Hello, my name is Mrs. Merin and I am so excited to be learning all about melting ice caps and glaciers with you.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit Introduction to states of Matter and Changing States.

Your lesson outcome is, "I can describe the effect of melting ice caps and glaciers on sea level." Now I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit challenging, but that's okay because it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn some fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So here are your keywords for today's lesson alongside the definitions for these keywords.

Now I am going to be referring to these throughout today's lesson.

However, if you feel that you find it easy to have them written down next to you, you can pause the video here and jot them down now.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So your lesson is split into two parts today.

Let's begin with the first part, ice caps and glaciers.

Izzy says, my favourite season is winter because I like building snowmen and you only get snow in winter.

Now, do you agree with Izzy about when we get snow? So remember Izzy said that we only get snow in winter.

I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So in the United Kingdom, we usually get snow in winter, but it has been known for it to snow in autumn or in spring.

So where I live, it actually snowed really heavily in spring and it caused a lot of chaos on the roads because nobody was expecting it.

However, this does happen from time to time.

Now it does not snow all year round in the United Kingdom, it only happens sometimes.

Now do you know anywhere where you can find snow or ice all year round, regardless of if it's summer, spring, autumn, or winter? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous, well done.

So at the North and South poles, there is lots of ice all year round.

Do you know why this is? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous, well done.

So Earth is colder at the top and bottom because they get very little direct sunlight throughout the year.

And you can see this in the diagram here where the North pole and the South Pole are getting a lot less direct sun throughout the year.

And 10% of Earth's surface is covered in ice all year round.

That's quite a lot when you think about it.

Now, Izzy says, is an ice cap classed as an area of ice that lasts year round? Well, there are large areas of snow and ice on Earth which do last all year round, ice caps and glaciers are found in the coldest parts of the world and mostly at the North and South poles.

And they are both thick layers of ice and snow that permanently cover an area of land.

So permanently means all the time in this content and in this context here.

So let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far.

It says ice caps and glaciers are found in the something parts of the world.

Is it in A, the wettest parts of the world.

B, the coldest parts of the world.

C, the windiest parts of the world.

Or D, in the hottest parts of the world.

I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous, well done.

The answer is the coldest parts of the world.

Well done.

Now, ice caps usually cover larger areas than glaciers and tend to spread out evenly from the centre, and glaciers tend to flow from high points down valleys following the landscape.

And they both form in areas where snow falls and builds up over years.

So it's not something that just happens overnight.

And the snow is compacted, which means that it's pressed together under more snow and then it turns to ice.

And you might see a little bit of that here in the UK, but not as much as you will see it happening in the North and the South poles.

So sometimes if we get really heavy, heavy snow, after a while you'll see that you then are left with icy patches.

Now glaciers are found all over the world in high mountain ranges and at the poles, so at the North and the South poles.

And they are often long and narrow, and flow down valleys.

Glaciers range from a few hundred metres to hundreds of kilometres, which is really, really far.

Now ice caps tend to be larger than glaciers and form on gently sloping land.

And they are dome shaped and spread out in all directions from the centre, just like in this picture of Kilimanjaro and an ice cap on Kilimanjaro.

Now ice caps and glaciers are melting as the world has warmed up a lot in the last 50 years.

And that's because in recent years, Earth's climate has been changing and global warming is a result of the processes that cause the average temperature of Earth to rise.

And as Earth's temperature rises, habitats are changing so that plants and animals living in them might find it harder to survive.

So for example, the loss of sea ice at the poles due to melting reduces the size of habitats for polar animals like penguins, seals, and polar bears and other habitats may become too hot for animals to live in.

And changes in climate also affect how and where plants grow.

So animals may find it hard to find food to survive, and as we know, all animals need food to survive.

Without it, they will die.

So let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

What has been happening to ice caps and glaciers over the last 50 years? Is it A, they have got bigger, B, they have not changed, C, they have been freezing, or D, they have been melting? So I'm gonna give you five seconds to think about your answer.

If you need longer, just pop the video on pause, come back once you've got your answer.

Okay, off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So the answer is D, they have been melting.

So Jun would like to know more about glaciers and he has been doing some research to find out about the Khumbu glacier.

