Students check for the presence and relative amounts of ozone in the air using Schoenbein strips they make with filter paper, cornstarch, and potassium iodide.
Students will sample particulate matter around town or campus and compare the results. They will also gather particulate matter from tailpipe emissions and compare different types of vehicles.
In this lesson, students learn about air. Through a variety of hands-on experiences presented as stations in the classroom, students will discover properties of air, including that air has volume, mass, and pressure; that it is compressible; and that it expands when heated. They will also learn about the major molecular components of our atmosphere (nitrogen, oxygen, argon), the four layers of our atmosphere, and that air contains water vapor. Note: The videos referenced in the lesson narrative are no longer available online, but the station activities are not dependent on the content in the video.
Students will learn where they can find the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) forecast and how to interpret it. They will also identify seasonal patterns for ozone and particulate matter in their region, and learn some of the reasons behind those patterns.
This resource contains a 60-second listening audio file with accompanying transcript, quizzes, gap fill, and spelling and word jumble activities. Opportunities are provided for students to write, ask questions, and work with a partner. NOTE: The speaker has a British accent.
This module explores the concept of climate justice, linking global climate change to local actions, and looking at who benefits and who pays the costs from burning fossil fuels.
This module explores how transportation impacts greenhouse gas emissions. Students will recognize how inequality affects access to transportation and understand how urban and suburban design and infrastructures influences transportation choices and mobility. Student will also explore low-carbon transportation alternatives, and ways in which we can change our systems and surroundings to make these alternatives more accessible.
Students learn about greenhouse gases in this brief animated video.
During this extended unit, students will explore environmental sustainability from a number of different perspectives. They will dive deep into global policies regarding the environment, specifically the dedication of different countries to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Students will review and discuss specific case studies, offering their opinion of certain practices and policies. As a summative assessment, students will create a “Call to Action†project, with the intent of raising awareness and instigating action on environmental sustainability. This unit includes language (objectives, vocabulary, and lesson modifications) that will help the teacher meet the needs of ELL students. These strategies may be helpful for other students, as well.
This article offers suggestions for several demonstrations pertinent to the atmosphere, pollution, and global climate change.
This quiz assesses student knowledge of clouds and aerosols.
This quiz assesses student knowledge about air quality.
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This brief video lesson discusses smog and what it is composed of. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.
This article discusses ground level sources of ozone, such as fires, in the Pacific region.
The High-Adventure Science Air Quality module has five activities. Students will explore the question, will the air be clean enough to breathe? They will be guided through the analysis of models and real-world data as they explore the interactions of factors that affect a region's air quality. By the end of the module, students will be able to predict the effect of human development on a region's air quality.