Assignment:
This assignment addresses the Common Core Objectives of this course with respect to developing Critical Thinking, Communication, Empirical and Quantitative Skills. Teamwork skills will be addressed by other assignments.
ASSIGNMENT: Write a Scientific Report on Global Climate Change
1. Research Climate Science.
2. Answer specific questions asked below.
Document 1 - Answers to questions 1 through 6, numbered, in complete sentences.
3. Write a summary report of what you learned from the project.
Document 2 - Essay Summary
a. Present data in an appropriate format, either in data table(s), graph(s), or both.
b. Analyze the data and draw conclusions from the data.
c. Your report should be in MLA format, including references, and 800 to 1000 words.
4. Complete the "Team Member Rating Form" posted on eCampus along with the project instructions.
5. Submit an electronic copy of the three documents (answers, report and the rating form) through eCampus. Save the three documents in the same folder on your computer, and when uploading select all three files so that they are uploaded all at once.
Questions to be answered:
In addition to your essay, you must answer the following questions. Read each question carefully and answer each question thoroughly, providing support and explanation for your answer. Your answers should reflect college-level writing and should be written in complete sentences, using correct grammar and sentence structure.
A. Go to the website: https://www.explainingclimatechange.ca/. Your answers to the following questions, should come from the website, not Google, Wikipedia, etc.
1. Complete Lessons 1 and 2. What is the difference between 'climate change' and 'global warming'? Which term is most appropriate to describe our current global climate challenges, and why?
2. Until 250 years ago, the highest rate of temperature increase recorded was approximately 0.003°C per year. For the last 10 years, the rate of temperature change has been approximately 0.017°C per year. For each of these two rates (historical and current), how long would it take for temperature to change by 1°C?
3. Complete Lessons 3 and 4. What is 'the greenhouse effect' and what is its role in climate changes?
4. Go to Lesson 5, Key Idea 1. Open the Climate Trends learning tool. Go to the last 250 years and click the Temperature tab to access the slope tool. Use this to determine the Revised 1/16/2019 - Page 2 rate of temperature change over the past 250 years. Which has a greater rate of temperature increase, the current period of warming or the warming of the PETM (Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum)
5. In the Climate Trends learning tool, notice that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the last 50 years has been determined by air sampling.
This data demonstrates regular concentration oscillations, rising and falling each year. How can this yearly variation of concentration be explained?
6. Do you agree with the following statement: "The main question is not whether mankind is contributing to global warming (we are), but how big of an effect are we having and what will be the eventual outcome?" Explain why or why not.
B. In addition to answering the questions, write an essay (800 to 1000 words) that summarizes what you learned about Climate Change.
Additional Details:
Your report should be a complete and comprehensive analysis of climate change, with a basis in evidence discovered in your research. An outline of your essay might look like this:
I. Introduction
II. Background information
III. Presentation of data
IV. Analysis of data using appropriate mathematical tools
V. Conclusions