About this STEM integrated learning scenario
In our community, we have a big problem that affects everyone’s lives. In our town and in a lot of nearby localities there are a lot of industrial waste deposits, many of them of oil and oil derivates waste. Because of the chemical reactions between them, there are constantly liberated very dangerous gases in the atmosphere, which smell bad and affect our health (this is a real problem in our county). A lot of non-governmental organizations promoting ecology at the local level revealed this problem but not all people understand the risks. Some laboratories measured the air quality and the data collected revealed that in the air are liberated a lot of types of gases.
All those gases that are emitted in the atmosphere, are responsible for enhancing the greenhouse effect and, affect our health in the long-term as the studies made by competent medical and healthcare institutes demonstrate.
Besides that, in our county, an area with significant industrial activity and with a significant population, we are facing dramatic deforestation due to exploitation of space and the construction of houses and factories. The living standards have increased but also the number of cars and daily consumption of the resources.
We are living on a very friendly planet that looks like paradise. We all know that in our solar system there are some planets and satellites situated almost at the same distance from the sun but on which life is impossible because of the climate conditions determined by their atmosphere and the greenhouse effect.
In this STE(A)M integrated learning scenario we will bring greenhouse effect and climate change in the classroom using IBSE.
Author(s): Isabela Elena Ciurea, Aura Matei, Simona Ungureanu, Raluca Olteanu
Subject(s): Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Social Science, Art, Literature
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Related real-life questions
This learning scenario explores the following real-life questions:
Climate change:
- What is a planet atmosphere and why is so important the composition of a planet atmosphere?
- What is the composition of Earth atmosphere?
- How it works the atmosphere on Earth and how it affects the weather conditions?
- What is greenhouse effect?
- It is useful the greenhouse effect on Earth?
- Which are greenhouse effect gases and how they are produced during the ages and nowadays?
- What effects could have a higher concentration of greenhouse effect gases on plants, animals and human beings?
- What can we do for prevent the climate change?
Pollution:
- The pollution in our town and in the county will conduct to an increase of greenhouse effect gases. What will be the consequences and what we have to do?
Related STEM Careers
With this learning scenario, students will have the opportunity to work with activities and materials that will introduce them to several potential STEM career paths, including:
- Environmental scientist: students will gain knowledge about the atmosphere composition, the greenhouse effect, climate change, the effect of greenhouse effect gases on the rising of global temperature, and its consequences on plants, humans, and animals’ life.
- Expert in the fields of sciences because they will enhance simple sciences project (the study of the greenhouse effect, the influences of different types of related gases on the rising of temperature).
- Biologist: studying the influence of different factors (temperature, humidity, the concentration of greenhouse effect gases) on plants growth and development.
- Botanist
- Meteorologists and experts studying atmospheric pollution
- Sciences teacher
You can find related STEM jobs profiles on the STE(A)M IT repository:
CC BY: this learning scenario is licenced under the Creative Commons license. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, if they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
