melting icebergs...

1. Extended Questions  

1. What happens if the polar ice caps melt?   

If the polar ice caps melt, it starts a chain reaction of events.  Not only will ocean levels be affected by the melting ice, habitats, ecosystems, food supplies, and survival of certain species will be threatened.  According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment released in November, 2004, adding that amount of fresh water to the ocean systems could alter the circulation of currents and regional climates (Handwerk, 2004).  Changing the salinity of the water would also affect the species who call the Arctic Ocean home.  Plants and animals have adapted to live in their environment, those that are unable to adapt do not survive.  Changing the conditions would force these species to either adapt again or face extinction.  As the ice caps begin to melt, the glaciers break apart into icebergs.  This would also affect us in that we would not have the opportunity to tap into these frozen fresh water sources before they melt into the salty oceans.

With the disappearance of their frozen habitats, some animal species would have trouble continuing to thrive, such as polar bears and some seal species.  A study conducted by the University of Colorado Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) also shows that with the disappearance of the ice, the land is eroding quicker as it is exposed to the open ocean for longer periods of time (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2011).  

Melting polar ice caps would also affect low-lying areas that are far removed from the icy regions.  These areas would include places such as low coastal areas of Florida and Louisiana.  With even a small rise in sea level, these coastal areas would be flooded and in some places, the coastline could be moved inland as much as 150 feet, causing social, economic, and environmental hardships (Handwerk, 2004).

b. What other questions do you have about this Science Inquiry Experience?  

I found the process of how world scientists study and actually measure the change in sea level to be fascinating.  With all of the variables, such as daily tides, waves, currents, and even density changes in the water due to temperature differences, giving an accurate measurement for sea level is no easy task.  Satellites have made the process slightly easier, but there are still such a great many variables to take into account.  Although water displacement plays a major role in the amount that sea level will or will not rise due to the melting polar ice caps, there is still the fact that glaciers on top of land will cause ocean levels to eventually rise as they begin to break apart and melt.

Brain, M.  If the Polar Ice Caps Melted, how much would the oceans rise? 

retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/question473.htm

Handwerk, B.  (2004, November 9).  Arctic Melting Fast; May Swamp U.S. Coasts by 2099.  National Geographic.  Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1109_041109_polar_ice.html

Retrieved from the National Snow and Ice Data Center website:  http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Density lesson

Today I did a demonstration lesson for my classes involving densities of different liquids.  First period went great.  The isopropyl alcohol, which I colored yellow, stayed sitting on top of the water, which I colored blue.  Second period on the other hand, the two liquids mixed for an unknown reason and the whole solution turned green.  The ice cube still floated in the middle, neither sinking nor staying on the very top, which was the expected result.  Third period also gave the expected results, with the yellow isopropyl alcohol staying above the blue water.
I left the containers sitting on the counter in the classroom overnight, hoping that the one from second period will separate out.  I must wait and see if the expected results happen.  If not, the class and I will discuss some possible explanations and I will redo the demonstration so that they can see what I had expected them to see during the lesson.
My purpose for teaching this lesson was not necessarily the density aspect, as that is not my content standard.  I was teaching the inquiry process and going step by step, thinking out loud, as a scientist does.  Students made observations, predictions, hypothesized, made drawings and more predictions, wrote data in a chart, and tomorrow, we will finish the data results and the conclusions.  Overall, I feel that the students really have a better understanding of the process.  I had decided to do this lesson, even though it is already November, based upon my classroom observations during labs and realizing that they were missing big components of the process.  They were unsure of how to create a hypothesis and then draw conclusions.  I will add more after I see my final results from my second period class experiment.  I really enjoyed the lesson, as I saw the expressions on my students' faces and heard the change in conversation throughout.  This also happened to be my biannual observation, and my principal was very impressed with the level of understanding the students seemed to have gained from this lesson.