Climate Change Station Cards
(Cut cards apart.)
Station 1: Earth’s Wobbling
What to Do
Get a penny and spin it. Watch it as it moves around on the table top. Notice while it is spinning, it will wobble. The Earth also spins on its axis like a top. It takes the Earth 24 hours to spin one time around, and we call this a day. The Earth can sometimes wobble in its orbit around the sun. This slight wobble can change the amount of solar radiation certain latitudes will receive. This can be one natural cause for cooling or warming of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Station 2: Changes in the Earth’s Orbit
One of the biggest misconceptions of the causes of seasons deals with the shape of the earth’s orbit. Many textbooks show the orbit as an elongated oval when in reality it is almost a circle. When the Earth is closest to the sun it is 91,400,000 miles away. When the Earth is farthest away it is 94, 500,000 miles away.
What to Do
Look at the illustration. Use a rule to measure the distance from the sun to the Earth for each of the four dates. In the geologic past the shape of the Earth’s orbit has varied slightly, increasing or decreasing the distance from the sun. This caused cooling or warming due to changes in incoming solar radiation.
Station 3: The Tilt of the Earth’s Axis
Throughout Earth’s history, the angle of the tilt of the Earth has changed from its present day angle. This affects the amount of solar radiation the surface receives and can change temperatures.
What to Do
- Look at the globe on the stand. It is tilted because the Earth is tilted about 23.5 degrees in relation to the sun. Turn the globe so that the axis is pointing away from you. Keep it in this position for the rest of your time at this station.
- Pick up a flashlight and shine it on the 30 degrees North line of latitude. Notice how the light spreads across the surface of the globe.
- Now, with the axis still facing away from you increase the tilt of the Earth by slightly moving the top of the globe away from you around an inch. Have your partner put the light on the globe in the same spot. Describe how the light spreads across the globe.
- Finally tilt the axis of the globe towards you slightly about an inch. Have your partner shine the light on the same location. Describe how the light spreads across the globe.
Station 4: Reflection of Sunlight
A change in the amount of solar radiation that is reflected back into space will cause the Earth’s surface to either heat or cool off.
What to Do
- Get the mirror and flashlight. Hold the flashlight around 12 inches at a slight angle directly above the mirror. Describe the reflection of light.
- This reflection represents what happens to incoming solar radiation when you have particles such as water droplets, or volcanic ash in the atmosphere. The amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s Surface is decreased. This can cause a decrease in temperatures.
Station 5: The Greenhouse Effect
Earth’s atmosphere works like a blanket, holding in the sun’s radiant energy. Without this “greenhouse effect,” more energy would escape into space, causing the Earth to become colder. When certain gas levels increase in the atmosphere they keep excess heat in the atmosphere. This throws off the radiant balance, which can lead to a warming of the climate. At times during Earth’s history, volcanic eruptions increased greenhouse gases, trapping the radiant energy.
What to Do
- Observe the greenhouse effect set-up. Read the temperature of the thermometer in the clear sealed container. This represents a greenhouse, with the walls representing gases trapping the radiation. Record the temperature.
- Read the temperature of the thermometer in the unsealed container. This represents the atmosphere without increased gases trapping the radiation.
- Compare the two temperatures. Which set-up represents increased solar radiation and which one represents less?
Station 6: The Position of the Continents
Earth used to have just one large supercontinent that eventually broke up into the continents we know today.
What to Do
- Place the cutouts of the continents as one large supercontinent as they looked in the past (below). Consider how the position of the continents would affect ocean currents and the amount of radiant energy absorbed by the land and water. Write a statement describing how this might affect the Earth’s climate.
- Now slowly move the continents to their present day position. As the continents have moved, ocean currents, global wind patterns and radiant energy absorption have changed. Write a statement describing how this change might affect the Earth’s climate.
Teacher Page
Print on cardstock or paper, and cut out around the continents.
