Black Carbon In Real World

Activity : Changing Planet: Black Carbon- A Dusty Situation

• Use this inquiry-based hands on laboratory activity, ‘Changing Planet: Black Carbon- A Dusty Situation’, adapted by Missy Holzer, Jennifer Bergman, and Roberta Johnson of the NESTA/Windows to the Universe team, to help the students to understand the albedo effect of black carbon.

• Follow the instructions to obtain data for the surface heat absorption capacity of varying concentrations of black carbon on paper. Materials for set-up including students’ worksheets are listed in the right-hand column of the summary table.

• Use the graphed data to discuss with your students the influence of black carbon on the heat absorption ability of the Earth’s surface.

• Discuss how cutting down of black carbon emissions can reduce global surface temperatures.

Activity : Energy and the Poor- Black Carbon in the Developing Nations

• Use this group activity, ‘Energy and the Poor- Black Carbon in the Developing Nations’, by Science Education Research Center at Carleton College (SERC Carleton), to discuss how the burning of fossil fuels and biomass-based fuels results in black carbon emissions in developing countries.
• Use this activity to enable students to ‘critically evaluate the impacts of varied household energy sources, synthesize a wide range of social, health and environmental impacts and generate solutions to these problems’.
• The plan includes downloadable notes for students and teachers with suggested points for discussion.
• Use the activity plan to direct a ‘jigsaw’-method of discussion where individuals within groups research and summarize their findings on varied selected topics related to black carbon, its impacts, and solutions and then re-group to summarize their findings in a ‘concept-map’ to represent all the aspects of discussion.