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Climate Change: Online Research
“I can interpret information in graphs. I can understand how climate change affects the planet.”
Go to https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/ and look at the graphs on the web page.
Look at the first graph on the “Carbon Dioxide” tab. This one is titled: “Direct Measurements: 2005-Present”
1. What is on the Y-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
2. What is on the X-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
3. This graph represents a change in ____ over _____. a. Time, CO2 b. Distance, Time c. CO2, Time d. Time, Distance
4. What year did this graph start in? a. 2004 b. 2005 c. 2006 d. 2007
5. Has CO2 increased or decreased with time? (circle one)
Look at the second graph on the “Carbon Dioxide” tab. This one is titled: “Proxy (Indirect) Measurements)”
1. What is on the Y-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
2. What is on the X-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
3. This graph represents a change in ____ over _____. a. Time, CO2 b. Distance, Time c. CO2, Time d. Time, Distance

4. What year did this graph start in? a. 2004 b. 2005 c. 2006 d. 2007
5. How is this graph different from the first graph? a. Longer time span b. Shorter time span c. This one tracks CO2 but the first one didn’t d. This one tracks Distance but the first one didn’t
6. What happens near the end of this graph? a. It goes way down b. It goes way up
7. What does that mean? a. CO2 went way up b. CO2 went way down c. Distance went way up d. Distance went way down
Watch the video “Time Series 2002-2016,” at the bottom of that page.
1. What does the changing color represent? a. Change in time b. Change in temperature c. Change in CO2 d. Change in methane
Go to the “Global Temperature” tab. Look at the first graph entitled: “Global Land-Ocean Temperature
Index.”
1. What is on the Y-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
2. What is on the X-axis? a. Time b. Distance c. Temperature d. CO2
3. This graph represents a change in ____ over _____. a. Time, CO2 b. Temperature, Time c. CO2, Time d. Time, Temperature
4. What year did this graph start in? a. 1880

b. 1890 c. 1900 d. 2004
5. Has Temperature increased or decreased with time? (circle one)
6. What do the gray lines represent? a. Annual average temperature b. Annual mean temperature c. Annual median temperature d. A and B
7. What does the black line represent? a. Annual average temperature b. Biannual average temperature c. 5 year average temperature d. 10 year average temperature
Watch the time series below it entitled: “Time Series: 1884 to 2016”
1. What is being measured in this video? a. Earth warming up b. Earth cooling down c. Mars warming up d. Mars cooling down
Next go to “Arctic Sea Ice Minimum.”
1. What is on the y-axis? _____________
2. What is on the x-axis? ______________
3. This graph represents a change in _______________________________________ over ______.
4. What year did this graph start in?______________
5. What has happened to arctic sea ice with time? _____________________________
Watch the video at the bottom of the page.
1. What happens to the ice as time goes on? _________________________________

Next go to “Land Ice” Look at the first graph.
1. What are on the x-axis and y-axis? What year does this graph start?
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2. This graph goes up and down a lot? What do you think that means? Ask someone in the class if you’re not sure.
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3. The general trend of this graph, however, is to:
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Now look at the second graph on this page.
1. What are on the x-axis and y-axis? What year does this graph start?
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2. This graph goes up and down a lot? What do you think that means? Ask someone in the class if you’re not sure.
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3. The general trend of this graph, however, is to:
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Finally, go to “Sea Level.” Write a few sentences below about what you see in this graph. You need to include the same things that have been brought up repetitively in this activity.
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