Impacts of climate change – CO2 emissions and ocean acidification (teacher instructions)

Students know that CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) is emitted through human activities and that these CO2 emissions are responsible for climate change. One impact of CO2 emissions is ocean acidification. The CO2 dissolves in the ocean and reacts with the water. This reaction produces carbonic acid and the acid content of the ocean increases. With the experiment, the students will show that CO2 leads to ocean acidification.

Notes:
• In place of the digital pH meter, the students can use a swimming pool test kit, also called a pool tester. If they use a pool tester, no colored liquids should be used (such as a colored acidic soft drink) because the color can distort the measured value.
Litmus paper is not recommended for this experiment since the measurements are not precise enough.

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Biology; Chemistry; Geography; Physics

Grade 7 to 9; Grade 10 to 13

Middle/high school

Climate change; Ecology; Emission (environment); Environment (general); Environmental protection; Greenhouse effect; Pollution of the environment; Renewable energy; Solar energy; Climate change; Ecology (environmental protection); Emission pollution

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