Temperature VS Carbon Dioxide

In this activity, students examine the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and global temperature change by studying a graph of these two variables. They will discover that by using data from ice cores, scientists can determine temperature and carbon dioxide levels in the air as far back as a hundred thousand years in the past. The students try to predict which variable is the independent one and then make a graph of temperature change and carbon dioxide levels. After making their graph, students describe the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to determine if their predictions were correct. Educational levels: Middle school