Dinosaur Breath - Learning about the Carbon Cycle

Lauren Cooper, Malinda Schaefer Zarske, Janet Yowell, TeachEngineering - Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, CU Boulder

This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it includes thorough discussion and hands-on experimentation. Students learn about the geological (ancient) carbon cycle; they investigate the role of dinosaurs in the carbon cycle, and the eventual storage of carbon in the form of chalk. Students discover how the carbon cycle has been occurring for millions of years and is necessary for life on Earth. Finally, they may extend their knowledge to the concept of global warming and how engineers are working to understand the carbon cycle and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Educator needs to strengthen the piece that suggests mitigation strategies. The part of the activity that extends student learning from the carbon cycle to global warming, human impact, greenhouse gas emission and finally mitigation strategies is not developed very strongly and will need additional effort by educator. Comment from expert scientist: A simple diagram of the cycle or cycles portrayed in this exercise would greatly clarify the activity.
Activity includes well-designed background reading with good assessment questions. The phrasing, "oceans soak up carbon to prevent high CO2 levels in atmosphere," implies an intention that might suggest that oceans could "solve the global warming issue.", which is not the case and should be clarified by educator. Extending the students' learning to global warming, human impact to greenhouse gas emission is evident in the activity. This activity emphasizes that engineers and scientists are working for solutions to reduce the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere in a very illustrative way. Comment from expert scientist:The discussion of the link between deforestation and carbon in the atmosphere in the Introduction/Motivation is muddled. Do forests emit net carbon or just not absorb it once they've been cut down? Discussion in terms of sources and sinks would clarify this. Comment from expert scientist: Statement "Oceans soak up a tremendous volume of carbon to prevent too much CO2 from remaining in the atmosphere" is slightly misleading; this process is not about too much CO2 in the atmosphere but is a physical outcome of partial pressures pCO2. The ocean doesn't really care how much CO2 is in the atmosphere it just reacts to pCO2. Comment from expert scientist: The exercise lacks even a simplified discussion of carbon sources and sinks, which makes it difficult to follow how carbon is stored and released. Comment from expert scientist: There is only a very oblique reminder that CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Today, people are concerned about the rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere due to the dangers of global warming. Strictly speaking there may be a molecule from a dinosaur's last breath in any breath we take, a variation on the Last Breath of Caesar problem, but to keep the exercise straightforward, it's best to focus on the chalk even if there is no guarantee the chalk used in the experiment formed in the right time or place to contain 'dinosaur breath'.
This is a very carefully designed lesson that is complete with a lot of well-written background materials and well-described experimental set-up. Hands-on experiment, discussion questions and effective extension ideas, make this a robust activity. The lesson contains support reading and worksheets in multiple formats. The hands-on game is engaging for students. Very good assessment strategies are included. The activity includes a list of prerequisite knowledge and a glossary. Students with different learning styles are engaged because of reading, intro game, hands-on experiment, and discussions.