DearStudents,

Weareabouttoembarkonamonthlongjourneyexploringthequestion:Whatisgoodcarbon
flow?(seecalendarbelowforthedaytodaybreakdownofactivities)

Itishardtoperusefacebookorwatchthenewswithoutcomingacrosssomethingaboutclimate
change,globalwarmingorglobalweirding.Whatarethesethingsandhowarethey
happening?Beforewecananswerthesequestionswemustfirsthavesomeunderstandingof
Carbon.

Carboniseverywhere.Itislikeashapeshifter,constantlychangingitsidentity.Overthenext
monthitwillbeourjobtotryandbetterunderstandcarboninallitsformsandtheprocessesin
goesthroughtochangeforms.

Withapartner,youwillstartthisunitbymessingaboutwithcarbondioxideinyourownmini
worlds.Youwillendtheunitwithapersonalinvestigationofcarboninyoureverydaylives.

Buckleup,itsgoingtobeacrazyride!

Micro#1:LettingtheMeterdotheWork:CarbonHunt.
Goals:
1. StudentswillunderstandhowtouseaCO2meter.
2. Studentswillunderstandthattheyaremeasuringcarbondioxideintheair
Objectives:
1. Bymessingaboutandcompletingaseriesofminichallenges,studentswilllearnhowto
useCO2metersandwhattheyaremeasuring.

Materials:
1pergroupof2or3
CO2meter
example:TIM12DesktopCO2&RH/TMonitor/DataLogger
Agenda:
1. Donow
:trueorfalse(5minutes)
1.
CarbondioxideisonlyfoundonEarthasagas.
2.
Carbondioxideismadeupof2carbonatomsand1oxygenatom.
3.
Carbondioxideisonlyfoundintheatmosphere(theair).
2. Messingaboutwithmeters
(15minutes)
a. Withapartner,takeacarbondioxidemeterandfigureouthowtouse.Youhave
15minutes
b. Theonlyruleisyou
cannot
stayinyourseatready,set,go!
c. Manual:
http://co2meters.com/Documentation/Manuals/M004TIM10.pdf
3. Minichallenges
(20minutes)
a. Whatisthehighestcarbondioxidereadingyoucanfindoncampus?(5minutes)
b. Whatisthelowestcarbondioxidereadingyoucanfindoncampus?(5minutes)
c. Whatareyoumeasuring?Provideproof(10minutes)
i.
YouaremeasuringthecarbondioxideinEarthsatmosphere.
ii.
Youaremeasuringthecarbondioxideinaclosedsystem.
iii.
Youaremeasuringemissionsfromburningfossilfuels.
iv.
Youaremeasuringtheproductofcellularrespiration.
4. Exitticket
:why?(5minutes)
a. Whatwasyourreasoningforgoingtothespotyouchoseoncampusforthe
highestorlowestcarbondioxidereading?Explainin35sentences.

Micro#2:CarbonontheMove:CO2Challenge
Goals
1. Studentswillunderstandtherelationshipsbetweenphotosynthesis,cellularrespiration,
andCO2intheatmosphere
Objectives
1. Studentswilldeveloptheirexperimentaldesignskills
2. Studentswillreviewtheprocessesofcellularrespirationandphotosynthesis

Materials
(pergroupof2or3):

1. Twoglassterrariums/fishtankswithlid
2. biotafromlocalecosystem
3. CO2monitors(2pergroup)

Agenda:
1. DoNow:
Carbonisconstantly
movingb
etweenthesoil,air,plantsandanimals
.
1. Circletrueorfalseforthefollowingstatements.
2. Indicateonascalefrom110(1beingunsureand10beingpositive)howcertain
youarethatyouransweriscorrect.
TrueorFalse:Carbonmovesfromthesoiltoplantsastheygrow.
TrueorFalse:Carbonmovesfromanimalstothesoilwhentheydie.
TrueorFalse:Carbonisconstantlymovingfromsoiltotheair.
TrueorFalse:Wegetthecarbonweneedfromtheair.
2. CellularRespirationandPhotosynthesisminilecture
(10minutes)
3. Introductiontochallenge
:(10minutes)
Thistimeshouldbespentpresentingthechallenge,assigninggroupsand,
answeringquestionstheyhaveaboutthechallenge.
4. Preliminarytasks
(remainingtime)
StepOne:Backgroundinformation.
Asateam,write3paragraphsexplaininghowthecarbonwillmoveinyourterrariums.
Whatprocesseswillbeinvolvedtomovecarbontoandfromtheatmosphere?Cite3
crediblesources.
Steptwo:Bringinanymaterialsyouwanttoincludeinyourterrariums

