How can increasing carbon dioxide in
our atmosphere endanger ourselves and the other species of plants and animals
in the world?
How does the concentration of carbon
dioxide effect the population of a species?
- choose a common plant and animal, speculate what might happen if the
levels of carbon dioxide increased 100%.
- what could be the implications of this 100% carbon dioxide increase on
a
keystone species?
Extension
Study the germination of beans, radish,
or other seeds of your choice.
- place the seeds on a wet paper toweling, enclose in ziploc bags in which
you vary the concentration of carbon dioxide
to represent: a low carbon dioxide level, an ambient carbon dioxide level,
and a high carbon dioxide level.
- after a short time (of your choice) in a well lighted, dry, and warm
location: analyze biomass, appearance, vigor, color
of leaf, and size of plant.
- draw conclusions.
Obtain a culture of diatoms. Follow
supplier's recommendation to grow a large population. Split population
into three equal size volumes.
Test each volume with a different concentration of carbon dioxide (low
level, ambient level, and high level) in a closed
system.
- do a simple population analysis of each volume using microscopy from
day 1 through day 6. Account for all
observations.
- on each of the 6 days, obtain a small sample of the diatom population
and analyze using a spectrophotometer.
- account for the increasing/decreasing population utilizing percent transmittance.
The
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 - Tel:(609)452-7007
- Fax:(609)452-0066
Technical contact: lpt@woodrow.org
