Caveat Academy course · Grades 8 to 12

Climate Science

A semester course on how Earth’s climate works and how we know it is changing: energy balance, the carbon cycle, ice cores, sea level, models and choices. Six self-paced modules with the physics explained and every number worked.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Middle school course library, $79 for 28 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 12 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Weather, climate and the climate system

    Distinguish weather from climate, describe the parts of the climate system, and compute anomalies, averages and rates of change from climate data.

    • Weather is not climate
    • The parts of the climate system
    • Reading climate data
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Energy balance and the greenhouse effect

    Explain Earth's energy balance and the greenhouse effect, compute absorbed sunlight from albedo, and classify forcings and feedbacks.

    • Sunlight in, heat out
    • The greenhouse effect
    • Forcings and feedbacks
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: The carbon cycle and greenhouse gases

    Trace carbon through its reservoirs, compute percent changes in carbon dioxide, and explain the evidence that the recent rise comes from fossil fuels.

    • Where carbon lives and how it moves
    • People and the carbon cycle
    • Where the carbon goes
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Reading past climates

    Analyze ice cores, tree rings and other proxies, and explain how orbital cycles and feedbacks drove the ice ages.

    • Ice cores
    • Other natural records
    • Ice ages and orbital cycles
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Climate change today

    Evaluate the evidence for recent warming and its causes, and explain sea-level rise, changing extremes and shifts in living things.

    • Measuring a warming world
    • Ice, oceans and sea level
    • Extremes, water and living things
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Models, choices and solutions

    Interpret model projections and carbon budgets, and compare mitigation and adaptation while keeping evidence separate from values.

    • How climate models work
    • Cutting emissions
    • Adapting and deciding
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 3 · People and the carbon cycle

Worked example: percent increase

  1. Start: about 280 ppm before industrialization.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · Middle SchoolAlso for Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished semester of climate science: you can tell weather from climate, explain the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle, read ice-core, tree-ring and temperature records, explain sea-level rise and changing extremes, interpret model projections and carbon budgets, and compute anomalies, albedo, percent changes and rates along the way. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 8 to 12 studying climate science on their own, previewing a school course or wanting to understand the evidence behind the headlines; homeschool families who want a complete semester unit. The math is arithmetic, percentages and rates.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 12 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Middle school course library ($79) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The Middle School space in Caveat Academics; also listed for the High School space in Caveat Academics (the same course serves the high school Climate Science title).
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts and figures were checked against these free, open sources from scientific agencies and assessments; the lessons keep the evidence separate from policy questions.

  1. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group I, Summary for Policymakers (2021): ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1
  2. NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa carbon dioxide record: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends
  3. NASA, climate evidence, causes and effects: science.nasa.gov/climate-change
  4. NOAA Climate.gov, climate data primers and the energy budget: climate.gov
  5. Global Carbon Project, the yearly global carbon budget: globalcarbonbudget.org
  6. National Snow and Ice Data Center, sea ice and glaciers: nsidc.org

Climate Science is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It follows the sequence of a typical one-semester course but does not replace a school course or award credit. Figures that change year to year are given as rounded, dated values, and example numbers in worked examples are labeled as examples. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.