Student Resource
VIDEO: COSMOS:
A Spacetime Odyssey
Episode: “The World Set Free”
Name__________________________
Date___________________Per_____
Instructions: View the Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey video and answer the
questions below. Link should take you to the movie:
 http://www.cosmosontv.com/watch/270803523723
1. The planet of _______________ was once a paradise similar to the Earth.
2. However, the surface is too hot, hot enough to melt lead. The reason for this is the
clouds. The clouds of Venus are made of _______________________________.
But that does not make sense?! The clouds are blocking out the light from the sun,
which should make it cold. Explain the role of CO2 in the extremely hot surface of
Venus. (teacher note: pause video to discuss)
3. The White Cliffs of Dover were formed by trillions of _______________. These
organisms harvest the CO2 and turn it into their ________________, which
accumulates as ___________________ on the ocean floor.
(teacher note: discuss CO2 in the ocean and use by organisms, draw diagram)
4. Because Earth’s stores CO2 as a mineral, the gas in atmosphere is only
_________of 1% (making it _____out of every ___________ molecules)
5. CO2 is the difference between a livable planet and not. Even small changes to
amount can have huge effects. For example:
a. No CO2 in atmosphere=
b. Doubled CO2 in atmosphere=
6. What part of the Earth is responsible for the amount of CO2 in the air?
Ocean Acidification: A Systems Approach to a Global Problem І Lesson 5b
Student Resource
7. Charles David Keeling was the first to measure CO2 in the atmosphere. So how do
scientists use ice cores to read the “diary” of the Earth?
11. How much higher is the CO2 level than before the Industrial Revolution?
12. Are volcanoes causing the increase in CO2? How do we know?
13. What do Neil deGrasse Tyson and his dog walking on the beach symbolize?
The difference between _________________ and ___________________.
Draw a picture of what he was showing with lines and label the lines.
14. The polar ice caps represent at positive feedback loop. Explain. (teacher note:
pause video to discuss)
15. At what rate are the Arctic Ocean ice caps receding now?
16. How is the permafrost near the North Pole melting increasing the CO2 levels?
17. Is the Sun causing the temperature increase on Earth? How do we know?
Ocean Acidification: A Systems Approach to a Global Problem І Lesson 5b