Curated OER
The Atmosphere
Students calculate the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere. They create a semi-scale drawing of the atmosphere.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate and Forest Ecosystem Services
Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration. Classes...
Santa Monica College
The Properties of Oxygen Gas
Scholars generate and collect pure oxygen through a decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide in the fourth lesson of an 11-part series. Then, they complete six investigations into the properties of oxygen.
Colorado State University
What Makes a Gas, a Greenhouse Gas?—The Carbon Dioxide Dance
Investigate a heated topic in environmental science. Scholars team up to play the parts of gas molecules in the atmosphere. As the teacher moves about, acting as the electromagnetic wave, learners react as their molecules would to the...
Baylor College
About Air
Give your class a colorful and tasty representation of the components of the mixture that we call air. Pop a few batches of popcorn in four different colors, one to represent each gas: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. The...
NASA
Making Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Some like it hot! Scholars observe both exothermic and endothermic reactions as part of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. First, scientists demonstrate (or watch) a chemical reaction to create pure oxygen using fire for confirmation....
National Institute of Open Schooling
Air Pollution
Seventy percent of the air pollution in China is due to car exhaust. Under the umbrella of environmental chemistry, learners extensively explore air pollution. From the makeup of our atmosphere to sources of major air pollutants, classes...
Nuffield Foundation
Investigating Factors Affecting the Breathing Rate of a Locust
Do animals breathe faster when given more oxygen or more carbon dioxide? Young scientists observe the respiration rates of locusts under a variety of gas concentrations to answer that very question. They collect data, analyze the...
Curated OER
How Much Oxygen Is In The Air?
In this science worksheet, students take a close look at the composition of air while focusing on the content of oxygen. They use clay to model the amounts.
Biology Junction
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...
Curated OER
Environment: Battling for Oxygen
Students construct an interactive ozone depletion model using gumdrops and toothpicks. After analyzing the data obtained from the model, they record it on butcher paper and complete worksheets about oxygen.
Curated OER
The Origins and Maintenance of Earth's Atmosphere
In this atmosphere worksheet, learners read over a data table showing the percentage of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere over the last 4500 million years. Students create a graph comparing these gases over time and...
Curated OER
The Atmosphere Then and Now
Young scholars recall details about the formation of the earth and early atmosphere. They name the layers of the atmosphere and compare amounts of atmospheric nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Formulate questions about global warming.
Chicago Botanic Garden
GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive TinkerToy)
Students use the GEEBITT excel model to explore how global average temperatures are affected by changes in our atmosphere in part two of this series of seven lessons. Working in groups, they discuss, analyze graphs, and enter data to...
Virginia Department of Education
Partial Pressure
At some point, everyone has been under pressure—even Dalton! Explore Dalton's law of partial pressures with young chemists as they measure the volume of air extracted from a sample compared to its original volume. Class members perform...
National Geographic
Altitude: What's in the Air?
Introuduce your scientists to the differences in air at varying altitudes with a colorful explanatory graph. After some discussion, they view unbelievable footage of mountain-climbing Leo Houlding and a narrative about how he might do...
Curated OER
Carbon and Oxygen Cycles
Students construct their own diagrams outlining the pathway of carbon and oxygen in the atmosphere. Students explain their diagrams outlining the pathway and teacher checks for accuracy and completion.
K12 Reader
Atmospheric Layers
In this two-part reading comprehension worksheet, kids read a passage about the atmospheric layers surrounding the earth and then respond to a series of comprehension questions based on the passage.
Curated OER
Working in your Cubicle: Critical Thinking and Writing
Explore informative and explanatory writing with this instructional activity. Using a cube labeled with directives to describe, analyze, compare, associate, apply, and argue the topic, middle schoolers work individually or in groups to...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
Curated OER
An Environmental Puzzle: The Carbon Cycle
Middle school science stars examine fuels and energy with a variety of activities. They begin with a KWL chart, read an informative passage, and then complete a puzzle. The puzzle itself is included. Cleverly, each piece corresponds to a...
Curated OER
Explore: 5th Grade Dissolved Oxygen
Fifth graders, in groups, use basic science process skills to measure and compare the dissolved oxygen levels and pH levels of distilled, stream, and pond water.
Curated OER
Water Quality and Dissolved Oxygen
Students investigate the relationship between dissolved oxygen and organic materials and aquatic organisms. This is a 3-lesson series in which students explore dissolved oxygen and then design an experiment testing the effects of changes.
Curated OER
Earth's Atmosphere
In this Earth's atmosphere worksheet, students observe the effects of air pressure using an egg. They describe what happens to the egg and what makes it do what it does. Then they determine how to get the egg out of the bottle opening at...