Micro#3:CarbonstillontheMove
Goals
1. Studentswillunderstandtherelationshipsbetweenphotosynthesis,cellularrespiration,
andCO2intheatmosphere
Objectives
1. Studentswilldeveloptheirexperimentaldesignskills

Agenda:
1. Anticipationguide
:Reviewchallenge
TheChallenge
:
CreatethebiggestdifferencebetweentheamountofatmosphericCO2
intwosealedglasstanks.
2. Designing,teacherconferences,materialcollection&setup(50minutes)
Themajorityofthisclassperiodwillbespentmovingfromgrouptogrouphelping
themfinalizetheirplan.
Stepthree:PreliminaryDesign
Howareyougoingtoaccomplishthistask?Explainyourplanusingdiagrams,bullets,
listsand/orfullsentences.Pleaseusebacksideofhandoutorseparatepieceofpaper.
Stepfour:assumptions

Afterreadingthiswebpagebelowmakealistofassumptionsspecifictoyourproposed
project.
http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/us101contents_01
Stepfive:doit!
Aftercheckinginwithme,startsettingupyourterrariums!
3. Exitticket
:concerns(10minutes)
a. Nowthatyouhavesetupyourterrariums,whatconcernsdoyouhave?
b. Whataboutyourdesignmakesyounervous?
4. DowntheRoad:
a. Datawillbecollectedandgraphed,4timesthroughouttheunit
b. Studentswillhaveseveralopportunitiestomakechangestotheirterrariums
c. Studentswillwritea34pagecritiqueofthechallenge.Essaysshouldaddress
notonlywhattheylearnedaboutcarbonandthechallengeitself,butshouldalso
addressthechangestheymadethroughoutthemonthandwhattheylearned
aboutsolvingproblems.

Micro#4:ItstheLaw!
Goals:
1. Studentswillunderstandandbeabletoprovideexamplesofinputs,outputs,and
byproducts
2. Studentswillunderstandthatmatterisneithercreatednordestroyed.

Objectives:
1. Studentswillcreatemetaphorstorelatechemicalequationstotheireverydaylife.
2. StudentswilluseeverydaysystemstoprovideevidencethatsupportstheLawof
ConservationofMatter
3. Studentswillanalyzetheunbalancedphotosynthesisequationasapieceofevidence
supportingtheLawofConservationofMatter.

Agenda:
1. DoNow/AnticipationGuide:
(10minutes)
a. Labelthepartsofthischemicalequation:
dryingredients+wetingredients+
energyCookies+heat
i.
Labelbank:input,output,byproduct.
b. Watchvideo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhVVHlcVj5k
i.
TorF?
Thecrystalswerecreatedoutofnewmatter.
ii.
Indicateonascalefrom110(1beingunsureand10beingpositive)how
certainyouarethatyouransweriscorrect.
2. Withapartner,thinkofsysteminyoureverydaylifethatcreatesaproductyouneedor
want.Writea35sentencesummaryofthesystem
indicatingthefollowingparts:
(10
minutes)
i.
Rawmaterialsused

ii.
Energysourceneeded
iii.
Thefinalproduct
iv.
Wasteproductscreated
b. Turnyoureverydaysystemintoanequation.
c. HINTS:Whatprocessesdoyougothrougheverydaybefore,during,andafter
school?Finalproductscanbethingslikecleanteethandtheenergysourcecan
beyou.
3. Challenge:
Provide3piecesofevidencethatyoureverdaysystemsupportstheLawof
ConservationofMatter(10minutes)

Law
of

Conservation

of
Matter:
A statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes
some aspects of the universe.
Always applies under the same conditions
Cannot be created or destroyed
All the stuff around you that takes up space
4. Facilitateddiscussion
:Whatdoesthishavetodowithphotosynthesisandcellular
respiration?(15minutes)Thisdiscussionshouldhappenbothwithpartnersandasa
largegroup.
Guidingquestions
:studentsshouldfollowalongandtakenotesontheirhandout
a. Howisyoureverdaysystemsimilartophotosynthesis/CR?
b. Canyouidentifytheinputs,outputs,andbyproductsinbothyoursystemandin
photosynthesis/CR?
c. Whyisorisntthephotosynthesisequation
CO
+H
O+energyC
H
O
+O
2
2
6
12
6
2
agoodpieceofevidencetosupportthelaw?
d. Howcouldwemakeitbetter?
Hint:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S6e11NBwiw
(materialcoveredquickly,
watchtwice)
5. Exitticket:
a. Rewatch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhVVHlcVj5k
b. HowcouldyouprovethatthecrystalsgrowinginthevideosupporttheLawof
ConservationofMatter?Explaintwothingsyouwouldhaveincludedifyou
producedthatvideo.

