Lesson Five:

Exploring Sea-Level Rise

Experiment Materials

• Plastic water bottle with flip lid
• Clear plastic straw
• Food coloring
• Ruler
• Permanent marker
• Cutting tool
• Hot glue gun or puddy
• Heat source
• Safety Goggles (optional if cutting with exacto knife or using hair dryer)

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Safety!

This activity involves the use of sharp cutting instruments and heating elements.

To avoid cuts and burns, use these tools correctly and carefully.

• Do not directly touch heating element
• Keep hands away from direction of cutting instrument, cut away from your body

6. Measure it

At regular intervals – every minute or five minutes – measure and record the water level in millimeters, starting from the zero-level mark drawn on the straw. Make note of what’s happening. For each measurement, you should align the "0" mark on the ruler to the zero-level mark you made in Step 4. If you're using a thermometer, also record the temperature at these intervals.

Note: The time it takes to notice a change in temperature and water height may vary depending on the heat source you use and the size of your water bottle.

7. Draw a conclusion

Write a description of what you observed in the straw. Graph your measurements on paper or using spreadsheet software.

What happened to the water level as heat energy was added?

What’s happening inside the water?

How does this model help us understand what is happening in Tuvalu and other Pacific Island nations?

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Engineering Design Notebook

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Topic: Exploring Sea-Level Rise

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Answer the reflection questions below:

• What is thermal expansion? What causes it?
• How does thermal expansion relate to sea-level rise?
• How is thermal expansion causing issues for Tuvalu?
• What impact do humans have on thermal expansion?

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