Sustainable Neighborhoods,
Sustainable World
Lesson 8
Fossil Fuels, Carbon, and Climate Change – Oh, My!
Lesson Overview:
This lesson will build the foundation for students to think about where fossil
fuels come from and how humans use them as a resource. Students will begin by
playing an interactive game to understand the carbon cycle and to differentiate
between the slow carbon cycle and fast carbon cycle. Students will then graph
atmospheric CO2 data from Mauna Loa and watch a short video about
greenhouse gasses to make the connection between fossil fuel usage and a rise in
global temperatures.
This curriculum was developed by Tiffany Kapler in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences Afterschool STEM
Mentoring Program and thanks to a generous grant from the Brotherton Foundation.
Lesson 8: Fossil Fuels, Carbon, and Climate Change – Oh, my!
Lesson Overview: This lesson will build the foundation for students to think about where fossil fuels
come from and how humans use them as a resource. Students will begin by playing an interactive game
to understand the carbon cycle and to differentiate between the slow carbon cycle and fast carbon
cycle. Students will then graph atmospheric CO2 data from Mauna Loa and watch a short video about
greenhouse gasses to make the connection between fossil fuel usage and a rise in global temperatures.
Core Concepts:
 Carbon, like water, cycles through many forms in, on, and above the earth.
 The carbon cycle is made up of fast and slow processes, so that carbon may sit in some parts of
the cycle for many millions of years or may quickly move between parts of the cycle almost in an
instant.
 Fossil fuels are forms of carbon that take millions of years to form and that may sit unchanged
for millions of years. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon quickly into the atmosphere as CO2
where it enters into the fast carbon cycle.
 Due to the extremely long time required to produce fossil fuels, they are not renewable from a
human perspective.
 The increasing CO2 in the atmosphere has been accompanied by increasing global temperatures
and related changes in climates around the world.
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to:
 Explain or diagram the carbon cycle, including differentiating between the “slow” and “fast”
processes of the cycle.
 Explain how using fossil fuels affects the carbon cycle and carbon levels in various parts of the
cycle.
Lesson Inquiry Question: How do I fit into the carbon cycle?
Materials Needed:







9 Carbon Cycle Station Signs
9 dice – could make the instructions as a deck of cards for each station and skip the dice to make
it a little different from the water cycle game.
9 Carbon Cycle Instruction Sheets
Video: “New York City's greenhouse gas emissions as one-ton spheres of carbon dioxide gas”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqSIplGXOA
Mauna Loa CO2 data set (printed out or available to load onto computers.
Graph paper, chart paper, or computer with graphing software (Excel is fine)
Video: “How do greenhouse gasses actually work?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTvqIijqvTg
Prep:

Write prompt words on the board or easel

Set up Carbon Cycle Station Signs around the room, much like water cycle game. Post or place
instructions on a desk or wall near the sign. Set one die out at each station.
Journal Utilizations:
Students will record their carbon cycle paths in their journals. They should also draw the graphs of rising
CO2 levels and global temperatures.
Procedure/Activity Plan:
Fossil fuels are talked about a lot in the media and in sustainability conversations. Ask students what
they already know about fossil fuels. Take all answers and explain that fossil fuels are made out of
carbon, an element on earth that is also in the air and in all living things. Just like water, carbon has a
unique cycle of its own. To better understand fossil fuels, it is helpful to understand the carbon cycle.
Carbon Cycle Game
1. The game will be played very much like the water cycle game, but with a few additional twists.
2. Each student will play the role of a carbon atom and will start at a carbon station around the
room. For each “move” they will roll the die and follow the posted instructions for the number
that they roll.
3. Students should record their travels in their journal and should play the game for about 5
minutes.
4. Assign stations for groups to start at or let them choose. Play the game.
5. Pause the game after 5 minutes and change out the posted instructions for the Natural Gas,
Petroleum, and Coal stations. Have students indicate in their charts when the change occurred.
6. Resume play for 5 more minutes. The new instructions at the fossil fuel stations will instruct
students to sit down at the station until instructed to go back into the cycle. Have these
students make observations of the game, as they watch other students. With about 30-60
seconds to go, loudly announce:
1. “Burrrrrrr! It’s cold in here. Carbon in natural gas may escape to the atmosphere as you
are burned to heat our homes”.
