Chemical Education Today
Reports from Other Journals
News from Online: Stratospheric Chemistry1 by Lynn Diener
Earth Day is coming soon and the Chemists Celebrate theme for this year is “Air—The Sky’s the Limit”. You may be asking yourself, how can I get my students excited about the chemistry of the atmosphere? I find that one of the best ways to hook my students into a subject is to focus on something that’s a hot topic in the current press. What topic is bigger right now than global warming so we’ll start with a survey of online resources to teach students about the chemistry behind global warming. The Chemistry of Global Warming This first Web site has a collection of wonderful, basic resources to educate students about global warming (1). You can find animations that inform about the role of CO2 in global warming, quizzes to test your students’ knowledge, easy-to-read articles on a variety of topics relevant to global warming, as well as fun, hands-on games. You may prefer to send more advanced students to the Exploratorium’s Global Climate Change Research Explorer (2). This Web site presents actual data from studies of CO2 in the atmosphere. You can look at everything from impacts of rising CO2 on the biosphere to the role of the oceans in regulating CO2-induced climate change. What survey of global warming would be complete without looking at the molecule of interest itself ? If you head over to the Chemical Education Digital Library your students can play around with a 3-dimensional, fully manipulatable version of carbon dioxide (3). They can explore the bond lengths and bond angles of CO2, along with charges and vibrations, depending on how advanced your course is. If you want them to get a little more in depth they can investigate the Periodic Table Live! and see what makes the elements carbon and oxygen tick (4). I find that the topic of global warming can leave students feeling a little helpless; they wonder, “what can I do?” At the At School part of the EPA Web site you can download the EPA’s Climate Change Emission Calculator Kit (Climate CHECK) (5). This Excel-based resource allows students to calculate CO2
“Global Warming”, by Becky Krist.1 Global warming is a world issue and we all need to acknowledge it and do our part. Animals are suffering and dying due to our carelessness. We should recycle, turn off lights in rooms we are not in, and keep our heat down.
emissions at their school and acts as a jumping off point for them to discuss ways to reduce these harmful emissions. This activity leaves students feeling empowered, thinking they can make a difference. The Chemistry of Ozone Depletion Another “hot” topic in the news today is the growing ozone hole over the Antarctic. I find that when I first bring up the topic of the ozone hole, students have some basic misconceptions, mostly confusing it with the effects of carbon dioxide. It makes some sense though since ozone is a greenhouse gas if it’s present in the troposphere. To teach students about the different layers of the atmosphere, I like the Windows to the Universe Web site (6), especially when it is used in concert with the EPA publication, Ozone—Good Up High, Bad Nearby, which is made available on the EPA Web site (7). This publication talks about where good ozone is found, how it is being depleted, and how students can help to stop depletion; it also discusses bad ozone very close to the surface of the earth. Since chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the major cause of ozone depletion in the stratosphere, they should certainly be discussed. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) hosts the wonderful Web site: Stratospheric Ozone, the Protector (8). This Web site has a very clear description of CFCs and their chemistry; my favorite part is their animation of CFC-induced ozone depletion. It’s a good way to engage those visual learners in your classroom. If you go to the bottom of this Web page you’ll also find links to some nice hands-on activities about ozone. All of the activities are aligned with the National Science Education Standards (9) as well as the AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy (10). With activity titles like Stratospheric Ozone: A Balancing Act, Whole Body Ozone Chemistry, and Special Frisbees Detect Ultraviolet Radiation you know that your students will have fun and learn something about ozone in the process.
“Hazy Days”, by Michelle Bond. My piece explores the deadly beauty of man’s pollution. It is a beauty that is full of sorrow.
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Chemical Education Today
Reports from Other Journals
“Open Air”, by Sara Terrell. “Open Air” is a piece showing that even though the world around us is falling apart and there are holes in our ozone, the world can still flourish and conquer all odds.
In order to tie the chemistry in with the “Who cares?” I like the EPA SunWise Program Web site (11). It has great articles that talk about the impact of ozone depletion on UV radiation reaching the earth. “Survivor Challenges”, a collection of games that also educate, is my favorite part of the site. In addition to the activities above, there are a number of high quality hands-on activities about ozone available. The Tropospheric Ozone Research Project of Spring Harbor Environmental Magnet Middle School (Madison, WI) describes a study that you can do with your students to explore ozone damage to plants (12). This Journal has a very popular classroom activity written by Terre Trupp, Putting UV-Sensitive Beads to the Test (13). This activity uses UV beads—available from educational suppliers such as Educational Innovations (14)—to test the effectiveness of sunscreen. Visions in the Sky It’s hard not to get excited by the beauty in the atmosphere: there are so many striking colors up there and so much science behind them. For instance, who hasn’t asked, “why is the sky blue?” The NASA Web site explains this (15). It introduces the idea of scattering light by the molecules and dust particles
“Sunbeams”, by Rachel Sanfelippo. “Sunbeams” is about the relationship we have to the sun. Humankind needs the sun to live. My purpose was to create a piece that reflects the beauty the sun holds over each and every person.
