From Local Context to Climate Science: Low-Cost Experimentation in the Initial Training of Physics Teachers

Abstract

Climate change poses a major scientific, environmental, and educational challenge, requiring approaches that connect physical concepts, empirical evidence, and socially relevant environmental issues. This study presents and analyzes a low-cost experimental investigation developed within the "Physics and the Environment" course of a Physics teacher training program at the State University of the Tocantina Region of Maranh\~ao (UEMASUL), Brazil. The experiment involved constructing a simplified thermal simulator using accessible materials and comparing a confined system with an open control system, both exposed simultaneously to solar radiation. The results showed that the average temperature inside the simulator was $45.91^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$, compared to $38.58^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ in the external control system, corresponding to a mean temperature difference of $7.33^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ (among other analyses). These results demonstrate that the experimental setup was capable of producing and measuring a significant thermal difference between the two systems. However, the observed temperature rise should not be interpreted as a direct measure of the atmospheric greenhouse effect, given that the experimental apparatus involves both radiative and non-radiative heat transfer mechanisms. The study emphasizes the educational potential of low-cost experimentation as a strategy to integrate electromagnetic radiation, energy balance, temperature, heat transfer, and climate science into the initial training of physics teachers. It also highlights the importance of explicitly discussing the limitations of experimental models and distinguishing local experimental evidence from conclusions regarding global climate processes.