SUMMARY

Even though there is increasing media coverage on Ocean acidification, many people find ocean acidification difficult to accept or understand because they aren’t familiar with the science behind it. We hope that these hands-on experiences will help students in grades 5 -12 understand the science behind ocean acidification and help them become well-informed residents of Earth.

In particular, the ocean acidification kit can be visited for a set of laboratory exercises focused on ocean chemistry and the effects of reduction in pH on the shells of marine organisms. Details of the experiments, anticipated outcomes, and explanations can be found at this site.

GOALS

In Lab I experiment you will research the pH of different types of water, and you will
compare your findings to the pH values of common household acids and bases.

In Lab II experiment you will learn about alkalinity, which helps seawater resist changes in
pH, and test the alkalinity of four different types of water. You will then compare the
responses of different waters to carbon dioxide gas.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION AND TEACHING MATERIALS

Most of the materials required here can be found at grocery stores and pet stores.

Upload >> Ocean Acidification Lab Exercises 

www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/files/labkit.pdf

TEACHING NOTES / CONTEXT FOR USE

By themselves, these labs won’t entirely explain ocean acidification to your students but will instead complement your own classroom presentation of the issue. In the lab setup notes, we provide hints and ideas about adapting these exercises to match your time and resources. Handouts and general worksheets are provided with each lab, but you can easily change them to support your curriculum or to suit your teaching style.

Finally, we provide an answer key and Web links to additional ocean acidification information for yourself or your students. This list is by no means exhaustive because new discoveries and resources are always being published!

ASSESSMENT

This exercise includes written questions, and discussion questions. 

Answer sheet is provided.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

Overview documents

“Ocean Acidification - From Ecological Impacts to Policy Opportunities”.
Special issue of Current: The Journal of Marine Education, 29(1) 2009.
http://www.mcbi.org/what/current2.htm

Doney, S.C., V.J. Fabry, R.A. Feely, and J.A. Kleypas. 2009. Ocean acidification: the
other CO2 problem. Annual Reviews of Marine Science. 1:169-192.
http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/eprint/QwPqRGcRzQM5ffhPjAdT/full/10.1146/annu
rev.marine.010908.163834

Doney, S.C. 2006. The dangers of ocean acidification. Scientific American. 294: 58-65.
http://loer.tamug.edu/Loup/MARS281/Ocean-Acidification(SciAmer-2006).pdf

Kleypas, J.A., et al. 2006. Impacts of ocean acidification on coral reefs and other marine
calcifiers: a guide for future research. Report of a workshop sponsored by NSF, NOAA,
and USGS. 96 pp.
http://www.ucar.edu/communications/Final_acidification.pdf

Raven, J. et al. 2005. Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The Royal Society.
http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?id=3249
 

Teaching tools

Interactive tutorial about ocean acidification’s effects on marine organisms, with a virtual
biology lab about ocean acidification and sea urchins. http://i2i.stanford.edu/carbonlab/co2lab.swf

Short video (21 min) about ocean acidification produced by the Natural Resources
Defense Council: “Acid Test: The global challenge of ocean acidification” http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/aboutthefilm.asp

Another ocean acidification teaching kit, with all necessary materials included, is
available for loan from select locations. You can get more information about this kit and
other marine science educational kits from the Center for Microbial Oceanography:
Research and Education website :http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/education/teachers/science_kits/ocean_acid_kit.htm
 

Short video (8 min) about ocean acidification produced by students in the UK:
“The Other CO2 Problem” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvUsSMa0nQU

Credits:

Sarah Cooley (scooley@whoi.edu) and the Ocean Acidification Subcommittee Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program www.us-ocb.org

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The National Science Education Standards supported by this kit are:

Levels 5-8

• Unifying concepts and processes
• Science as Inquiry Standards
• Physical Science Standards
• Life Science Standards
• Evidence, models, and explanation
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Properties and changes of properties
• in matter Populations and ecosystems
• Change, constancy, and measurement
• Understanding about scientific inquiry
• Diversity and adaptations of organisms
• Earth & Space Science Standards
• Science & Technology Standards
• Science in personal and social perspectives
• History and Nature of Science Standards
• Structure of the earth system
• Understanding about science and technology
• Populations, resources, and environments
• Science as a human endeavor
• Natural hazards Nature of science
• Science and technology in society

Levels 9-12

• Unifying concepts and processes
• Science as Inquiry Standards
• Physical Science Standards
• Life Science Standards
• Evidence, models, and explanation
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Structure and properties of matter
• Interdependence of organisms
• Change, constancy, and measurement
• Understanding about scientific inquiry
• Chemical reactions
• Earth & Space Science Standards
• Science & Technology Standards
• Science in personal and social perspectives
• History and Nature of Science Standards
• Geochemical cycles Understanding about science and technology
• Natural resources Science as a human endeavor
• Environmental quality Nature of science
• Natural and human induced hazards
• Science and technology in local,national, and global challenges

National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment, and National
Research Council. 1996. National Science Education Standards.