Are carbon dioxide levels changing?
Why is there a zigzag pattern each
year?
What is the
general trend?
How do we know how much carbon dioxide
there was in the past? (video)
Task: analysing ice core data
Year
CO2 conc
(ppm)
Source
Core samples have been taken
from the ice in Antarctica. The air
that was trapped when the ice was
formed – we can test the samples
that have been trapped for many
thousands of years. The table
shows some of the results. The
more recent results were taken
from air samples on a Pacific
island.
1900
297
Antarctica
1910
301
Antarctica
1920
305
Antarctica
1930
309
Antarctica
1940
310
Antarctica
1950
313
Antarctica
1960
320
Antarctica
1970
331
Pacific
1980
345
Pacific
1990
360
Pacific
a. What would the mark scheme
for plotting a graph of this
data be? (6 marks)
2000
379
Pacific
Task: analysing ice core data
Year
CO2 conc
(ppm)
Source
a. What would the mark scheme
for plotting a graph of this
data be? (6 marks)
b. Plot the data
c. Is there a pattern in the data?
d. When was the change in CO2
levels happening the fastest?
e. What conclusions can you
make?
f. CHALLENGE: should the fact
that your data came from two
different sources affect your
conclusion? Explain why.
1900
297
Antarctica
1910
301
Antarctica
1920
305
Antarctica
1930
309
Antarctica
1940
310
Antarctica
1950
313
Antarctica
1960
320
Antarctica
1970
331
Pacific
1980
345
Pacific
1990
360
Pacific
2000
379
Pacific
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere
390
Carbon dioxide concentration (ppm)
380
370
360
350
340
Antarctica
330
Pacific
320
310
300
290
1900
1920
1940
1960
Year
1980
2000
2020
What are the consequences of
an increase in carbon dioxide
levels?
What You Can
Do……
Can one person help stop
global climate change?
Yes! Especially when the
simple steps you, your
friends, and your family
take are multiplied by
millions of people all over
the world.
So what can we do? (Higher Tier)
Is carbon capture and storage a viable option for reducing the
emissions of carbon dioxide?
EVALUATE - Is carbon capture and storage a
viable option for reducing the emissions of
carbon dioxide? (6 marks (higher tier))
Advantages
Disadvantages