You’ve mastered some serious CO2 knowledge in this module.
Great job! Now for a new kind of adventure, the next stop is a challenge. Go forth and explore.
You're Getting Warmer!
You're Getting Warmer!
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Experiment |
CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by plants – then where does it go?
Overview
Grades:
Time:
Subject:
5-8
20-30 minutes
Environmental Science
databot™ investigates the unusual disappearance of copious amounts of CO2 from the air. Where does it all go?
Background
All life with which we are familiar is based on a magical element called carbon. People, lizards, bugs, plants, etc. are all carbon-based life forms, and we all need carbon to grow, build, and repair our cells. A difference between plants and other organisms is how we acquire our carbon.
Plants are remarkable as they are the only living organisms can literally pull carbon out of thin air from carbon dioxide. Powered by sunlight in a process called photosynthesis, plants extract CO2 from the air and then break it down to use the carbon for tissue growth and repair as well as the production of carbohydrates (which we humans then eat to get our carbon).
Let’s learn more about how much carbon is being stored in our friends the trees, it turns out they are one of our greatest allies in slowing climate change.
Let’s explore further with databot™!
Objectives
By completing this experiment and conducting the scientific observations associated with it you will master the following knowledge! Good luck science explorer!
- Climate change is a complex topic with many factors influencing it.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is:
- An invisible and odorless gas.
- Exhaled by human beings in the process of respiration.
- Produced by a variety of manmade sources such as fossil fuels.
- Considered a greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere
- Increasing in concentration in our atmosphere each year, and has done so consistently since recording began in 1959.
- Provides carbon for plants to use for building tissue through photosynthesis
- Trees are a remarkable part of our climate ecosystem as they absorb and store carbon from CO2 in the air.
- Scientific sensors allow us to measure the scientific world around us with better precision and accuracy.
What You'll Need
- IOS or Android smart device with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to connect to databot™
- databot™ + Phypox App installed on your IOS or Android device
- Cloth measuring tape
- Smart device with an accelerometer read by the Phyphox Incline experiment.
Important Terms
Carbon: A highly abundant, incredibly important chemical element with the symbol C that, due to its unique ability to form bonds, serves as a common element to all known life. All life that we know of we refer to as “carbon-based” and our human body is made up of approximately 18.5% carbon.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A colorless, odorless gas comprised of oxygen and carbon that is naturally present in the air you breathe and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis.
Carbon Sequestration: In response to CO2 driven temperature increases, carbon sequestration proposes the long term storage of carbon in solid or liquid form to remove it from the atmosphere. Trees and forests are a natural method of carbon sequestration as they convert CO2 into usable carbon through photosynthesis. A tree trunk is a massive carbon storage vessel for example.
Climate: The weather over a prolonged period of time in a region is called climate.
Climate Change: A change in global or regional weather patterns. Global climate change is linked to the steady increase of CO2, a gas that traps heat, in our atmosphere.
Deforestation: The permanent removal of forested areas and converting the land use to housing, farming, or other applications is called deforestation. Deforestation should not be confused with the organized harvesting of forests, a renewable resource.
Global Warming: The ongoing rise in the average temperatures around the world is called global warming and is linked to an excess of greenhouse gases such as CO2.
Greenhouse Gases: Gases in our atmosphere that absorb and radiate heat energy are called greenhouse gases as they contribute to a global warming effect. The greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
Photosynthesis: The chemical process in plants, driven by sunlight, that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and combines it with water to provide the carbon needed by the plant to form complex molecules that enable it to grow and repair itself. Glucose, its source of energy, is one of these complex molecules.
Prep (5 Mins]
This activity is a lot of fun and you will be calculating the amount of carbon stored in a particular tree by measuring its height and girth and using a mathematical formula. Storage of carbon is referred to as carbon sequestration. If we could develop a plan to sequester all of the extra CO2 in the atmosphere we could stop global warming! Prepare as follows:
- Make sure databot™ has a full charge as you will be using it in the field to check CO2 values.
- Measure your “stride” – you will count off a number of paces from the tree to do your calculation. Note: You can also use a long measuring tape if you have access to one.
- Identify a tree near your building that you want to use for your experiment.
- Check your connection to databot™ with Phyphox.
- You will need a scientific calculator to perform the calculations necessary – if you don’t have one you can use an online calculator – see the resources section below for a link to an online calculator.
- Review the Important Terms.
Test the Phyphox “Inclination” experiment on your smart device. Look for it in your Phyphox menu in the Tools section.
