Wow, it’s April! The birds are singing and the trees are coming back to life!
Most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year. The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful. You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
One concern about the rise of global temperature is the thawing / melting of permafrost. A simple definition is:
“Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. Permafrost usually remains at or below 0C (32F) for at least two years.
Permafrost can be found on land and below the ocean floor. It is found in areas where temperatures rarely rise above freezing. This means permafrost is often found in Arctic regions such as Greenland, the U.S. state of Alaska, Russia, China, and Eastern Europe.”
http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/permafrost/
From a guide targeted to students:
“When permafrost melts, the land above it sinks or changes shape. Sinking land can damage buildings and infrastructure such as roads, airports, and water and sewer pipes. It also affects ecosystems…Another reason to be concerned about permafrost is because it has a lot of carbon trapped inside. As permafrost thaws, this carbon is released to the atmosphere in the form of methane [CH4], a powerful greenhouse gas. This process leads to more climate change and is an example of a positive feedback loop, which happens when warming causes changes that lead to even more warming.”
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/impacts/signs/permafrost.html
“Frozen soils known as permafrosts can be found across the planet, and they’re concentrated heavily in the Arctic, which has been warming since the 1980s at twice the global rate. Taken together, permafrosts contain more carbon than is already in the atmosphere. Their warming-induced breakdown is helping to fill the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. In a self-feeding cycle, that's fueling the very climatic changes that are causing permafrost to waste away.”
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/good-news-bad-news-on-carbon-from-melting-permafrost-18001
“Worries over the current state of permafrost have been reinforced by Prof [Vladimir] Romanovsky.
A professor at the University of Alaska, he is also the head of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost, the primary international monitoring programme.
He says that in the northern region of Alaska, the permafrost has been warming at about one-tenth of a degree Celsius per year since the mid 2000s. …
In Alaska, the warming of the permafrost has been linked to trees toppling, roads buckling and the development of sinkholes.
Prof Romanovsky says that the current evidence indicates that in parts of Alaska…the permafrost will not just warm up but will thaw by about 2070-80.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540414
“Professor Vladimir Romanovsky has warned that permafrost in Alaska could start to thaw by 2070, which could trigger the release of methane stored in the earth, exacerbating climate change.
It has been assumed that permafrost levels would remain stable for the rest of this century, but rising temperatures in the constantly frozen soil in the past four years, suggest this theory is flawed.”
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/98766/20151024/thawing-of-permafrost-in-alaska-could-begin-by-2070-how-this-could-accelerate-global-warming.htm
“WHRC [Woods Hole Research Center ] scientist Sue Natali said that ‘to save permafrost, we have to reduce fossil fuel use and manage forests globally to enhance carbon dioxide uptake by the biosphere’. “
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/siberia-melting-permafrost-fuels-climate-change-151122124853964.html
“Increased greenhouse gas emissions from the release of carbon dioxide and methane contained in the Arctic permafrost could result in $43 trillion in additional economic damage by the end of the next century, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Colorado.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150921112731.htm
You may have already discussed the solubility of gases in liquids and how increased temperature reduces the solubility of gas. I find that discussing carbonated water (soda) is an example that students can easily understand.
A past blog entry from 04/15/2015 titled Solubility Curves discussed the temperature/solubility relationship. (I’m sorry, some of the pages have been removed from the Internet.)
This page contains several graphs of the solubility of various gases in water as temperature is raised:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
Here is a coarse graph of gas solubility versus temperature that might be effective for teaching:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
Global warming is a real world topic that relates directly to several Chemistry concepts, gas solubility being one. Students appreciate when concepts relate directly to their experience.
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
Buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with affordable labs and class article ideas.
Have a great week!
Most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year. The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful. You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
One concern about the rise of global temperature is the thawing / melting of permafrost. A simple definition is:
“Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. Permafrost usually remains at or below 0C (32F) for at least two years.
Permafrost can be found on land and below the ocean floor. It is found in areas where temperatures rarely rise above freezing. This means permafrost is often found in Arctic regions such as Greenland, the U.S. state of Alaska, Russia, China, and Eastern Europe.”
http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/permafrost/
From a guide targeted to students:
“When permafrost melts, the land above it sinks or changes shape. Sinking land can damage buildings and infrastructure such as roads, airports, and water and sewer pipes. It also affects ecosystems…Another reason to be concerned about permafrost is because it has a lot of carbon trapped inside. As permafrost thaws, this carbon is released to the atmosphere in the form of methane [CH4], a powerful greenhouse gas. This process leads to more climate change and is an example of a positive feedback loop, which happens when warming causes changes that lead to even more warming.”
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/impacts/signs/permafrost.html
“Frozen soils known as permafrosts can be found across the planet, and they’re concentrated heavily in the Arctic, which has been warming since the 1980s at twice the global rate. Taken together, permafrosts contain more carbon than is already in the atmosphere. Their warming-induced breakdown is helping to fill the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. In a self-feeding cycle, that's fueling the very climatic changes that are causing permafrost to waste away.”
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/good-news-bad-news-on-carbon-from-melting-permafrost-18001
“Worries over the current state of permafrost have been reinforced by Prof [Vladimir] Romanovsky.
A professor at the University of Alaska, he is also the head of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost, the primary international monitoring programme.
He says that in the northern region of Alaska, the permafrost has been warming at about one-tenth of a degree Celsius per year since the mid 2000s. …
In Alaska, the warming of the permafrost has been linked to trees toppling, roads buckling and the development of sinkholes.
Prof Romanovsky says that the current evidence indicates that in parts of Alaska…the permafrost will not just warm up but will thaw by about 2070-80.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540414
“Professor Vladimir Romanovsky has warned that permafrost in Alaska could start to thaw by 2070, which could trigger the release of methane stored in the earth, exacerbating climate change.
It has been assumed that permafrost levels would remain stable for the rest of this century, but rising temperatures in the constantly frozen soil in the past four years, suggest this theory is flawed.”
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/98766/20151024/thawing-of-permafrost-in-alaska-could-begin-by-2070-how-this-could-accelerate-global-warming.htm
“WHRC [Woods Hole Research Center ] scientist Sue Natali said that ‘to save permafrost, we have to reduce fossil fuel use and manage forests globally to enhance carbon dioxide uptake by the biosphere’. “
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/siberia-melting-permafrost-fuels-climate-change-151122124853964.html
“Increased greenhouse gas emissions from the release of carbon dioxide and methane contained in the Arctic permafrost could result in $43 trillion in additional economic damage by the end of the next century, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Colorado.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150921112731.htm
You may have already discussed the solubility of gases in liquids and how increased temperature reduces the solubility of gas. I find that discussing carbonated water (soda) is an example that students can easily understand.
A past blog entry from 04/15/2015 titled Solubility Curves discussed the temperature/solubility relationship. (I’m sorry, some of the pages have been removed from the Internet.)
This page contains several graphs of the solubility of various gases in water as temperature is raised:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
Here is a coarse graph of gas solubility versus temperature that might be effective for teaching:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
Global warming is a real world topic that relates directly to several Chemistry concepts, gas solubility being one. Students appreciate when concepts relate directly to their experience.
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
Buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with affordable labs and class article ideas.
Have a great week!
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