Teacher’s Guide OCTOBER 2021 Table of Contents What’s the Deal with Climate Change? 2 Why a Pennsylvania Town has been Burning for 60 years 12 Science Solves an Ancient Mystery 22 Copying Nature to Fight Climate Change 35 About the Teacher’s Guide 46 www.acs.org/chemmatters 1 Teacher’s Guide What’s the Deal with Climate Change? October 2021 Table of Contents Anticipation Guide 3 Activate students’ prior knowledge and engage them before they read the article. Reading Comprehension Questions4 These questions are designed to help students read the article (and graphics) carefully. They can help the teacher assess how well students understand the content and help direct the need for follow-up discussions and/or activities. You’ll find the questions ordered in increasing difficulty. Graphic Organizer This helps students locate and analyze information from the article. Students should use their own words and not copy entire sentences from the article. Encourage the use of bullet points. Answers Access the answers to reading comprehension questions and a rubric to assess the graphic organizer. Additional Resources Here you will find additional labs, simulations, lessons, and project ideas that you can use with your students alongside this article. Chemistry Concepts, Standards, and Teaching Strategies 2 What’s the Deal with Climate Change? October 2021 Anticipation Guide Name: ______________________________ Directions: Before reading the article, in the first column, write “A” or “D,” indicating your Agreement or Disagreement with each statement. Complete the activity in the box. As you read, compare your opinions with information from the article. In the space under each statement, cite information from the article that supports or refutes your original ideas. Me Text Statement 1. Climate change leads to loss of sea ice, more intense heat waves and droughts, and rising sea levels. 2. The scientific community recognized that large-scale burning of fossil fuels affects climate about 10 years ago. 3. The 10 warmest years on record occurred in the past 16 years. 4. The most abundant gas in the atmosphere is oxygen (O2). 5. Carbon dioxide (CO2) traps infrared radiation. 6. Methane and halogen-containing gases used as refrigerants are less potent greenhouse gases than CO2. 7. Clouds increase warming of Earth’s surface. 8. Warming permafrost areas increases methane emissions which increases global warming. 9. Plants capture carbon before it reaches the atmosphere. 10. Sustainable energy technologies such as wind and solar power can help reduce global warming. 3 What’s the Deal with Climate Change? October 2021 Student Reading Comprehension Questions Name: ______________________________ Directions: Use the article to answer the questions below. 1. Why was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change developed? 2. What is the primary driver of climate change? 3. List three global problems cause by climate change. 4. Define radiative efficiency. 5. Explain the difference between positive feedback and negative feedback in terms of climate change. 6. Define global warming potential. 7. How much did the average level of CO 2 in the atmosphere change from 2020 to April of 2021? 8. Give the proportion of the 20 year global warming potential of N 2O as compared to CO2. 9. Which greenhouse gas makes up a small percentage of warming gases but has the greatest global warming potential compared to CO2? 10. How does CO2 impact climate if it is such a small percentage of the atmosphere? 4 What’s the Deal with Climate Change? October 2021 Student Reading Comprehension Questions, cont. Questions for Further Learning Write your answers on another piece of paper if needed. 1. Explain how the increased warming of permafrost is an example of positive feedback in the climate system. 2. In the mid-1900’s the level of CO2 in the atmosphere rose to 300ppm. Explain what the measure 300 ppm means. 3. Research one promising technology for removing CO 2 from the atmosphere. Write a paragraph explaining the way the method would remove CO 2 and draft a proposal for how this technology might function in your community. 4. The article mentions that to keep global warming below 2ºC we will need to utilize conventional abatement technologies, emitting technologies, and carbon removal technologies. Research and describe two abatement technologies that prevent CO 2 from entering the atmosphere. 5 What’s the Deal