Micro#5:PuttingCarbonontheMap
Goals:
1. Studentswillunderstandhowcarboncyclingcanbemappedordiagramed.
2. Studentswillunderstandhowcarboniscyclingintheirterrariums.
Objectives:
1. Studentswillanalyzeamapofthenitrogencycleanduseitasanexampletomapthe
carboncyclingintheirterrariums.
Materials
(1setpergroupof2or3)
Posterpaper/largenewsprint

Markers
Ruler

Agenda:
1. Donow/anticipationguide
:(5minutes)
a. Watch
thefirst27secondsofthisvideo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzImo8kSXiU
b. Trueorfalse:
Alltheprocessesmentionedinthevideoarehappeninginyour
terrariums.
c. Trueorfalse:
Thecyclesmentionedinthevideoarebestrepresentedbyacircle.
2. Partner/classdiscussion
aboutnitrogenmap(15minutes)

a. Whatiscyclingonthismap
b. Whymightsomeofthearrowsbebiggerthanothers
c. Whatdothearrowsrepresent?
d. Whatdotheyellowboxesrepresent?
e. Whatismissingfromthismapthatyouwouldhaveincluded?
3. Challenge
:withyourresearchpartnerdesignamapthatbestrepresentsthecarbon
cyclinginyourterrarium.(30minutes)
Step1.Watchthisvideo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vJ_1ojjlxw
Howdoesthisvideocomparetoyourterrariums?
Whatprocessesaremissingfromthisvideothatmightbehappeninginyourterrariums?
Step2.Brainstormtheprocessesandcarbonsinksinyourterrarium.
Developachecklistforeverythingthatneedstobeincludedonyourmap.
Step3.Designaroughdraft

 Isyourformattingconsistent?
Howareyouusingcolors,shapes,andsymbolstomakeyourmapasclearaspossible?
Tourroughdraftsgallerystylebeforemovingontofinaldrafts
HINTS:
Howmanyprocessesinvolvingcarbonarehappeninginyourterrariums?
Whereiscarbonstored?
SABOTAGE:
If50%ormoreoftheteamsareabletointentionallymisrepresentaprocessinvolving
carbonontheirroughdraftsandIdonotnotice,theclasswillearna
pizzapoint
4. Exitticket
:whatarrowsaremissingfromyourmapthatmightbehappeninginalarger
systemsuchasourtown(5minutes)

MediaDecoding
Goals

1. StudentwillunderstandtheimpactofanthropogenicCO2ontheslowcarboncycle.
2. Studentswillunderstandtoneedtoanalyzethesourcesofinformation
Objectives
1. Studentswillexploreaglobalcarboncyclingmapinsearchofimbalances.
2. Studentswillanalyzethecredibilityandbiasofthesourcescarboncyclingmedia

Agenda
1. Donow
:(5minutes)
a. Listthreepeopleyoutrustinyourlife.
b. Explainwhyyoutrustthem.
2.
GlobalCarbonCyclediagramdiscussions
(25minutes)

https://www.carboncyclescience.us/whatiscarboncycle
(Source:
U.S.DepartmentofEnergyOfficeofScience
)

KeyQuestions:
1. Whatmakesasourceofinformationtrustworthy?
2. WhatistheUnitedStatesCarbonCycleScienceProgram?
a. Whereontheirwebsitecanwefindinformationabouttheprogram?
b. Whatistheirmission
c. Wheredotheygettheirmoney?
3. Whatdothearrowsandnumbersmean?
4. Canyoufindanimbalancetothecarbonflowequilibrium?
5. WhatarethemessageshereaboutthesourcesofCO2intheatmosphere?
3.
TheGreatGlobalWarmingSwindle
(20minutes)
http://www.projectlooksharp.org/?action=global_warming
KeyQuestions:
1. Whoproducedthisvideoandwhy?
2. Doyouthinkthisvideotellsacompletestory?
3. Afterrevisitingfirstpieceofmedia:Arehumanscausingglobalwarming?
4.
Exitticket:
Doesthevideoshowgoodorbadcarbonflow?Explainyourthinkinginatleast
4sentences.(5minutes)

