cup, clear (1)

Also needed:

• Student worksheets (1 per student)
• Lesson slides
• Bowl of dry ice