Page 81 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Science, 2008 (revised)

D. Developing Skills of Investigation and Communication
By the end of this course, students will:
d2.1 use appropriate terminology related to climate change, including, but not limited to: albedo, anthropogenic, atmosphere, cycles, heat sinks, and hydrosphere [C]
d2.2 design and build a model to illustrate the natural greenhouse effect, and use the model to explain the anthropogenic greenhouse effect [IP, PR, C]
d2.3 analyse different sources of scientific data (e.g., lake cores, tree rings, fossils and pre- served organisms, ice cores) for evidence of natural climate change and climate change in- fluenced by human activity [PR, AI, C]
d2.4 investigate a popular hypothesis on a cause- and-effect relationship having to do with climate change (e.g., the combustion of fossil fuels is re- sponsible for rising global temperatures; the concentration of atmospheric CO2 is responsible for rising global temperatures; global temper- atures have been on the increase since the industrial revolution; the severity of cyclones, hurricanes, and tornadoes increases as atmos- pheric temperatures increase), using simulations and/or time-trend data that model climate pro- files (e.g., data from Statistics Canada and Environment Canada) [PR, AI, C]
d2.5 investigate, through laboratory inquiry or simulations, the effects of heat transfer within the hydrosphere and atmosphere [PR, AI]
d2.6 investigate, through laboratory inquiry or simulations, how water in its various states in- fluences climate patterns (e.g., water bodies moderate climate, water vapour is a green- house gas, ice increases the albedo of Earth’s surface) [PR, AI]
d2.7 investigate, through research or simulations, the influence of ocean currents on local and global heat transfer and precipitation patterns [PR, AI]
d2.8 classify the climate of their local region using various tools or systems (e.g., Ecoregions of Canada, bioclimate profiles), and compare their region to other regions in Ontario, Canada, and the world [AI, C]
d2.9 compare different perspectives and/or biases evident in discussions of climate change in scien- tific and non-scientific media (e.g., with reference to knowledge, beliefs, and values) [AI, C]
D. Understanding Basic Concepts
By the end of this course, students will:
d3.1 describe the principal components of Earth’s climate system (e.g., the sun, oceans, and atmos- phere; the topography and configuration of land masses) and how the system works
d3.2 describe and explain heat transfer in the hydrosphere and atmosphere and its effects on air and water currents
d3.3 describe the natural greenhouse effect, ex- plain its importance for life, and distinguish it from the anthropogenic greenhouse effect
d3.4 identify natural phenomena (e.g., plate tec- tonics, uplift and weathering, solar radiance, cosmic ray cycles) and human activities (e.g., forest fires, deforestation, the burning of fossil fuels, industrial emissions) known to affect cli- mate, and describe the role of both in Canada’s contribution to climate change
d3.5 describe the principal sources and sinks, both natural and/or anthropogenic, of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons, water vapour)
d3.6 describe how different carbon and nitrogen compounds (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) influence the trapping of heat in the atmosphere and hydrosphere
d3.7 describe, in general terms, the causes and effects of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, the depletion of stratospheric and tropospheric ozone, and the formation of ground-level ozone and smog
d3.8 identify and describe indicators of global cli- mate change (e.g., changes in: glacial and polar ice, sea levels, wind patterns, global carbon budget assessments)
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: CLIMATE CHANGE
9
Science
SNC2D