Car emissions internet activity (summative)
PURPOSE:
Increased carbon dioxide in our near atmosphere has been increasing
since the industrial revolution. While some sources of CO2 in the air are perfectly
natural, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changehas determined that a
significant amount of this CO2 is a direct result of human activity. Burning fossil fuels
adds CO2 to the atmosphere very quickly and in large amounts. Burning gasoline from
a car engine is the most immediate way you and I add to the increasing CO2 levels. In
this computer lab activity, you will compare various makes and models of cars and rate
their impact on the atmosphere.
DIRECTIONS:
● Open a new Word document.
● Open the website http://fueleconomy.gov/
● Click on “Find & Compare Cars”, next select model year, then make and finally
the model.
● Select all of the vehicles to research that you and your family own. (2021 Range
Rover Sport, 2018 Cadillac XT5) Write your results in the Word document for
those vehicles. It will be easier to lookup 3 cars at a time for the comparison.
● Data needed for each vehicle:
● Picture of vehicle
● EPA Fuel economy MPG
● Fuel Economics
● Annual Fuel Cost
● Cost to Drive 25 Miles
● Cost to fill the tank
● Tank Size
● Energy Impact Score (# of barrels of petroleum used)
● Greenhouse gas emissions (set to U.S. tons per year and tailpipe CO2)
● EPA smog rating and select Georgia as the state
● Go back and find 2 more Vehicles. This time, select your dream cars. Find the
above data on those vehicles and include your results in the same Word
document as your family vehicles.
● Go back one more time and try to find cars that you would expect to have great
gas mileage and low emissions. Those would include all electric vehicles,
hybrids, new low emission diesel vehicles etc. Write those results in your Word
document.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Answer the following questions in the same Word document that has your car data.
● What is the Carbon Footprint Score?
● EPA Air Pollution Score?
● Which car performed the best as far as CO2 emissions are concerned? Which
has the worst?
● Was there a trend among cars that had high CO2 output?
● What surprised you about the cars you chose?
● In your opinion, what is the most important output from cars? Why?
● If you had the money, what would be your next car purchase? Why? PLEASE
ANSWER THIS QUESTION HONESTLY! (Any BMW 2016-2019)
● Will you change any habits as a result of this investigation? Why or why not?
