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Teaching an Online Introductory Biology Lab Using Evolution and Ecology Resources
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15. Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
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Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide Concentration graph from Mauna Loa Observatory Hawaii

Topic

  • Environmental Science
  • Climate Change
  • Earth Science
  • Atmosphere
  • Math & Computational Skills
  • Graph Interpretation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Data Points

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Used In
1 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
48 Users
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Description

This activity analyzes a figure showing the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from 1958 to 2023.

Records from polar ice cores show that the natural range of atmospheric CO2 over the last 800,000 years was 170 to 300 parts per million (ppm) by volume. In the early 20th century, scientists began to suspect that CO2 in the atmosphere might be increasing beyond this range due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and making changes in land use. At that time, however, there were no clear measurements of this trend. In 1958, Charles David Keeling began measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the big island of Hawaii. This figure is a graph of the observatory’s measurements over time, which is now called the Keeling Curve.

The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets

  • Analyze and interpret data from a scientific figure. 
  • Describe recent patterns and trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
     

Estimated Time

Within one 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

global warming, greenhouse gas, Keeling Curve, line graph

Primary Literature

“The Keeling Curve,” Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, accessed March 24, 2023, https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/. 

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 01.04.16
Date Updated 03.24.23

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-5, HS-ESS2-6, HS-ESS3-5; SEP2, SEP4, SEP5

AP Biology (2019)

SYI-2.B; SP1, SP4

IB Biology (2016)

C.3

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.4, 5.2, 6.5, 7.4, 9.4
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.D, EIN-2.B, ENG-3.E, STB-2.D, STB-4.E, SP2, SP4, SP6

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

6.1

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9-12.7
Math.S-ID.3, Math.S-IC.1; MP2, MP5

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP2, DP3

Materials

Download Resource Google Folder (Link)
Download Image (JPG) 191 KB
Download Educator Materials (PDF) 1 MB
Download Student Handout (PDF) 578 KB
Download Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 392 KB
Download Student Handout - Español (PDF) 339 KB

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This Resource Appears in the Following Playlists

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Teaching an Online Introductory Biology Lab Using Evolution and Ecology Resources
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