Lesson Plans: Your Own Greenhouse
Objective
The objective is to make your own small greenhouse and in a simple way to test its effect on temperature.
Materials
Each student or group of students will need the following:
- Plastic bottle
- Nail
- 2 thermometers
Important Points to Understand
In cooler climates greenhouses are used to control the environment of plants so that they can grow in a season or in an area where they would not normally grow. When you have a chance to visit some cold countries like New Zealand and some parts of Australia, try to visit a greenhouse and see how its environment is different to that outside.
Procedure
- Make a hole near the top of the plastic bottle with the nail and insert one thermometer.
- Place the second thermometer next to the bottle.
- Make sure that the same amount of sunlight reaches both the thermometers as shown in the figure.
- Record the temperature values from both thermometers after 10 minutes or so.
- Take the temperature records again after another 10 minutes. You may repeat that procedure a few times
Questions
- Do both thermometers record the same temperature?
- If the answer is "no" for the previous question, which one is higher?
- Can you explain why these two temperature records not the same?
- Can you give a similar example to demonstrate the greenhouse effect in our daily life?