ProbPlan
Iwillstartthisactivitybygivingthestudentsacoupleofminutestolookoverthediagram.Iwillask
themtocompareandtakenoticeofthenumbersinparentheses.Iwillaskthemtothinkaboutwhatis
happeningtothecarbonrepresentedbythosenumbers.Iwillstartthediscussionbyaskingthemthe
question:
Whatmakesasourcetrustworthy?Iwillfollowupanswerstothisquestionwithmoreprobing
questionsaboutwhytheythinkwhattheydo.Iwillthentransitiontoquestionsspecifictothesourceofthis
pieceofmedia.Iwillhavetoclasspairofftodiscussthequestionsbetweenwholeclassdiscussions.
Withtheirpartners,studentswillbegiventheopportunitytousetheircomputerstoanswerthe
followingquestions:
WhatistheUnitedStatesCarbonCycleScienceProgram?
Whereontheirwebsitecanwefindinformationabouttheprogram?Whatistheirmission?Wheredothey
gettheirmoney?Iwillcirculatearoundtheroomtoprobethegroupsindividuallyandencouragethepartners
toquestioneachother.Ianticipatemoststudentswilltrustthesource,butIwilllookforconcretereasons
why.Iwillnotacceptanswerslike:becauseitisafederalprogram.Iwillalsoaskthemwhytheythinkthe
programwasstarted?
Iwillbringthegroupbacktogetherandtakeapollontheirtrustofthesource.Wewilldiscusstheir
reasonswhyorwhynot.Wewillalsodiscusswhatevidencetheyfoundforwhytheprogramexists.
Next,IwillintroduceatheTheGreatGlobalWarmingSwindleandleadtheclassthroughpartner
andwholeclassdiscussionsonsourcingandbias.
Wewillendthediscussionwiththequestion:
AreHumanscausingglobalwarming?Iwillgivethe
studentsamomenttoponderthequestion,andrevisitthecarboncyclediagram,beforeaskingfor
responses.Iwillaskthemwhythereisonlyoneredarrowinthediagramandwhatthevideoclipfailsto
informviewers.Althoughthesciencecommunityhasanacceptedanswertothisquestion,thegeneralpublic
doesnotandthequestioncanstillbecontroversial.Iwillbereadytomediateanyemotionalresponsesor
hurtfulcomments.

ChallengeBoard

UnitTest
1. Rememberthatcarbonmapfromourmediadecodingactivity?
Usethewordbank
providedtolabeltheglobalcarboncyclediagramedbelow.

Wordbank:CarbonSink,AnthropogenicInput,Atmosphere,Geosphere,Hydrosphere,
Biosphere,
2. Watchthefollowingvideo:

http://www.projectlooksharp.org/?action=global_warming
.
a. Whatisthemessagetheproducersofthisvideoaretryingtoconvey?(35
sentences)
b. Doyoutrustthisvideo?Listthreethingsyouwouldlikeknowaboutthesource.
i.

ii.

iii.

c. Whatdidtheproducersoftheswindlevideodowell?Whywasthisvideo
effectiveatconvincingpeoplethatclimatechangeisnotcausedbyhumans?
3. Whatwastheterrariumchallengeprocesslikeforyou?(35sentences)
4. Explaintwothingsyoulearnedfromtheprocessthathavenothingtodowithcarbon?
a.
b.
5. The
Law
of
Conservation
of
Matter
.
a. Inyourownwordsdefinethewordsinred.
Law:
Conservation:
Matter:
b. Createanewnameforthelawthatdoesnotincludethewordsinred.

6. Arethefollowingchemicalformulasproofthatmatterisneithercreatednordestroyed?
Explainwhyorwhynotandmakeanychangestotheequationsyouseenecessary.
a. C6H12O6+O2CO2+H2O+energy
b. H2CO3+CaCO3Ca+H2O+CO2
7. HowdoesthecarboncyclinginyourterrariumNOTreflectrealworldcarboncyclingin
youreverydaylife(510sentences)
8. Whatisonewayyoucouldreducetheamountofcarbonenteringtheatmosphereasa
resultoftheaprocessyouaredirectlyorindirectlyinvolvedwithonatypicalschoolday.
(35sentences)