Eunice Foote, greenhouse effect and climate change

What you'll need

• Video: Eunice Newton Foote – Research Experiment on YouTube. 
  • The relevant sections are 0:00 to 2:26 and 6:26 to 7:21.
• Eunice Foote and greenhouse effect slideshow
  • Projector or TV to share slides with class
• Greenhouse effect experiment worksheet, print one copy per student
• Group experiment supplies, plan for 3-4 students per group
• 5 jars or beakers about 500 ml each 
• Painters or masking tape and markers to label jars
• Plastic wrap and elastic bands
• Thermometer 
• Class experiment supplies, set up for all groups to access:
  • Heat source: A sunny windowsill if you have hot direct sunlight, or a heat lamp or radiator. Needs to heat evenly between the jars.
  • 60ml measuring cups and 15ml spoons
  • 2 liters of white vinegar
  • 500 grams of baking soda

Introduction

Start the activity by having a class discussion about amazing women who have contributed to STEM throughout history, or complete the Innovations from women in history activity.

Eunice Foote and the greenhouse effect

1. Pull up the Eunice Foote and greenhouse effect slideshow, and at slide 2 share the Eunice Newton Foote – Research Experiment video.
   
   
2. Put students in groups of 3-4 students to conduct a climate science experiment. Provide each group with the group experiment supplies and a copy of the Greenhouse effect experiment worksheet. Students can conduct their own experiments using the worksheet or use the slideshow to provide additional visuals.
   
   
3. At slide 3, label four of the jars: 
   • Air (control)
   • Vinegar (control)
   • Baking soda (control)
   • Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
     
     
4. At slide 4, fill and seal the three control jars with air, baking soda, and vinegar respectively. The jars need to be well sealed using plastic wrap and elastic bands.
   
   
5. At slide 5, add 60 ml of vinegar to the CO₂  jar. Get ready to add the baking soda, but before adding it predict what you think will happen.    
   
   
6. At slide 6, read the instructions before adding the baking soda. Get ready with the plastic wrap and cover and seal the jar as fast as possible as you add 15 ml of baking soda. Have one person ready with the plastic wrap as another adds the baking soda. If you are too slow the CO₂ will escape from your jar. The CO₂  should bubble up, causing a convex shape in the plastic wrap. Seal the jar well with plastic wrap and elastic bands.
   
   
7. At slide 7, place your jars by the heat source and set the timer for 15 mins. You can even wrap it in a towel to retain the heat. Your heat source is acting as the sun in this experiment.
    
8. At slide 8, predict what you think will happen after the jars have heated for 15 mins.
   
   
9. At slide 9, while waiting the 15 mins, conduct a chemical reaction comparison. Using the 5th jar, put 60 ml of vinegar in the jar and measure the temperature of the vinegar. A typical measure may be 15°C. Next add 15 ml baking soda but do not cover jar. Remember it will bubble up and perhaps overflow. As the baking soda reacts with the vinegar it releases CO₂ into the air.
    
10. At slide 10, take the temperature of the liquid left in the jar. It may be closer to 10°C. What happened to yours?
    
    
11. The baking soda and vinegar cause an endothermic reaction. This reaction takes in energy from the surroundings. The energy is transferred as heat energy causing the reaction mixture and its surroundings to get colder. Why is this relevant to our experiment?
    
    
12. At slide 11, when the timer goes off at 15 mins, take the temperature of all four jars. Insert the thermometer through the plastic wrap taking care not to release any gas. Wait 1 min. Record the temperature. Repeat for each jar.
    
    
13. Slide 12, shows the temperature of our controls: air, baking soda and vinegar. They measured 32°C.
    
    
14. Slide 13, shows the temperature of our CO₂. This measured 37°C.
    
    
15. At slide 14 draw your conclusions by recording what happened and why you think this happened. If your CO₂ gas temperature was not higher than the controls, hypothesize why this might have happened. Consider that maybe the CO₂ escaped before the plastic wrap was added, the heat source was not evenly distributed or the thermometer made too big an opening in the plastic wrap so the warm air escaped. Then have a class discussion and share your results. Ask students to share their understanding of the greenhouse effect and how increases in CO₂ due to human activity is affecting our climate. 

Climate change and solutions

1. At slide 15, summarize by sharing that the atmosphere of gases around our planet traps heat, making earth habitable for living organisms however the balance of those gases is fragile. Human activity burning fossil fuels has affected the balance. When we drive gas powered cars we burn oil and gasoline, releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases like CO₂  and trapping more heat, increasing average temperatures. Discuss climate change impacts. Students may share examples like heat waves, droughts, floods, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, warming and acidifying oceans and stronger storms.
   
   
2. At slide 16, ask students to consider mitigation opportunities at an individual, local, and global scale. These are a few of the opportunities students may share.  
   • Individual mitigation opportunities: Walk, bike, and transit instead of driving; turn down the heat; consume foods with lower impacts; fly less often; become politically involved. 
   • Local and global mitigation opportunities: Renewable energy, phasing out fossil fuels; increasing access to walkable communities; bike lanes and transit infrastructure; protecting oceans and old growth forests; uplifting traditional and Indigenous forms of ecosystem protection.
     
     
3. Share that in B.C. we have renewable electricity made with the power of water and gravity. Our mountainous geography and regular precipitation makes hydroelectricity successful here.
   
   

Finish by imagining what could have happened in the world if Eunice Foote had been given a voice, more education, and resources to continue her studies on climate science. Could she have influenced our attitudes toward pollution and climate?