Chemistry and the Environment is designed to accompany a one-semester course in chemistry-based discussions of important environmental issues such as air pollution, the ozone layer, climate change and water quality. Chemical principles are introduced, followed by environmental ‘focus’ sections to base discussions on the scientific principles and societal intricacies of the individual topics. Instructors can also use the focus sections as a resource for presentation slides. Chemistry 2e is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the two-semester general chemistry course. The textbook provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them.

This unit will include an overview of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). The unit will be a mix of organic and inorganic chemistry and will describe the physical and chemical properties of the three main gases and the most important chemical reactions that move the greenhouse gases into and out of the atmosphere. The unit will include a chapter of chemical reactivity, how these gases work (by atmospheric absorption and scattering of electromagnetic waves at different wavelengths), their residence time in the atmosphere and analyze the mitigation (what humans can do to reduce or limit the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere).

One section of the unit will discuss the “global warming potential” (what makes a stronger or a weaker greenhouse gas) and the relationship between physical properties of greenhouse gases and their lifetime (how long they remain in the atmosphere).

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students use chemical reactions that occur in landfills and composting as a vehicle to learn about chemical changes found in their daily lives.

SCIENTIST NOTES: Students learn how to distinguish between physical and chemical changes in matter through this lesson. They can comprehend the chemical makeup, interactions, and changes that take place in landfills and other waste disposal facilities thanks to the films, articles, and class activity. Disastrous gases like methane are emitted into the atmosphere after the breakdown of various products and materials at waste disposal facilities due to their distinctive chemical properties. The environment and human health are likely to suffer as a result. So, it's crucial to separate these wastes since some of them can be reused or recycled to lower the amount of methane in the environment. Above all, students will be able to create a model for trash management, promote sustainably managed waste, and present solutions to local communities. To prevent injuries in the classroom, the teacher should oversee the balloon activity that involves using objects like banana peels and balloons on bottle mouths, among others. The lesson, including all accompanying materials and videos, has all been fact-checked, and it is appropriate for use in a classroom.

POSITIVES:
-Students work collaboratively in groups and with partners to share diverse ideas and perspectives.
-Students participate in hands-on learning to aid in understanding and participation.
-Students learn through a variety of pathways including kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learning to reach diverse and unique individuals.
-Students are given a variety of optional extensions to create the most meaningful change in their communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teachers can use this as a multi-day lesson in two to three parts. Each of the Inquire, Investigate, and Inspire sections can be completed on a separate day.
-Teachers can cut the chemical or physical change sorting game cards out prior to teaching the lesson.
-Materials required for the hands-on landfill activity include the following:
-Clear plastic tub (~12-in long × 6-in wide × 5-in deep) (~30-cm x 15-cm x 13-cm) with about 1 inch (2.54 cm) of sand in the bottom
-Clay (~750 cubic cm); this clay does not need to be the high-quality type used for modeling; clayey or silty soil from your backyard works fine
-Sand (~1500 cubic cm) (available at home and garden stores)
-Gravel (~100 cubic cm) (available at home and garden stores)
-~15 cotton balls
-(Optional) Tiny houses and buildings (such as Monopoly game houses and hotels), or any other simple representation to simulate the presence of a town sitting on the sand base
-Materials required for the balloon activity:
-Plastic (or glass) bottles
-Balloons
-Food scraps
-Tape (for securing the balloon around the top of the bottle)

DIFFERENTIATION:
-All hands-on activities can be taught as demonstrations.
-Lab groups may be created with students of mixed abilities.
-Articles may be read in small groups, whole groups, or individually based on students’ needs.
-Students can do the optional activity listed in the Inspire section and complete another balloon activity with food waste.
-Students can explore deeper the differences between methane and carbon dioxide outputs as greenhouse gases in landfills versus composting.

In this video clip from Earth: The Operators' Manual, host Richard Alley discusses China's efforts to develop clean energy technologies and to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, by building coal plants using CO2 sequestration technology. (scroll down page for video)

Students focus on the three interconnected choices global society faces as Earth's climate continues to changeâsuffer, adapt, and mitigateâto analyze and predict current and future impacts to Earth's systems. Using videos excerpted from NOVA: Decoding the Weather Machine, students explore ways that adaptation and mitigation strategies can work at various levels to minimize suffering and then develop an evidence-based action plan for their local community.

In an upper-level seminar course, students bear significant responsibility for their learning. This activity provides the framework to help them identify the exact topics that they will discuss throughout a course in Environmental Analysis. The students are given constraints so that they don't either wander completely aimlessly through the environmental literature or pick only papers on their favorite topic. They are instead asked to dip into the literature to find papers that deal with analysis of pollutants in air, water, and solid matrices, and to have at least one that is relevant to climate change.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

SYNOPSIS: This lesson is about the distribution and density of trees in urban areas and how that relates to environmental justice.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson uses data from peer-reviewed research that breaks down the forest cover in cities as it correlates to income. The evidence is clear and convincing that more affluent neighborhoods have more tree cover, which has a documented benefit on the residents. All external links are scientifically sound, and this lesson has pass our science quality assessment.

POSITIVES:
-This is an engaging lesson because it is so personal. Students will think about tree cover where they live and how that relates to demographic data.
-Students will practice their data analysis skills.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-It is necessary to share the Student Slideshow with your students and give them editing access before beginning the lesson. All students will be writing in the same slideshow.
-The videos list the benefits of trees pretty quickly. It might be hard for students to type fast enough to keep up. You could play the videos at 0.9 speed or replay parts of the videos as necessary.
-The following is a list of benefits of trees. Students will create a similar list while they are watching the two videos outlining the benefits of trees.

