CAMEL
Module #3 - Greenhouse Gases (LAB)
Module Title
Summary
Short Description
Greenhouse Gases: We’ve Got Effects, Live Effects
In this lab, students learn how greenhouse gas
concentrations affect our atmosphere and why this is
important. Students investigate greenhouse gas
concentrations, global warming potentials, and lifetimes
of various greenhouse gases. The lab contains a handson component where students explore how CO2 “traps”
heat, thus operating like a greenhouse. After the lab,
students will apply their knowledge to a New York City
case study on climate change.
Learn what a greenhouse gas is, why their concentrations
are important, and how the greenhouse gas effect
operates.
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Learning Goals
Context for Use
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatis.htm
Students will learn the following:
 To determine greenhouse gas concentrations
 To analyze global warming potentials
 To extrapolate CO2 projections for the next 100 years
 To understand precisely how the greenhouse effect
operates
The format suggested for this lesson is a lab. The class
size can vary from twenty-five to forty students
depending upon the size of the room. Laptops for groups
or individual PCs are necessary for viewing online data
sources. The greenhouse effect lab requires minimal
equipment and space; therefore its best not to have fixed
desks, but rather a large seminar style room or a
laboratory. Multimedia capability is necessary - a large
screen and LCD projector. The lab component requires
an estimated ninety minutes (forty-five minutes per
section - section one: data; section two: hands-on
greenhouse effect). Some understanding of climate
change and sources of greenhouse gases would be
helpful. Referencing a lecture(s) prior to the lab (or
Description and Teaching
Materials
access to lecture notes for reference) would provide
ample support to complete the lab effectively (see links
to lecture notes below).
Description and Teaching Materials:
The structure and primary components of this lab lesson
is sourced from Columbia University’s Earth
Environmental Systems Climate (EESC) course. The
hands-on lab comes from a Northwestern University
global warming project.
In the data portion of the lab, students review a
greenhouse gas data table that shows the concentrations,
global warming potentials, and lifetimes for a variety of
greenhouse gases (GHGs). There are three associated
tasks. Task one has students ranking GHGs in terms of
abundance and atmospheric lifetime. Task two has
students scrutinize projections of CO2 for the next
century. If students completed the CO2 concentration lab
prior, they will compare this projection to the one they
made of the Mauna Loa trend(s). In the final data task,
students review a current greenhouse gas chart and
investigate the growth rate of HFC-23 (which replaced
CFCs), but it is itself a greenhouse gas.
After the examination of GHGs in the atmosphere,
students shift gears to explore how CO2 prompts the
greenhouse effect. The lab poses the question: Does
carbon dioxide trap heat more effectively than normal
air? Students create a hypothesis in response to the
problem.
Follow preparation and set-up procedures. Students need
to wear goggles and closed toe shoes. All materials are
easy to obtain and use. Electricity is required for the
actual procedure. Depending on the size of the class and
available facilities, this procedure could be conducted in
small groups or in a single demonstration. See the link
for complete preparation instructions (below).
Once the experiment is prepared, both flasks are placed
in front of a lamp containing a 150-watt light bulb. The
lamp should not be turned on until students are ready to
take measurements. It’s important that flasks share the
lamp equally. Remove the Parafilm from the CO2
sample. Insert thermometers or temperature probes into
each flask. Take the first temperature reading. Now turn
on lamp. Record temperature for each flask every 30
seconds until they level off. After temperatures level off,
remove the thermometers. Light two matches and drop
in each flask; observe results.
Below are the links for source material and resources:
 EESC course page:
https://courseworks.columbia.edu/cms/
 Northwestern University Global Warming Project:
www.letus.northwestern.edu/projects/gw/pdf/C09.pdf
 New York City Greenhouse Gas Inventory:
www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/ccp_report041007.pdf
After the experiment, students will take part in a closing
discussion, addressing the following questions:
1. Why are scientists so concerned about CO2 when
its GWP is lower than other GHGs? How does
the greenhouse gas effect experiment support or
refute this claim?
2. Why do CO2 concentrations increase for all
scenarios? What is the primary difference
between CO2 and CH4 that explains this behavior?
3. In the experiment, which flask represented the
experimental group? The control group? What
was the dependent variable?
4. In this experiment, what did the lamp represent?
What did the flaks represent?
5. Was there a difference in the behavior of the lit
matches when they were dropped into the flask?
6. What can we take away from our analysis of CO2
concentrations and model of the greenhouse gas
effect? Do higher concentrations of CO2 in the
atmosphere plausibly lead to increases in
temperature?
Handouts and Directions:




Lab instructions (data and greenhouse effect)
Excel - the table input and graphing functions are
fairly intuitive; instructors/TAs should familiarize
themselves with the functions prior to the sessions to
troubleshoot any potential questions by
inexperienced Excel users
“Writing a Lab Report”: adapt EESC version for lab
report format
Lab 3 Supplement (from: “Climate Change 2007:

The Physical Science Basis”)
New York City Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Background Information for instructors/TAs:
Instructors/TAs may find it useful to refer to lecture
notes from the following two lectures:


Climate Change: Past, Present, Future II (CO2)
Greenhouse Gases
The notes lead up to the lab and thus will aid in the
facilitation of a more clear and concise dialogue
regarding CO2 concentrations and greenhouse gases.
Equipment/Supplies:
Data Lab
 Computer lab or moveable laptops with Internet
access and Excel.
 LCD projector
 Handouts - lab instructions
 “Writing a Lab Report” (may have already been
disseminated)
Greenhouse Effect Lab
 Lab instructions
 Safety goggles
 2 1000ml flasks
 1 250ml flask
 1 Shallow pan
 1 Stopper apparatus (#6 stopper, 6cm glass tube,
30cm of flexible tubing)
 Parafilm
 Water
 4 Effervescent tablets
 Matches
 2 Lab thermometers or probes
 Stopwatch
 1 Lamp with 150watt bulb
 1 Ring stand
Teaching Tips and Notes
Assessment
See background information for instructors/TAs.
Students summarize their findings in a lab report. The
Greenhouse Effect lab can operate as a two-part lab - if
the greenhouse lab is used in conjunction with the CO2
concentration lab, students will complete the second
section after the hands-on portion of the greenhouse lab.
In the hands-on section, students incorporate procedures,
being sure to cite the data used and the variables
examined. Students should restate their hypothesis and
use data to support or reject.
Additionally, students will add onto their New York
Case Study. Review the study, paying particular
attention to the data tables associated with the various
point sources for CO2 and other greenhouse gases in New
York City. Answer the following questions:
1. What activities and industries are contributing the
most to CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere?
2. What can be done to curb the emission of
greenhouse gases in New York City?
References and Resources
All resources cited in the description of the course.