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Students will be able to change around the levels of the following factors:
The weather factors that students will be able to change around are the following: clouds/sky cover, wind, and temperature. The emission factors that students will be able to change are the following: the amount of energy sources, cars and trucks, off-road vehicles, consumer products, and industries. Students will also be able to change the population of their city.
| Instructor Activity | Student Activity |
| Measurements. Take your students outside and conduct the GLOBE protocols. Students should set up the ozone strip, take the air and surface temperature, observe the sky for clouds, and measure humidity and wind direction. | Students take measurements and record their data. |
| Review. Take one minute to review stratospheric, “good” ozone. Remind students that this ozone high in the atmosphere protects Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. | Students listen. |
| Brainstorm. Brainstorm with students about ways to classify air pollutants, to help students recognize the diverse nature of air pollution. Specifically: 1. Some are visible (particles that form haze), while others are invisible gases; 2. Their origin can be manmade (factories, cars), natural (wildfires, volcanoes), or in between (e.g., emitted by cattle raised by humans); 3. Some affect health, others affect climate. Ask students whether they know of health effects that can be caused by air pollution. | Students participate in discussion and answer questions on p. 1-2. |
| Discussion. Explain that even though there are many air pollutants, we will focus on tropospheric or “bad” ozone because students can measure ozone and it causes serious impacts. Discuss how low-level ozone is formed from other pollutants reacting in sunlight, and its negative health effects. | Students listen |
| Optional video. As a summary of the “dual” nature of ozone covered in Lesson Four and Lesson Five, you may show the class the video clip entitled Ozone: Harmful and Helpful, available at http://player.discoveryeducation.com /index.cfm?guidAssetId=E320368D-9247-4FDC-9949- B7E8983E67E&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US . | Students watch video. |
| Online Activity 1: Air Quality Index. This activity guides students to explore the meaning of EPA’s Air Quality Index in a fun and simple way. Teachers will act as a guide, answering questions but also letting students explore and learn on the computer on their own. | Students complete online activity, following instructions and answering questions on journal p. 3. |
| Online Activity 2: Ozone Scavenger Hunt. This activity leads students on an “Ozone scavenger hunt” to explore recent, current and forecast air quality conditions across the country and in their home town. The activity uses EPA’s AirNow website, http://www.airnow.gov/ . The Journal worksheets guide students through the scavenger hunt. | Students complete online activity, following instructions and answering questions on journal p. 4-5 |
| On-line Activity 3: Smog City 2 simulation. Students will be able to try out a simulation about tropospheric ozone levels on EPA’s website for kids. This simulation allows students to change the levels of various factors in order to see how it affects the Air Quality Index and the amount of ozone during an entire day. Use the chart given to make sure that students understand each level of each factor – for example, that Level 1 of Sky Cover means “sunny”, and that Level 3 means “cloudy.” The lesson will help students think about hypotheses of measurement correlations (next step). | Students complete online activity, following instructions and answering questions on journal p. 6-7. |
| Hypotheses based on measurements. Now that students understand how tropospheric ozone forms, they will create hypotheses regarding expected relationships between the daily GLOBE measurements. For example, do they think that on days that that the air temperature is higher there will be more ozone measured in the air? Let students make these hypotheses on their own in their journals – they have learned enough to make some educated guesses. Students will write down the trends they think they will see in their GLOBE measurement data. On Day Seven, they will use their final data to either refute or support their initial hypotheses. | Students think about relationships between ozone and meteorology based on what they’ve learned in class and in Smog City 2 simulation, and fill out chart with their hypotheses (p. 8). |
| Take your class outside, and scan the ozone strip. Also, retake the surface and air temperature, and the humidity so that students can take the average of these measurements in order to supplement their ozone measurements. | Students take measurements and record data on their data sheets. |
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