Respiration: Reuse, Recycle

• This video describes the global carbon cycle and demonstrates a simple experiment to measure respiration and photosynthesis.

Positives

• The video begins with a diagram and explanation of the carbon cycle and how humans disrupt the balance.
• The experiment is easy to understand and simple to recreate with the appropriate probes.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• There are specific materials the teacher would need to get ahead of time to recreate the experiment, consider borrowing a carbon dioxide probe from a local university or citizen-science provider.
• Teachers and students can watch this video first to learn how to make the flux chambers.

Differentiation

• Students can create and label their own diagrams for the carbon cycle and explain how the burning of fossil fuels can disrupt the balance.
• The teacher can pause the video at 3 minutes, 41 seconds to have students write their predictions and then update them after the video.
• This video about cellular respiration and photosynthesis can be used in biology classes and applied to a number of lessons, particularly regarding how adding additional carbon from fossil fuels throws the system out of balance.
• History classes could research the scientists that first discovered the heat-trapping ability of carbon dioxide and those who first discovered photosynthesis.
  
• Other resources related to the carbon cycle include this video about how carbon dioxide gets into and out of the atmosphere, this game to help students visualize the carbon cycle, and this interactive book chapter with resources and data on short and long-term carbon cycles.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.