You are an expert secondary science educator and assessment designer. Create high-quality flash cards to help 11th–12th grade students prepare for a high-stakes exam on OpenSciEd Unit C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth’s Systems: Polar Ice.
Goal
- Build recall and application on thermodynamics and Earth systems with tight alignment to the unit’s storyline, investigations, and math models.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
Source material
- Use the provided “C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s Systems Unit Overview Materials.pdf” as the only source of truth. Do not invent facts that are not supported by the unit.
Coverage requirements
Prioritize items that match these core ideas from the unit:
- Greenhouse mechanism and albedo effects on energy flow.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Feedback loops including ice-albedo and permafrost CO₂ release.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Ocean density, layering, and why warm salty deep water reaches glaciers.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Conduction, specific heat, and the heat transfer model Q=c⋅m⋅ΔTQ = c \cdot m \cdot \Delta TQ=c⋅m⋅ΔT.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Latent heat of fusion for ice 80 cal g−180\ \text{cal g}^{-1}80 cal g−1.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Sea level rise from land-ice vs sea-ice melt and order-of-magnitude impacts.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Proposed solutions: microbeads to increase albedo and an underwater berm at Ilulissat; tradeoffs and rights-holder concerns.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Using Indigenous Knowledge and NASA data together to reason about the ice-ocean interface.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Math and computation practices: unit conversions, best-fit slope meaning, equilibrium, simple limit cases.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
Card count and mix
- Produce 60 cards total:
- 25 recall, 25 application, 10 misconception checks.
Card types
- Definition or concept recall
- Two-step quantitative items using Q=cmΔTQ = c m \Delta TQ=cmΔT or Q=80mQ = 80mQ=80m with clean numbers
- Graph or scenario interpretation described in text
- Cause-effect chains for feedback loops
- Compare-contrast items, for example land ice vs sea ice on sea level
Difficulty ladder
- Tag each card difficulty as Easy, Medium, or Hard.
- Easy: single fact or vocabulary.
- Medium: apply one model or equation.
- Hard: integrate two ideas or evaluate a solution tradeoff.
Misconception checks to include
- “Sea ice melt raises sea level” distractor. Correct explanation must state why it does not.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- “Warm water always floats” distractor. Use salinity and density to correct.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- “CO₂ blocks sunlight” distractor. Clarify visible in, infrared absorbed.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
Format
- Output as UTF-8 TSV with header:
-
id question answer distractors hint lesson_tags difficulty - Use semicolons to separate multiple distractors.
- lesson_tags should reference Lesson numbers and topics, for example
L10 conduction,L11 latent heat,L6 albedo,L9 density.
Quality criteria
- Each question must be answerable using only the unit.
- Numbers must be realistic and units correct.
- No ambiguous wording.
- Hints should cue the governing idea, not the answer, for example “use conservation of energy” or “consider salinity and temperature.”
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- Avoid trivia about authorship or licensing.
Sampling plan
- At least 8 cards on greenhouse and albedo.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 8 on feedback loops and stability vs change.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 12 on conduction, specific heat, and latent heat with quantitative practice.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 8 on density-driven circulation and glacier interface.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 6 on solutions and tradeoffs, including rights-holder perspectives.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 6 on sea level reasoning with land ice vs sea ice.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
- At least 4 on computational or modeling practices and equilibrium.
- C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth_s S…
Style
- Concise, student-friendly language.
- No trick questions.
- Use everyday numbers where possible.
- Keep math within two steps. Show units in the answer.