2. Turn the lights off and then on. “Phew! Good thing we have all of this coal to keep the
lights on. Carbon molecules in coal may escape to the atmosphere”
3. Before stating #4, select on petroleum person to remain seated as “plastic”. Ask them to
write in their journal when they expect to ever leave the station.
4. “Start your engines! Petroleum is being burned an unprecedented rates. Carbon atoms
in petroleum all release into the atmosphere at the same time.”
7. Discussion Questions:
1. Share your journey as a carbon atom. Have volunteer students begin to create a diagram
of the carbon cycle on the board or chart paper as a few students share their journey.
2. What happened to the poor molecule of carbon that ended up in petroleum and then
later used to make a plastic bottle? Why?
3. Describe the carbon cycle. Is it circular?
4. What did you notice happening when we paused the game and switched out the cards
at the coal, petroleum, and natural gas stations?
5. Would you describe the carbon cycle as fast or slow? Both? Explain your answer.
6. How quickly did fossil fuels form? How quickly could they be used for fuel?
7. Would you describe fossil fuels as renewable or nonrenewable natural resources?
Explain your answer. As the facilitator, you may want to add information from the
background information about the actual lengths of time associated with the formation
of the various fossil fuels to enrich this discussion.
8. Are there other “stations” of the carbon cycle that were not included in the game?
Depending on time you may want to introduce other carbon sources/sinks listed in the
Background information and assess how they fit into the slow or fast carbon cycles.
9. Where do you fit in the carbon cycle?
10. How do humans use the various fossil fuels? What happens to the carbon when we do?
The Carbon Cycle in NYC – Brief Field Trip
1. Briefly walk around the school and/or nearby blocks looking for examples of carbon moving
through the the cycle. (Examples: plants using CO2 if they have green leaves/needles, people or
animals breathing CO2 into the atmosphere, buildings using natural gas to heat the indoors,
etc.)
2. Students should note locations on the Lesson 2 map with additional letters and record
corresponding observations in their journals.
3. Discussion Questions:
a. What was the most common movement of carbon through the cycle that you observed?
b. As you walked through the atmosphere at the earth’s surface, did you notice more
opportunities for CO2 to move into or out of the atmosphere?
4. Watch the video: “New York City's greenhouse gas emissions as one-ton spheres of carbon
dioxide gas” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqSIplGXOA, then lead into the next activity.
CO2 on the Rise
Fossil fuels are being used at an increasing rate around the globe. It isn’t all sitting on top of NYC like the
visual in the video. Where do you think all of that carbon is going? Let’s see what the atmospheric data
shows us.
1. Explain that data on C02 in the atmosphere has been recorded on top of Mauna Loa volcano in
Hawaii since 1958. The location is ideal because there are no human activities or significant
plant growth to influence the measurements.
2. Have the students graph the Average CO2 level data set. If computers are available, a graphing
program (even Excel) should be used. In this case, you may wish to have them graph the data
set that includes monthly averages of April and October. Alternatively, students could create the
graphs in their journals or work as a class to create a large graph on the board or chart paper
(small groups could be assigned small portions of the graph to complete once the axes and scale
has been established). Be sure to put year on the x-axis and C02 level on the y-axis.
3. Discussion Questions:
a. What pattern do you notice in the graph?
b. How does the data change over time?
c. CO2 levels were at about 280 ppm in 1750. How have CO2 concentrations changed since
then?
d. What factors might contribute to these changes?
e. Look at the carbon cycle. How might increasing levels of carbon in the atmosphere
affect carbon in other parts of the cycle?
f. Based on the graph, predict what CO2 concentrations will be in 2020 and 2050.
g. You only graphed the Average CO2 concentrations. What do you notice about the April
and October concentrations? What might explain their fluctuations?
So what? - Greenhouse Effect –Video and Discussion
1. Show video “How do greenhouse gasses actually work?” or explain the concept of the
Greenhouse Effect using chart paper or the board to diagram the process.
2. Discussion Questions
a. If temperature on earth is tied to the amount of greenhouse gasses, what might be
some of the concerns with increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere?
b. While water vapor makes up a larger portion of greenhouse gasses than CO2, water in
the atmosphere increases as the temperature increases. Therefore, small increases in
temperature caused by higher CO2 levels can increase water vapor levels. What impact
would that have on earth temperatures?
c. What might be some consequences of rising temperatures on earth?
d. What does that data say about global temperatures? Show “Temperature Anomaly”
graph in Background Information.
