Lesson 8: Climate Models: How Scientists Predict the Future
Duration of Days: 1
Lesson Objective
Explain what climate models are and how they are used to make predictions.
How do scientists test if a computer model is accurate? Why do different models sometimes produce different future predictions?
climate models
regions
HS-ESS3-5: Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth’s systems.
SAT Science section practice questions (focus on interpreting data from graphs and charts).
DOK 2 (Skill/Concept): Explaining the relationships between Earth's systems, interpreting graphs of climate data, describing the carbon cycle.
NOAA scientists working in the field.
All scientists disagree about the causes of climate change.
Provide simplified diagrams and graphic organizers for complex systems.
Homework-Phet virtual activity
Video on climate modeling, access to online models (e.g., Phet)