Electronic Visualization
Global Warming

Lesson Three
The Greenhouse Effect Visualizer

  • Brief Description
  • Objectives
  • Materials and Resources
  • Activity Description
  • Internet Resources

  • Brief Description

        During this lesson, students visit the "Greenhouse Effect Visualizer" (GEV) at Northwestern University. The GEV is a powerful interactive scientific visualization tool that students can use to analyze models of global climate changes related to theories about the Greenhouse Effect. Students work in small groups to study the various aspects of global weather and discuss the possibility of a Greenhouse Effect. Students can also visit other Websites with global atmospheric or oceanic models to visualize climate changes.

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    Objectives

    Students will:

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    Materials and Resources

        In developing our lessons and activities, we made some assumptions about the hardware and software that would be available in the classroom for teachers who visit the LETSNet Website. We assume that teachers using our Internet-based lessons or activities have a computer (PC or Macintosh) with the necessary hardware components (mouse, keyboard, and monitor) as well as software (operating system, TCP/IP software, networking or dial-up software, e-mail and a World Wide Web client program, preferably Netscape, but perhaps Mosaic or Lynx). In the section below, we specify any "special" hardware or software requirements for a lesson or activity (in addition to those described above) and the level of Internet access required to do the activity.

    1. Special hardware requirements: None.
    2. Special software requirements: None.
    3. Internet access: Medium-speed (28,000 BPS via modem), or High-speed (greater than 1 MBPS via network).

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    Activity Description

        As students work in teams with the scientific visualizers, encourage them to develop hypotheses about global warming and the Greenhouse Effect, test their hypotheses using the visualizers, and reflect and discuss the results in their groups. Students should also use the criteria they developed in the prior lesson to guide their exploration of the visual models of global climate change. These criteria should be applied as students test variouis models of global warming for evidence of the Greenhouse Effect.

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    Internet Resources

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