Journal Activity and Assessment:
If time allows, have students reflect on the activities and draw their own version of the carbon cycle in
their journals. They should include themselves in the diagram.
Terms and Concepts:
Carbon – an element/chemical substance that is found in all living things, in the atmosphere most
commonly as carbon dioxide (CO2), and in the earth as fossil fuels such as natural gas, petroleum,
and coal.
Carbon Cycle – the processes that carbon can experience as it changes location and form in, on, and
above the earth.
Atom – the smallest component of an element that retains the properties of that element.
Greenhouse Effect – the phenomenon in which certain gasses in the atmosphere (CO2, methane, water
vapor, and others) reflect heat energy (infrared waves) that radiates out from the earth back
towards the earth. The greenhouse effect maintains the temperature of the earth at a warmer and
more consistent temperature than if these gasses were absent from the atmosphere. As greenhouse
gasses increase, the effect increases, as well.
Temperature Anomaly – the variation between the temperature of a location for a given time period
and the average temperature for that same location over the same length of time. The temperature
anomaly in the graph in the Background Information describes the difference between the average
surface temperature of the earth for a given year and the average surface temperature of the earth
over the entire time that temperature data has been recorded.
Background Information:
Fossil Fuel Formation:
Coal is what remains of giant plants in forests and swamps hundreds of millions of years ago.
The plants were covered up by soil and water and then many more layers of rock. The pressure and heat
from the layers of rock above physically and chemically changed the organic plant matter into coal. The
carbon from the plants remained. The most favorable conditions for coal formation were 360 to 290
million years ago. This period is known as the Carboniferous (coal-bearing) Period. Coal continued to
form in lesser amounts throughout the Permian (290-250 million years ago) and the Mesozoic Era (25065 million years ago). Most of the accumulated plant matter younger than 65 million years is generally
less “mature” and does not provide high-quality coal.
Natural gas and petroleum oil are what remain of ocean animals and plants (mostly very small ones)
that died and sank to the bottom of the ocean between 300 and 400 million years ago. These animals
and plants were covered by sand and silt – deeper and deeper. Over time the weight and pressure of the
sediments on top, combined with heat from the earth, converted the organic material into oil and gas.
Lower levels of heat resulted in natural gas, while higher levels of heat resulted in oil.
Fossil Fuel Use:
Natural Gas is used for the electric power as well as fuel for producing steel, glass, paper, clothing and
bricks. It is also used as a raw material for products such as paint, fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, dyes,
medicines and explosives. Natural gas is also used as a primary fuel for heating water and the interiors
of homes and businesses in the US, and is used in many homes for cooking.
The most significant uses of coal are for electricity, steel production, cement manufacturing, and as a
liquid fuel. Other industries, such as pharmaceuticals and paper making, also use coal as a fuel to a
lesser extent. Many chemical by-products of coal use are important, as well. Aspirins, soaps, solvents,
plastics and fibers such as rayon and nylon have coal or coal by-products as components. Additionally,
coal is a primary ingredient in activated carbon (used for filters), carbon fiber, and silicone metal.
Petroleum. What is petroleum NOT used for? From fuel in our cars, to fuel for ships and airplanes,
petroleum is what moves us literally and figuratively. Petroleum is also used for products such as
detergent, plastics, heating oil, synthetic rubber, fertilizers, pesticides, paint, food additives (to increase
shelf-life), make up, medicine, and candles, to name a few.
Other Sources/Sinks of Carbon in the Carbon Cycle
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) is found in the earth’s crust as limestone, chalk, marble and calcite. Over
millions of years, carbon from CaCO3 can enter the earth’s atmosphere through volcanic activity. This
process is part of the slow carbon cycle. CaCO3 is formed by ocean organisms from dissolved CO2 in the
ocean and used to build their shells. Over millions of years, these shells can form a sediment on the
bottom of the ocean that is covered and slowly become part of the rock cycle - later forming limestone,
chalk, marble or calcite.
“Scientific Consensus: Earth’s Climate is Warming”. Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.
NASA. Accessed September 14, 2015 at http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
Additional Resources:
http://climate.nasa.gov – NASA’s Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet website.
Excellent background information on the carbon cycle that may help fill in knowledge gaps for the
facilitators: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/page1.php