360Storylines—Ocean Acidity, 1-Year Access

Product Details

A 360Storyline is a collection of experiments that together let students engage in science in an authentic manner through the use of relevant phenomena. Each experiment in a 360Storyline builds on things learned in the preceding experiments until students develop a final, working explanation or model of the phenomenon. Every lab in any 360Storyline is completely editable and supported by videos and simulations. 

Includes:

• Access to digital content for 1 year
• Lab supplies for each experiment for a single class of 30 students

Ocean Acidification
Lead students to a written understanding/working model of ocean acidification and the impact it has on marine life. The ocean and the atmosphere are constantly exchanging gases. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise, more carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean, where it becomes carbonic acid and increases the acidity of the water. Many marine organisms construct shells by precipitating calcium carbonate. Acidic conditions interfere with calcium carbonate precipitation and shell construction, harming these organisms. Many primary consumers rely on shells, so if they are harmed, organisms throughout the food web feel the effects.

What Students Do

Lab 1—The pH of Seawater
Students explore the effect of carbon dioxide dissolution on the pH of a saline solution.

Lab 2—Carbon Dioxide Levels in Water
Students evaluate the effect of changing temperature on the concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide in water.

Lab 3—Ocean Currents
Students investigate possible currents that could form due to mixing waters of different salinities at different temperatures.

Lab 4—The Fate of Carbonate in Acidifying Oceans
Students investigate the formation of calcium carbonate in saline solutions that resemble seawater.

Lab 5—Calcium Carbonate and Shell Production
Students examine the reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid and quantify the amount of carbon dioxide generated.

About 360Storylines

A 360Storyline is a collection of experiments that together let students engage in science in an authentic manner through the use of relevant phenomena. Each experiment in a 360Storyline builds on things learned in the preceding experiments until students develop a final, working explanation or model of the phenomenon. Every lab in any 360Storyline is completely editable and supported by videos and simulations. 

Students must drive the learning forward by developing procedures and asking questions. Each storyline is supported by editable documents that force students to think about how the data they collect relate to an individual experiment’s investigative phenomenon and how the data they collect in a series of labs relate to a broader, anchoring phenomenon.