1. Watch CO2 absorb heat!
Watch the following two videos and answer the associated questions:
Describe the main result from the CO2 experiments in the two videos below. (2 pts)
What one variable influenced this result? (2 pts)
Video 1: Mythbusters tests global warming theory – does CO2 warm air (3 min)?
Video 2: Greenhouse effect (in a bottle) explained (2 min)

2. Watch infrared (IR) radiation be blocked by glass and a sweatshirt!
Watch the following video (2:14 min) and answer these questions. Why did the colors of the globe fade when covered in glass? (2 pts)
Why did the colors of the teacher fade when covered in the sweatshirt? (2 pts)
How is this similar to how CO2 holds heat in the Earth’s atmosphere? (2 pts)

– Climate, Infrared Radiation, Blowtorch, Action

3. Watch as CO2 and refrigerant gas block infrared (IR) radiation
Watch the following two videos and answer the associated questions.
Video 1 (1:08): Video 1 (1:08): Ian Stewart demonstrates infrared radiation absorption by CO2

Video 2 (0:16, no audio): Ziplock bags filled with either plain air or refrigerant greenhouse gas are placed between the student and the IR camera. https://www.pivotinteractives.com/blog/2018/12/8/quick-greenhouse-effect-demo
Note that the scale of only five colors is too broad to pick up the weaker CO2 effect. By contrast, the effect is much easier to see with the refrigerant gas because it is 4300x stronger greenhouse gas compared to CO2, so it crosses the color threshold. When you use the IR sensor in person, you can watch the temperature change with the CO2 – but it is just within the range of one color band for the IR thermometer. Video 1: Why did the colors of the flame fade when CO2 was placed between the camera and the flame? (2 pts)
Video 2: Why did the colors of the female student fade to blue when the Ziplock bag was placed in front of her face? (2 pts)
4. Discussion
Respond to each of the following (4 pts):
Which of the above videos did you find most convincing and why? Or perhaps the combination of all videos was helpful – why was that?
Were these things you had already understood before taking this class?
Show at least one of these videos to someone not taking the class and tell us about the conversation that ensued.
Do you think these visual demonstrations of the greenhouse effect which we otherwise cannot observe could help the wider population better understand that elevated CO2 concentrations are warming the globe? Why or why not?
5. Discussion with Others in the Class (4 pts)
Get involved and provide substantive responses that add to the discussion to at least two other posts! (50-100 words minimum each)

Similar Posts