Experiment (15-25 Mins)
Procedure – Phase 1: Gathering the Data
- Using the provided worksheet below (click on it to download a PDF for printing), you will gather the data you need to calculate the carbon sequestration of the tree you are working with. Note: all measurements will be in metric units!
- Take CO2 readings around your tree and record them.
- Measure your pace in centimeters.
- Measure the circumference of your tree at a height of exactly 1.4 meters from the ground.
- Pace off a distance far enough for you to have a clear view of the top of your tree.
- Lay on the ground and use the inclination experiment in Phyphox to determine the angle as shown in the diagram. You do this by starting the experiment so it is displaying the angle of inclination, and align it with your eye, tipping it until you can see the top of the tree aligned with your phone. Tap the stop record button to freeze the reading and record the angle. You may need help since it is difficult to tap the stop when you can’t see the screen!
- Use a scientific calculator to complete your calculations!
Use your Phyphox app to find your angle, add some awesome triangle math, and you will be able to calculate the height of your tree, “a,” using this formula.
Once you know your tree height and girth you can calculate its carbon storage. We will use an average calculation for your tree, as different species store different levels of carbon.
Procedure Phase 2: Calculations
Using the data you collected in Phase 1, continue with your worksheet – you will now calculate how much carbon your tree is sequestering.
- In kilograms, estimate how much carbon you think your tree is storing.
- Calculate the diameter of your tree.
- Calculate the “Green Weight” of your tree which includes all the water content.
You need to know the diameter of your tree. Calculate the diameter of your tree using Pi and your measured circumference. Circumference / 2 * 3.1416 = your tree radius. Multiply this by 2 to get your tree diameter.
- Now calculate the “Dry Weight” of your tree which is on average 50% of the Green Weight.
- Finally, calculate your carbon content in KG by dividing this number in half – approximately half of your dry weight tree is carbon!
Congratulations! You have successfully determined how much carbon was stored by your tree! Carbon sequestration proposes to mitigate or lessen our CO2 levels through the storage of carbon in ways like this – imagine a forest as a giant carbon storage facility!
Deep Thoughts with databot™
Math is an incredible tool that can help us to understand the world around us. Did you enjoy using math to find out how much carbon was stored in your tree?
- Here is some more math – carbon in the atmosphere, as you know, is held in CO2. You can convert the weight of CO2 to carbon by multiplying the weight of CO2 by .2727 which removes the weight of the Oxygen. Try this calculation:
- The average passenger vehicle emits 4,600 kg of CO2 per year. Multiply 4,600 X .2727 to determine the amount of carbon in the atmosphere from one vehicle.
- Does your tree hold one car’s worth of carbon?
- Here is some more math! There are 287.3 million cars registered in the US in 2020.
- How much CO2 will they contribute to the atmosphere this year?
- How many of your trees would be needed to store all the carbon they will emit?
Take Action!
Now that you have finished your first study on carbon sequestration by trees, do some additional research.
- Are there other methods of carbon sequestration other than trees? Can you envision a plan that can contribute to the lessening of CO2 emissions into our atmosphere?
- The numbers relating to the CO2 emissions from automobiles every year is an enormous number. Share the information with friends, family, and others. Tell them about your experiments and what you have learned. Start a conversation that makes people consider the seriousness of our CO2 dilemma.
- Learn about your local and state legislators. Each of them has a website and can be easily researched. Review their published views on climate change. Contact them if you feel it necessary and express your findings from your experiments.
Good job! By educating yourself, learning how to gather and interpret data for yourself, and educating others, you are helping to make the world a little bit safer and healthier!
Educator Info
Educator Info
- Read through the background information on this module and review PDQ 1 and 2.
- Conduct the experiment yourself and consider challenges or learning opportunities your students will encounter.
- Recommended additional reading is in the Additional Resources section.
- Climate change is a complex topic with many factors influencing it.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is:
- An invisible and odorless gas.
- Exhaled by human beings in the process of respiration.
- Produced by a variety of manmade sources such as fossil fuels.
- Considered a greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere
- Increasing in concentration in our atmosphere each year, and has done so consistently since recording began in 1959.
- Provides carbon for plants to use for building tissue through photosynthesis
- Trees are a remarkable part of our climate ecosystem as they absorb and store carbon from CO2 in the air.
- Scientific sensors allow us to measure the scientific world around us with better precision and accuracy.
The calculations for determining the height of the tree are done with a scientific calculator. If you don’t have one, this online version works perfectly!
Ventilation Photo by Bogomil Mihaylov on Unsplash
You’re Getting Warmer! by Robert O. Grover & Team databot™ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at databot.us.com/contact.
