Science Report
The aim of this experiment was to investigate how carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere affects temperatures on Earth. To do this, a
hypothesis was formed: “The more carbon dioxide remains in one
place, the higher the temperature will be there, as per the
greenhouse gas effect.”
Next, variables had to be chosen so what was to be changed, what
would change because of it and what was staying the same between
experiments was clear. The variables found by this researcher’s
group were:
Independent: The size (in grams) of the dry ice, the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Dependent: The temperature in the bottle
Controlled: The same size of bottle (1.25L), the temperature of the
light produced, the same temperature probes, the
materials/equipment being used, the temperature of the dry ice
Before the experiment was performed, materials were gathered: two
clear plastic 1.25-liter bottles, two temperature probes, 2 grams of
dry ice, 4 grams of different dry ice, and an infrared light box. A set of
steps had to be written so the group had something to follow along
with, which were:
1. Procure two clear plastic bottles that are 1.25 litres in volume,
as well as two temperature probes, a light source capable of
mimicking heavy sunlight, in this case an infrared light box, and
a data recorder.
2. Measure out 2 grams of dry ice, making sure the weight is as
close to 2g as possible.
3. Place the dry ice inside the bottles. Place the temperature
probes inside of the bottles, making sure the stoppers are
secured. Connect the probes to a data recorder, to collect
information on the temperature changes over time (every
minute).
4. Place the plastic bottles in the infrared box. Make sure to press
the ‘play’ button on the data recorder.
5. Record the temperature of the bottles every minute in a data
table, for 0-10 minutes if the experiment can last the full
recording time.
6. Repeat experiment, but with 4 grams of dry ice instead. Make
sure to record the results of the groups that performed the
experiment with 1g and 3g instead as well.
Potential safety risks were considered, namely the dry ice, which can
cause frostbite with extended exposure due to being about -78C, and
the box light, which was hot enough to cause a sunburn with
extended exposure. Group 5 came up with a management strategy
for each, as well as an emergency response/disposal protocol in case
of injury.
Finally, the experiment was performed, and the results of Group 5
were put together with the results from other groups to form
collective scores, from which each researcher pulled their averages,
absolute precision, and percentage precision.
Comparing the results afterwards, certain things were immediately
noticeable. For example, the longer the experiment goes on for, the
higher the temperature becomes. Something interesting of note is
that at the start of the experiment, the average temperature of the
2g and 3g tests was lower than that of the 1g experiments, despite
there theoretically being more carbon dioxide to invoke the
greenhouse gas effect with. Since dry ice is extremely cold, it could
have leeched some of the heat out of the escaping air, but it
eventually reached a point where enough gas was concentrated that
the heat overpowered it.
The statistic of absolute precision notes how far the range goes from
your average score in either direction. The important scores here,
however, are those for percentage precision. If the number is around
5% or below, it is fairly accurate.
Percentage Precision
Tim
e 0 grams 1gram 2 grams 3 grams 4 grams
0 5.885459 0 13.61059 9.452936 16.21271
1 5.639597 0 31.8299 10.65552 5.280783
2 5.183318 0 17.96285 12.26013 6.205493
3 5.459584 0 10.07579 13.1032
4 5.605226 0 0.883392
5 5.624312 0.491803
6 5.421466 0.626959
7 5.415473 0.985595
8 4.722537 0.809419
9 4.75773 0.286533
10 4.678473 0
The results became more accurate as time passed, with the most
inaccurate coming from the 2g dry ice trials and the most accurate
results from the 3g dry ice trials.
To improve the investigation, all trials would need to consistently last
10 minutes. More trials would need to take place to make the
average score more accurate, which will make it so that the
percentage precision score reflects a more accurate result.
The aim of this investigation was to investigate how carbon dioxide
affects the temperature experienced on Earth. It was discovered that
the higher amounts of carbon dioxide that are present in the
atmosphere, the higher temperatures will be on Earth, as per the
greenhouse gas effect. There were a few outlying results, but these
can be explained by variances in air and dry ice temperature. Overall,
this experiment was a success, but there are still improvements that
could be made.