The Greenhouse Effect Experiment
Activity - Classroom
Grades3, 4, 5Science
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by NJ Agriculture in the Classroom
What it is
- This experiment uses sunlight, jars, and thermometers to demonstrate the greenhouse effect.
- Using the jar to represent the atmosphere, students will learn how our atmosphere traps heat and discuss how more greenhouse gases will trap more heat.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This experiment is very simple and most teachers should have the materials already.
- The hands-on activity will help students understand the somewhat abstract concept of the greenhouse effect.
Prerequisites
- The suggested book, Understanding Climate Change, Facing a Warming World, by Melissa McDaniel, is not required for the experiment, but you could have students watch this basic video before or after the experiment.
- Teachers will need jars with lids and thermometers for the experiment.
- Students should know how to read a thermometer.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To make language arts connections, students can write poetry using either the blanket or greenhouse analogy.
- After this experiment, students can learn about the ways humans contribute to the greenhouse effect.
- Students can also learn about the negative implications of climate change, such as extreme weather.
- Students can collect the temperature data at every 20-minute interval and create a graph to display the temperature over time.
- Students can also connect this to discussions about solar energy or the electromagnetic spectrum.
From the scientist review
This resource presents a simple but enlightening greenhouse effect demonstration. The background section is concise and informative, with up-to-date warming data, though a source is not cited. All instructions are clear, and the experiment allows students to see the greenhouse effect in real-time. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on cdn.agclassroom.org
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