And he says, "The Khumbu glacier is the world's highest glacier and is found in Nepal.

It is 17 kilometres long and climbers trying to go up to Mount Everest have to cross it.

This glacier is shrinking in length, depth, and width." So here is your first task for today.

So select one of the glaciers below and find out the following information, the size and location of the glacier, whether it has been melting or decreasing over recent years, and at least one more interesting fact.

So the glaciers, I want you to pick one of the three.

So you've got the Mer de Glace, the Aletsch glacier, the Perito Merino glacier.

So I want you to pick one of those three glaciers and I want you to find out the information on bullet points one and two, and then find out an interesting fact as well.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing the activity.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So your notes may have looked a little bit like this.

The Aletsch glacier is about 23 kilometres long and covers nearly 82 kilometres squared in area.

It is in Switzerland.

In recent years, it has been decreasing in length and volume.

This glacier is the habitat for a range of alpine plants and animals.

So now we are onto the second part of our learning today, which is melting ice caps and glaciers.

So Jun says, "If it snows in winter in the UK, the snow usually melts a few days later.

Does it matter if glacier is an ice caps melt?" Do you know? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

Jun says, "I don't think it matters because the snow falls every winter anyway." And Izzy says, "I think it does matter because ice caps and glaciers have formed over hundreds or thousands of years and cannot be replaced." And Izzy is correct.

Ice caps and glaciers take many years to form.

They play an important role in regulating Earth's sea levels.

So the sea level is the position on land that sea reaches, just like in this diagram here.

So we can see the sea level is in line with where the line, where the line for the land starts.

So if the sea level rises, the sea covers more of the land leading to the loss of habitats.

So here, we've got a lower sea level, and here we've got a higher sea level.

And so because the sea level has risen, it's covered some of that land that would be used as a habitat for animals.

And so therefore, you're losing that bit of land and you're losing that habitat there for some of the animals as well.

So water from melting glaciers and ice caps flows down rivers into the oceans making the sea level rise.

And in this way, melting ice caps and glaciers can lead to losses of habitats on land, just like we saw in the diagram before.

And ice caps and glaciers also play an important role in regulating Earth's temperature.

And snow and ice are very reflective.

So they reflect heat from the sun back into space and without them, more heat is gonna be trapped in Earth's atmosphere and Earth would become even warmer.

So it would.

If we've got less snow and we've got less ice, we've got less of that heat then reflecting back into space and more of it being trapped on Earth.

Now scientists make observations of glaciers and ice caps and they monitor their size and their movement, and this can help them predict future melting and sea level rises and the potential impact on living things and their habitats.

So let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far, what happens to sea level when ice caps and glaciers melt? Is it A, it does not change, B, it goes up, or C, it goes down? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So the answer is B, it goes up.

What do ice caps and glaciers help to regulate? Is it A, Earth's noise levels, B, Earth's temperature, C, Earth's sea levels, or D, Earth's orbit around the sun? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is B and C.

Now, here is your second task for today, and it says, model the effect of melting ice caps and glaciers on Earth's sea level.

Use a small plastic dish to represent Earth or Tupperware like we've got in this picture.

At one end, create land using modelling clay.

Fill up the sea area with water to just below the level of land.

Then you're going to place a few ice cubes on the land and observe what happens as the ice melts.

And I want you to use your observations to help you describe the effect of melting ice caps and glaciers on sea level.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go doing this activity.

You can go back in this video as well to check all of the instructions for this activity.

Once you're done, come back and we will finish off today's lesson.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So in our model, as the ice melted, the water level rose and flooded over the land.

As ice caps and glaciers melt, sea levels will rise, land will be flooded, and habitats will be lost.

So now we are on to the final part of our lesson, which is going through the summary of your learning today.

So ice caps and glaciers are found in the coldest parts of the world and mostly at the North and South poles.

Ice caps and glaciers are melting as the world has warmed up a lot in the last 50 years.

Ice caps and glaciers play important roles in regulating Earth's sea levels and temperature.

When ice caps and glaciers melt, sea levels rise.

Well done for today.

I'm really proud of you using your critical thinking and working really hard and doing a wonderful job.

I hope that you have learned lots from today.

Well done.