Scientific Investigation Coral Bleaching and Ocean Acidification Week 2 Scientific Investigation Coral Bleaching and Ocean Acidification

Objectives for the lab After completing this lab topic, you should be able to: 1. Identify and characterize questions that can be answered through scientific investigation. 2. Define hypothesis and explain what characterizes a good scientific hypothesis. 3. Identify and describe the components of a scientific experiment. 4. Be able to relate the interconnection between global warming, coral bleaching and ocean acidification 5. Investigate whether increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere are making our oceans more basic or more acidic 6. Learn how a change in oceanic pH is impacting coral reefs

Once begun, though, it doesn’t necessarily continue linearly through the five steps until it is concluded (Figure 1-5 The scientific method: five basic steps and one flexible process). Sometimes observations made in the first step can lead to more than one hypothesis and several testable predictions and experiments. And the conclusions drawn from experiments often suggest new observations, refinements to hypotheses, and ultimately more and more precise conclusions. 3

Is this a good experiment? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt2fSq46Pcw

Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming

Coral Bleaching http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/coral- bleaching

Why do corals bleach?

Coral bleaching destroys the coral reef ecosystem https://emmachutchinson.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/ocean-acidification-a-hidden-impact-of-climate-change/

Ave sea surface temperature change between 1901 and 2015.

Global Osteoporosis 12 of 10

Change in seawater pH

Three Lab Activities Scientific Method Worksheet Design an experiment to test effect of CO2 acidification in coral skeletons Coral Bleaching Worksheet Construct graph and answer questions Ocean Acidification activity and worksheet Class will design an experiment to test the effect of CO2 acidification to coral skeletons. Use pH strips or color of phenol red indicator to test change in pH Use total hardiness strip to test for Ca content

Testing pH and Ca2+ content