-Reduce nearby outside temperatures
-Reduce amount of energy used for heating and cooling buildings
-Absorb carbon dioxide, thus mitigating climate change
-Filter urban pollutants and fine particulates
-Provide habitat, food, and protection to plants and animals
-Provide food for people
-Increase biodiversity
-Provide wood that can be used at the end of a tree’s life
-Improve physical and mental health of people
-Increase property values
-Create oxygen
-Provide shade for people and animals
-Control stormwater runoff, protecting water quality and reducing the need for water treatment
-Protect against mudslides
-Help prevent floods
-Improve air quality
-Increase attention spans and decrease stress levels in people
-Improve health outcomes in hospital patients

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can use the glossary at the end of the slideshow at any point throughout the lesson to help students understand vocabulary.

-The spreadsheet and the graph on slide 11 might be tricky. Encourage your students to turn and talk to one another for help.

-Many students will not have a good understanding of Celsius. Easy reminder: Multiply the temperature in Celsius by 1.8 to get degrees Fahrenheit. Example: 2.5°C x 1.8 = 4.5°F (The temperature difference between poorest and richest census blocks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)

This video and accompanying essay examine ways to reduce the environmental impact of burning coal. Two technologies are discussed: turning solid coal into a clean-burning fuel gas (syngas), and capture and storage of CO2.

In this activity, students learn about the scientific evidence supporting climate change, use this information to evaluate and improve conclusions some people might draw about climate change, and participate in a role-play to negotiate solutions to climate change.

The goal of this unit is that the students will be able to:
1. work in a blended learning environment to understand climate change and its impact on the world.
2. master a basic understanding of climate change
3. work in groups to research focused questions, present their research, and propose a way to combat climate change.
4. present their completed projects to their classmates. This unit is based on a lesson plan from The Learning Network found here: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/guest-post-climate-change-questions-for-citizen-scientists/

In this activity students learn how Earth's energy balance is regulating climate. This activity is lesson 4 in the nine-lesson module Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change.

This article continues an examination of each of the seven essential principles of climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured. Principle 2 covers the complex interactions among the components of the Earth system. The author discusses the scientific concepts underlying the interactions and expands the discussion with diagrams, photos, and online resources.

Climate Action! is a freely available community research guide developed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) in partnership with the InterAcademy Partnership as part of the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project. Smithsonian Science for Global Goals community research guides use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to focus on sustainable actions that are defined and implemented by students.

Climate Action! is the new community research guide from the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project for students aged 11 to 18. In the guide, young people explore the question “How can we mitigate human impact on the atmosphere?” The guide contains themes that lead youth to discover their interconnectedness with the atmosphere and understand complex climate systems. Together, these themes help prepare youth to take action towards a sustainable future for the planet.

© 2024 Smithsonian Institution
All rights reserved. First Edition 2024.

Copyright Notice
No part of this module, or derivative works of this module, may be used or reproduced for any purpose except fair use without permission in writing from the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

Heidi Gibson, Smithsonian Science Education Center - Manager of the Global Sustainability Series, is the author.

Jamie Rumage is the Oregon Open Learning - Science Group Administrator, not an official author or contributor of the published materials of the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

This interactive role-playing simulation is conducted as a simulated emergency climate summit organized by the United Nations that convenes global stakeholders to establish a concrete plan that limits warming to Paris Agreement goals. This game is a fun format for large groups to explore climate change solutions and see what it would really take to address this global challenge.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students watch videos and learn about photography to implement photography techniques in their stop motion projects.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson focuses on photographic stop motion animation techniques. Climate change can be a part of this lesson. All materials used in the lesson have been verified and are suitable for teaching. In this light, this lesson is credible and recommended for the classroom.

POSITIVES:
-The photography and stop motion video examples are all related to climate change to spark intrigue and start discussions.
-There is deep learning about photography techniques.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 3 of 4 in our 3rd-5th grade Animate for the Animals unit.
-The teacher will need to organize worksheets for students.
-The teacher will need to ensure that there are devices available if the Investigate section is done individually or in small groups.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Student partners could be chosen by the teacher to ensure good academic and social balance.
-Students could explore the Investigate section in groups instead of having the teacher lead the discussion. The whole class could come back together to discuss their new knowledge after the groups are finished.

This resource seeks to equalize access to learning materials that address the subject of human impact on the environment.  The design of this resource is structured in a manner that will allow it to be adapted and further destributed.  This particular module examines climate change, specifically human impact on the environment.  Specific topics include: Climate Change, Weather vs. Climate, Causes of Climate Change (including Natural, Human Impact, and the Greenhouse Effect), Global Warming, and Mitigating Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Climate change has been a hot topic lately. Scientists have been studying changes in the Earth’s climate over time. In this seminar you will learn about how and why Earth’s climate is changing. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to think reflectively about ways you can help lessen the changes in Earth’s climate.Standards3.3.4.A5Describe basic weather elements. Identify weather patterns over time.

The goal of this unit is for students to work in a blended learning environment to understand climate change and its impact on the world. The objectives are for students to master a basic understanding of climate change and to work in groups to research focused questions, present their research, and propose a way to combat climate change. Students will present their completed projects to their classmates. This unit is based on a lesson plan from The Learning Network found here: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/guest-post-climate-change-questions-for-citizen-scientists/

Bell Telephone Science Hour produced this video in 1958, explaining how the production of CO2 from factories and automobiles is causing the atmosphere to warm, melting the polar ice caps, and causing the sea level to rise.