More Steps on Global Warming in a Jar Experiment (Global Warming in a Jar continued)
8. Turn off the lamps and note the time. Observe the jars as they cool down. You will know they are cooling down when you see a drop in the temperature. How fast is Jar A cooling down? How fast is Jar B cooling down?
9. After two hours, go back to your jars and take the final temperatures, recording the data. What do you notice?
10. Turn the lamps on for another seven minutes and watch the temperatures rise again. Record the temperatures once again.
11. Turn off the lamps and note the time, again observing the jars as they cool down. Note the speed of the jars as they cool down
12. After another two hours, go back to take the final temperatures. Did you notice anything new?
The jars are examples of what happens to heated carbon in a closed system. Jar A has no carbon while Jar B contains carbon because you put it in with the siphon. When the jars are heated, the temperature inside the jars rises. Jar A will cool down faster because there is no carbon inside it. Jar B on the other hand, cools down slower and will retain more heat because of the carbon. During the second run, when you heat the jars again, you will notice that Jar B's final temperature will be hotter than the one you had taken earlier. This is what happens in the atmosphere, and is considered the main reason behind climate change or global warming. As carbon gas builds up in the atmosphere, the climate becomes hotter and hotter because it is being heated by the sun. Carbon gas is a greenhouse gas.
This project was originally designed and created by a student. It was presented at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and The Clean Air Conservancy.
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