Physics, Climate Change and the pursuit of the three-legged stool.

What does the future hold for our children studying science, being educated and embracing new technologies at school?  Reflecting upon this important issue is a continual process similar to learning science as a continual process of experimentation and analysis.

Project-based science requires innovative curriculum, supportive science equipment and open-ended formative and summative assessment of student learning.  Content in subject matters is a driving force for learning and in executing performance by students in the classroom.  Students embracing the learning process, as the means to increase self-efficacy, is the goal of any educator to increase student’s cognitive abilities and problem solving skills.

The three-legged stool is in reference to simultaneous efforts to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Carbon sequestration, energy conservation and alternative sources of energy are the three supportive venues addressing the need to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Inquiry into these three efforts provide resources and data for students to make decisions and formulate logical and reasoned arguments.

Students in physics classes have the unique opportunity to inquire and investigate each of these three efforts to mitigate carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Studying physics provide learning opportunities that will house practical applications of concepts learned in physics.  Utilizing science equipment in the physics lab, to build and test prototypes, analyze motion, measure thermal energy and investigating efficiency, are the essential building blocks supporting project-based learning in the classroom.

Energy is a focal point in the physics curriculum and student come to appreciate the value of what they have learned by having the opportunity to solve challenging problems that requiring creative solutions.   The transfer of energy within a closed system is an important concept helping students to understand how sources of energy can be directed, efficiently, to achieve outcomes like making electricity or doing work.  

Wave motion is another means through which students can understand the flow of energy from one location to another by means that do not require doing work.  Solar radiation provides a means to transfer energy from the sun into thermal energy that can be used to generate heat in a greenhouse.  The practical application of concepts in physics to solve problems is sustained as a primary educational goal in science.

A project-based curriculum that seamlessly transition from one concept in physics to another prepares students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers.  Increased cognitive abilities of learners is the ultimate goal for the teacher in the classroom. The skill and ability to work effectively on projects, while solving problems and presenting results, are essential abilities for success in our modern society.

Once students understand the concepts of kinematics, force, work and other forms of energy, then they will develop the cognition to look at problems from many view points to discover and bring forth solutions.

Finally, climate change, and the breath and deep of this issue, will continue to offer students real-world problems to investigate and find solutions to these problems.  The physics of climate change and greenhouse warming of atmospheric gases is a result of the physics of particles in motion. There are fundamental inquiries that students in science class can experiment and probe to gather evidence and achieve outcomes. 

Students can utilize their understanding of science and the physics of energy to address this problem from three separate aspects, carbons sequestration, energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy.

Students design and construct new heating chamber to increase the efficiency of the transfer of light radiation into thermal energy.

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Students experimenting, testing and gathering data on the transfer of light radiation into thermal energy.

Students investigating the quality of soil mediums as part of the Earth Stewardship Project and sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.