9th & 10th Grade: Physical & Environmental Science

Students begin by exploring how consumer goods in their everyday lives produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Students investigate a variety of consumer goods, like water bottles and electronics. This prompts students to wonder about the steps of a consumer good’s life cycle: extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, and waste. Students investigate chemical reactions that occur during consumer goods’ life cycles, including the combustion of fossil fuels, that produce gases that enter the atmosphere. Simulations allow students to observe how greenhouse gases contribute to the recent increase in Earth’s average surface temperatures.

Using mathematical representations, students calculate which consumer good life cycle contributes the most greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Students use engineering principles to explore solutions for greenhouse gas emissions in the consumer good life cycle. The unit culminates with students redesigning one or more steps in the life cycle of consumer goods and creating a plan to implement their solution.