Energy Conservation on Planet Earth
Provided by: MIT Climate Action Through Education|Published on: January 28, 2025
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics
Authors: Gary Smith
Region: Global
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will learn about the chemical and physical factors that contribute to the trapping, reflecting, and storing of heat energy on Earth and to sea level rise.
- Students will explore climate models, the Earth's energy budget, the thermal expansion of water, melting sea and land ice, and the albedo effect.
- This lesson is recommended for grades 10-12.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The Albedo Demo is a great hands-on activity for students to understand the effects of albedo on the climate.
- The student worksheet is broken up in a way that allows students to learn about the aspects of energy conservation in a step-by-step manner.
Prerequisites
- Students should be comfortable with calculating the area of a circle and solving equations.
- The answer key, Student Version With Solutions (pdf), is no longer available so teachers will need to create their own for the assignment.
- Additionally, teachers will need to request access to the Albedo Demo (pdf).
- The link for Global Impact may be broken.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can have students work in groups, using strategic grouping and ensuring that each group has a student strong in reading comprehension and a student strong in solving equations.
- Students can research the impacts of melting sea ice and sea level rise on animal habitats and coastal communities.
- To learn more about albedo, students can check out the activity Demystifying the Greenhouse Effect and Albedo.
This lesson teaches students about climate change and its impacts on the planet, specifically sea level rise, through different calculations. Specifically, students will learn about the Earth's energy budget and how the Earth uses the incoming energy from the sun to warm the atmosphere. By walking through related calculations, students will have a better understanding of how the Earth is warming, which can help them feel more confident in their climate change knowledge. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
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