Title: The Greenhouse Gas Lab: Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Design:

Background: The greenhouse effect refers to circumstances where the short wavelengths of visible light from the sun pass through a transparent medium and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of the infrared re-radiation from the heated objects are unable to pass through that medium. The trapping of the long wavelength radiation leads to more heating and a higher resultant temperature. Besides the heating of an automobile by sunlight through the windshield and the namesake example of heating the greenhouse by sunlight passing through sealed, transparent windows, the greenhouse effect has been widely used to describe the trapping of excess heat by the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide strongly absorbs infrared and does not allow as much of it to escape into space.

Problem: What is the effect of various concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the temperature of the atmosphere?

Hypothesis: If the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is related to the temperature of the atmosphere, then increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) will increase the temperature of the beakers/containers in a directly proportional relationship.

Variables:

Independent: the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the container
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Dependent: the temperature of the air in the container

Constants: the size of the containers used, room temperature, air circulation, distance of containers from the heat source, time beakers are exposed to heat source, data logger/carbon dioxide sensor used, amount (volume) of vinegar used, amount of baking soda used.

Method:

Procedure:

Materials:

. Heat lamp

2. Ruler

3. 2 large containers

4. 1 datalogger per group

5. 1 CO2 sensor per group

6. 2 temperature sensors per group

7. baking soda

8. vinegar

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