Jennifer Murphy, email: j.g.murphy@uea.ac.uk Demonstrating Climate Change and the Water Cycle to Fifth Grade Students Jennifer Murphy, email: j.g.murphy@uea.ac.uk School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich U.K. NR4 7TJ The focus of this activity is to provide students with the vocabulary, concepts, and context to understand the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle. Students make observations throughout a series of demonstrations and activities regarding how temperature affects the phases of water and connect these ideas to the physical environment. An additional goal is to have students consider ways in which they are dependent on their environment, and ways in which their actions affect it.

Climate Change and the Water Cycle 1

Greenhouse Effect 2

Greenhouse Effect on Earth atmosphere Without the atmosphere, the average temperature on earth would be 5 oF instead of 60 oF 3

Global Warming on Earth Extra gases, like CO2, that humans add to the atmosphere makes the greenhouse effect stronger and leads to global warming 4

A. Greenhouse Experiment Shine light on surface and measure temperature Add a ‘greenhouse’ and observe the temperature change Record your observations on the worksheet and graph the results 5

States of Matter Solid Liquid Gas 6

States of Water Solid Liquid Gas What are come other examples of water in the environment in any of its three phases or states? What do we call the processes that change water from one state to another? 7

State Changes of Water Solid Gas sublimation freezing condensation melting evaporation Liquid What do we call the processes that change water from one state to another? 8

B. Water Vapor Experiment Fill a glass with a cold drink Examine liquid on outside of glass What color is it? Where did it come from? How can you explain it? 9

The Water Cycle 10

transport The Water Cycle precipitation evaporation runoff 11

Most of California’s rain and snow falls in the mountains California uses more fresh water per person than any other state But most of the people who need water live in the valley or near the coast, where there’s not very much rain 12 http://education.usgs.gov/california/maps/california_precipitation&relief

Photograph of California taken from Space Oakland downloaded from http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov 13

California needs snow in the winter to have water in the summer Data from the USGS Streamflow into Reservoir 14

C. Climate Change and the Water Cycle Four stations will be set up: two are heated, two are chilled, two have water, two have ice Observe the phase of the water in each container and record what processes are going on in the container Complete the questions on the worksheet Ice Water 15