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“Northern Lights”, by Liduvina Perez. From never seeing aurora borealis in person, its extreme beauty in pictures has caused me to want to create and learn more about its nature. Beyond its science, its beauty has become one of the world’s mysteries in my eyes.
in the sky. To expand on that concept and look at other natural visual phenomena, the Atmospheric Optics Web site illustrates the optical properties of the atmosphere (16). It has a wonderful gallery of photographs of phenomena such as rainbows and ice halos as well as explanations for these phenomena. What exploration of the colors in the sky would be complete without looking at the aurora borealis? The Exploratorium’s Web site, Auroras: Paintings in the Sky, explains how they happen (17). It also has a captivating collection of photographs for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure to see one in person. More on the Atmosphere If all of this gets your students excited about the atmosphere and they want to learn more, there are lots of Web sites that can teach your students different concepts. A Physical Geography eBook discusses the gaseous composition of the atmosphere (18). I find it useful to discuss with students just how much the composition of the atmosphere has changed since the Earth first had one. A Rice University Web site discusses what the atmosphere probably looked like 5 billion years ago, giving your students a basis for comparison (19). If you’ve started talking about oxidation–reduction reactions, you can ask your students which atmosphere was probably more reducing—our current atmosphere or the atmosphere 5 billion years ago. The Windows to the Universe Web site also has a wealth of information on the Earth’s atmosphere, including links to games and activities (20). Their Weather Crossword Puzzle is fun and educational; just make sure your computers are Java-enabled to play the game. Scripps Institution of Oceanography has an interactive animation of the atmosphere, Get to know our atmosphere…, (21). It allows students to look at the different layers of the atmosphere, temperatures, pressures, composition, and height. To make the layers of the atmosphere easier to relate to, the game, Layers of the Atmosphere, from Calipso Outreach at Hampton University allows students to discover where common objects, such as clouds, planes, and satellites are found in the layers of the atmosphere (22). I hope that all of you will celebrate Earth Day in your class. I think you’ll find that these electronic resources will excite your students’ interest in the chemistry of the atmosphere.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 86 No. 2 February 2009 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
Chemical Education Today
“Cygnus Loop”, by Paige Pitt. This acrylic on canvas of a supernova explosion was modelled after a photo taken from the Hubble Space Telescope (NASA). “Cygnus Loop” is shown on this month’s cover.
7. U.S. EPA Ozone—Good Up High, Bad Nearby. http://www.epa. gov/oar/oaqps/gooduphigh/. 8. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research: Stratospheric Ozone, the Protector. http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_6_1.htm. 9. National Research Council (NRC). National Science Education Standards; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1996; http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4962. 10. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Benchmarks for Science Literacy: Project 2061; Oxford Univ. Press: New York, 1993; http://project2061.aaas.org/tools/benchol/bolframe.html. 11. U.S. EPA, SunWise. http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/. 12. Tropospheric Ozone Research Project. http://www.madison.k12. wi.us/stugeon/ozone.htm. 13. Journal of Chemical Education Classroom Activity #36: Putting UV-Sensitive Beads to the Test. http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/ Journal/Issues/2001/May/abs648A.html. 14. Educational Innovations, Inc.. http://www.teachersource.com/.
Visions in the Sky Note 1. Students at Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI, created and described the graphic art in this article as well as in the description of the collaborative effort that produced it (pp 156–157). “Cygnus Loop” was done by a science student, the remaining pieces by art students.
Literature Cited: World Wide Web Addresses (all sites accessed Oct 2008)
The Chemistry of Global Warming 1. U.S. EPA Climate Change, Kids Site. http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html. 2. Global Climate Change > Research explorer. http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/atmosphere/index.html. 3. Molecules 360 Carbon Dioxide. http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/molecules/index.php?molecule=11. 4. Periodic Table Live! http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/ptl/index. html. 5. U.S. EPA Climate Change, what you can do. http://epa.gov/ climatechange/wycd/school.html.
The Chemistry of Ozone Depletion 6. Windows to the Universe, Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/layers. html&edu=high.
15. NASA Space Place, Why Is the Sky Blue? http://spaceplace.nasa. gov/en/kids/misrsky/misr_sky.shtml. 16. Atmospheric Optics. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/. 17. Auroras: Paintings in the Sky. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ learning_studio/auroras/happen.html.
More on the Atmosphere 18. PhysicalGeography.net, Chapter 7: Introduction to the Atmosphere. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7a.html. 19. The Atmosphere, History. http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/ louviere/history.html. 20. Windows to the Universe: The Earth’s Atmosphere. http://www. windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html. 21. Atmosphere—animated diagram. http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/ earthguide/diagrams/atmosphere/index.html. 22. Layers of the Atmosphere. http://calipsooutreach.hamptonu.edu/ atmosphere.swf.
Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2009/Feb/abs153.html Abstract and keywords Full text (PDF) with links to cited URLs
Lynn Diener is a member of the Science Department, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI 53222;
[email protected].
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